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Living Rooms

Kitchens

Furniture

0 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Thrilled to the Bone

Remember that little talk we had about “good bones?” I’m sure you do. It was like, yesterday.

It’s something you say, for instance, when your grandma gives you her hand-me-down furniture. “Oh, wow, thanks Grandma! This settee has such … good bones!” Because you don’t want to be rude and hurt her feelings, even though she probably knows it’s a threadbare piece of junk and she’s laughing to herself about foisting it off on you.

Well, Grandma, let’s see who gets the last laugh, shall we?

traditional-white-settee-before

traditional-white-settee

Oh, what’s that grannie? You didn’t realize how awesome it could look recovered in linen and painted gray? Well TOO BAD SO SAD! Jk grandma I love you. But no, you can’t have it back.

From Jan at Chairished Furnishings.

 

Another great time to use that phrase is when you’re caught sneaking cast-off furniture from someone else’s dumpster: “Oh hey neighbor! I’m just … uh … rescuing this chair. It has great bones. I couldn’t resist. Don’t call the cops.”

white-and-aqua-chair-before

 

white-and-aqua-chair

And then after you get out of jail, you recover and paint the chair, and everyone agrees that indeed, the chair DOES have good bones, and the cops and the neighbor apologize and there’s probably a parade in your honor.  This is just one possible scenario.

From Better After reader Katrina, a teenage DIYer!

 

The only thing the old bones needed on this pair of chairs was some way to tone down that orange glow.

wooden-office-chairs-before

 

wooden-office-chairs

The cushions were in great shape, so Shelly at 100 Things 2 Do simply deepened the stain color for a richer, more natural look. It’s like the difference between a fake tan-in-a-can and the real deal. (Like I would know, I’ve been tan exactly 0 days of my life).

 

The fabric on this chair was also in good shape but a little dated and distracting.

teal-club-chair-before

 

teal-club-chair

Beck at Beckwith’s Treasures recovered it with a simple teal tweed so the emphasis would be on, you guessed it, dem bones.

 

Lastly, this pair of chairs from Michelle at 4 Men 1 Lady. If you ever run across a set of these, grab them and don’t let go. Because if you can look past the heavily-tufted velvet cushions …

 

milo-baughman-chair-makeover-before1

milobaughman-chair-makeover-before

… you’ll see a shiny, modern, chic, fabulous set of chrome bones. I super love this look so much. And I’m also naming my band The Chrome Bones.

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6 In outdoors/ Uncategorized

Ya down with OCD?

True or false? It’s not what’s on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Pssh. Duh. FALSE. If it were true, there would be no such thing as Home-Owner’s Associations, that show Curb Appeal, or people who design book covers for a living. We’re humans. We tend to notice the outside of things because … well, that’s just what we see first.

Brienna was not in love with the outside of her home or the first-impression it gave. It was little sad, a little dreary, and off-centered enough to drive her batty. Seriously, who designs a house with three windows on one side and four on the other? I’m twitching.

exterior-home-makeover-before

 

exterior-makeover

My OCD and I can relax now, however, thanks to Brienna’s handiwork. She brightened up the entire exterior and restored balance to the universe by removing that fourth window and adding a porch-sized portico. Perfect!

New landscaping, a pretty mint-colored door, windowboxes and a new brick walkway complete the look

See more on her site Brienna Wagner.

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5 In kitchen/dining

One, Two, Kitchens Here Before You

“Well … it has good bones.” Have you heard that before? Have you said that before? I have. “Good bones” is the decor equivalent of saying someone has “a sweet personality.”  It’s a little back-handed. Trust me on this. If people tell you your house has good bones, what they really mean is that it’s a total barf-fest and you’d better do something about it quick.

Anyway, Corey’s kitchen had good bones.

(Ok, it wasn’t a total barf-fest. It’s not like she had clown wallpaper or anything. It was more of a snooze-fest. Mmm, I could go for a snooze-fest actually. That sounds fantastic. Like a grown-up equivalent of a slumber party, but we actually just sleep. Sometimes I fall asleep at the end of my yoga class, when the teacher turns off the lights and tells us to close our eyes. I go straight to dreamland. Drooling, REM, everything. I always leave that class thinking I would pay good money to take a nap class. I bet that’s already a thing. Sign me up. Heck yeah, I would take that class. I would teach that class. What were we talking about again?)

Right. Bones. Corey took the bare bones of this builder-grade kitchen and transformed them into a farmhouse fresh look that’s anything but basic.

white-and-gray-kitchen-before

 

white-and-gray-kitchen

Who knew that plain little kitchen had this much potential? Corey did, and she had so much fun doing it, she did it again!

Here’s her latest kitchen transformation in her new home:

farmhouse-kitchen-makeover

 

farmhouse-kitchen-makeover-after

I think Corey could teach a class or two herself. Just beautiful. And what an enormous difference it made taking out that ridiculous wall. Obviously it wasn’t load-bearing, and the only thing on the other side was a few cabinets. Well worth losing a tiny amount of storage in favor of opening up the whole room. She also used my favorite trick for faking a custom-cabinetry look: extending her cabinets all the way to the ceiling. 

