Home Makeovers

Dining Room Rescue (before)

Dining Room Rescue (after)

The traditional furnishings got new life by painting the walls a warm, rich blue, and filling the room with meaningful accessories.

See the complete makeover onMyHomeIdeas.com.

Bathroom #1

Before: Dated and Dowdy
Decorative touches and practical finishes made an old bath fit for a young couple’s new baby and guests.

Hannah Wolfson and Randy Law made a first-home buyers' mistake -- neither realized the bath of their 1920s-era bungalow had no showerhead until after they moved in.

"We were distracted by the 1980s bridesmaid dress-looking shower curtain," says Hannah. They soon bumped up their future renovation hopes and called neighbor (and Cottage Living's style editor) Heather Chadduck for help.

After: A New World

What Stayed: The sink and tub stayed put. By working with existing plumbing, they were able to keep costs down.

What's New: The changes were purely cosmetic: They used decoupaged maps (glued and sealed) for wallpaper, painted beaded board for wainscoting, and patterned hexagonal tile for the flooring. The only building project was a tiled box on one end of the tub to hide plumbing for the new shower fixture.

How It Works: The owners now enjoy a fun, pretty bath that doubles as a space for their baby son, Alexander, as well as visitors. "There's always something to look at -- it's never boring," says Hannah of the maps.

Closet to Compact Home Office

The Challenge: How do you add a home office to accomodate busy family life?

The Solution: Take an under-utilized hall closet and turn it into a useful and attractive home office.

In order to carve out this pratical workspace, homeowners Lisa and Richard Todd had to think outside the box -- and inside the closet. They added shelving and a laminate desk that runs the length of the closet, and installed electrical and phone lines for proper lighting and computer use.

The Todds also livened up the space with vivid colors (aloe green for the walls, blue for accents and accessories), a custom framed bulletin board, and a decorative butterfly motif.