You have to see the rest of this room! Spoiler alert: there’s a faux brick wall that you’re going to love more than your own kids. Not really I hope, but it’s pretty great. See it all on her blog Sawdust 2 Stitches.

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5 In bedroom/ other rooms

Double Duty

A tragic fact of life is that unless you consistently have guests at your house, your guest room goes unused 90% of the time. I can’t think of anything more tragic-er. Ok, so that’s not the worst thing in the world, and if you have a guest room at all, you’re pretty lucky, but why not utilize that space as much as you can? It’s still your house, is it not?

Ruthie wanted her guest room to do double duty, so she turned it into a guest room/craft room combo with a fresh black, white, and gold-themed makeover to tie it all together.

 

black-white-and-gold-bedroom-before

 

black-white-and-gold-bedroom

That intricate design is a stencil! I thought surely it was wallpaper, it’s so intricate.

“Gorgeous!” you say, “But where’s the craft room? Does Ruthie perch on that window ledge and craft her heart out while her guests nap?” Of course not crazy kids. Did you think to look in the closet?

 

black-white-and-gold-bedroom-closet

 

black-white-and-gold-bedroom-1

There it is! So fabulous with the thick striped walls and sparkly gold details. It’s even Audrey Hepburn approved. You can see much more on her blog Refashionably Late

5 In laundry rooms/ miscellaneous

Laundry Quandary

If doing the laundry seems like such a heinous, boring chore, the problem might be your boring washing machine! Just kidding, the problem is the laundry. Laundry is the worst. Until they invent a washing machine that dries, folds, and puts away your clothes, or alternately, we all become nudists, laundry is something we’re just going to have to deal with. Might as well accept it. (Unless you guys are on board with the nudist thing. No? Are you sure? REALLY sure? Ok, but I thought of a funny name: The Nudest Nudists. Haha! Still no? Right. I was just checking).

Anyway. You may have to accept laundry in your life, but you don’t have to accept a boring washing machine. Medina at Grillo Designs figured out a way to bring a little excitement to hers with …

 

black-and-white-washing-machine-before

 

black-and-white-washing-machine

… this! What do you think it is? Paint? Vinyl? Stickers? Stencils? Guess again. “That’s all of my guesses,” you are thinking. “There is literally nothing else it could be unless she somehow cut a piece of fabric to fit perfectly over the front panel and around the door and applied it with a mixture of glue and mod-podge.”

Well I’ll be darned. You’re right. You’re so smart. Check out Medina’s process on her blog!

 

And if you want to add some more excitement to your entire laundry room, you’re only fooling yourself, I mean, yes, totally, good idea. That will obviously make laundry a party. Party time! All kidding aside, jazzing up your laundry room really does make laundry more enjoyable. That’s a scientifically proven fact.

Better After reader Patricia had a vision for her laundry room, and you’ll never guess what it was. Unless you guessed plaid. Wow, you’re on one today!
plaid-laundry-room-before

 

plaid-laundry-room

She says, “I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time. Finally did it. Freehand, as you can tell. Just a straight edge and sponge brush with paint. Each of the four colors used was leftover paint from other rooms in the house. (I like color). It’s a relatively small change to the room, but it carries surprisingly high impact in person.” 

How fun, right? I love that she went all the way across the ceiling. Now I’m dying to see the rest of the house!

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3 In kiddie/ other rooms

Playing Around

Jennifer was lucky enough to have a nice, spacious playroom in her home for her kids, but it was lacking storage and style. Of course storage is a biggie but don’t underestimate the importance of style. Because have you met any kids lately? They are WAY into style. Way more than I ever was. Or am.

What happened to the frumpy, frizzy, gangly, awkward stage? Because I swear it’s not happening anymore. I legitimately wore my dad’s t-shirts in 8th grade. Now 8th graders look like 25-year-old Instagram models. I’ve envied the hair of fifth grade girls. I see toddlers in skinny jeans. I know babies with better wardrobes than mine. My sister insists that she knows of a second-grader who HAS A TATTOO. I know. It can’t be true, but she swears it is. My sister would never lie about such things. TORI PLEASE CONFIRM IN THE COMMENTS THAT THIS IS TRUE.

Anyway, before I get further off-track, let’s go back to the innocent playroom. This one needed a little help, so Jennifer rolled up her sleeves and dug in.

camp-themed-playroom-before

 

camp-themed-playroom

And here is the delightful result! Every toy has a designated place in the DIY built-ins, leaving plenty of room for seating. The futon was revamped with paint and a new slipcover, and the sweet camp-theme is bringing the style everywhere you look. I love the accent wall too, it adds just the right amount of woodsiness. This room could totally be an Instagram model now.

Get all the details and a full view of this playroom makeover on Jennifer’s blog Delightfully Noted.

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