Room Makeover DIY Ideas Before and Afters that are Amazing
Check out these amazing room makeover DIY ideas that get a bang for your buck with beautiful results in before and after pictures.
Are you looking for simple ways to dramatically change your room decor without breaking the bank? I find the most rewarding room makeover DIYs are ones focus on maximizing the potential of what you already have with creative solutions.
Dramatic Before and After Room Makeover DIY Ideas
Welcome back to the One Room Challenge! I’m smack in the middle of this 8-week long room makeover with 20 featured designers and 100s of guest participants like myself. This fun series is organized and hosted by Linda from Calling it Home and is sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens.
UPDATE: You can find all of the Spring One Room Challenge posts including the final reveal below. Due to the nature of the problems we encountered and slow progress each week, I shared articles all about bathrooms and room makeovers to provide helpful tips and DIYs relative to what we were doing.
- Week One: How to Work with a Small Ensuite Bathroom Design
- Week Two: Beautiful and Small Ensuite Bathroom Ideas to Try
- Week Three: How to Choose Bathroom Tiles: A Step by Step Guide
- Week Four: Room Makeover DIY Ideas Before and Afters that are Amazing
- Week Five: The Best Bathroom Plants for No-low Light
- Week Six: An Updated Mood Board and the Realities of a Bathroom Reno
- Week Seven: One Room Challenge Bathroom Update
- Week Eight: A Grey and White Bathroom wtih Garden Accents
My husband and I have decided to renovate our small master ensuite bathroom and I am happy to report progress is finally being made even though we feel like we are living in E.T.’s earth house. (See pics at the bottom!) The plans were finalized and materials were shipped three weeks ago but like many of you probably know, working with a contractor’s schedule can be tricky. But it’s happening for week four and demolition is almost complete!!
I wanted to share past One Room Challenge DIY ideas with before and after pictures, since I don’t have any pretty pictures of the bathroom progress to show this week. Make sure to click on the links to see the full tutorials and sources. Let me know which one is your favorite!
DIY Faux German Smear Fireplace
This room makeover DIY is perfect for homeowners who struggle with decorating an outdated brick or stone fireplace by giving it a faux German smear makeover for under $10. This simple DIY uses one common household material and can be finished in an afternoon. It’s a beautiful alternative and cheaper than painting brick or stone.
Tile Backsplash around a Granite Countertop
I hate to waste good material. Even though I would have loved a new marble countertop I also feel a responsibility to work with what I have to leave a smaller footprint and save money. In fact, I have written articles about eco-friendly decorating and I believe if it is practical, work with what you have, and make it beautiful to your personal taste! So here we’ve kept the granite countertop and cabinets but had a black hexagon marble backsplash installed with white marble trim. A stunning way to update a builder-grade 4-inch backsplash!
Another cost-effective DIY, wallpaper only the vanity wall for the fraction of the cost of an entire room.
Bedroom Featured Wall Mural
Nothing makes an impact quite like wallpaper or a wall mural! You can completely transform a space just by accenting one wall. Watch for sale prices or use a coupon to save money on a favorite print. I waited months for my Anthropologie birthday coupon so I could snag this pretty one on a budget. Selecting a prepasted wall mural will make installation easier and can be a one-person job done in a day. Choose a neutral mural to go with anything or a bright and beautiful botanic if you favor white bedding and bedroom decor!
Faux Roman Shade in the Bathroom
You don’t need sewing skills to have custom soft textiles in your room makeover. Grab a piece of leftover fabric or designer fabric and iron fusing tape to create a faux roman shade with tension rods. Add an interesting detail with a small amount of fringe glued at the bottom. This is the perfect solution for windows that are hard to dress and don’t require privacy and a great way to hide blinds.
Paint an Accent Wall
Of course, wallpaper may not be your cup of tea. Painting an accent wall a bold color is an easy and inexpensive way to completely change the mood of a room. Another little detail that makes a big difference is painting white window trim black. It’s just like using eyeliner to make your eyes pop. A black paned window can be a total game changer! My grandmother’s portrait was my inspiration in selecting a dark green in our living room makeover.
Runner up tip: Add inexpensive wood trim a few inches below an existing crown moulding to create the illusion of expensive 6-inch moulding! It will make the room appear taller even with 8-foot ceilings as it brings the eye up to the small detail. The beauty of the small trim is it can be installed with glue and/or small finishing nails. No need for sanding or finding studs here.
A Renter-friendly Kitchen Cabinet Makeover
We were renters for years moving frequently with the military. The first One Room Challenge I participated in was in a rental house in Okinawa, Japan where I temporarily covered our ugly kitchen cabinets with removable wallpaper! Try this renter-friendly DIY with contact paper for a cheaper alternative or keep this dramatic makeover to the bathroom or laundry room with fewer rolls of paper. I included pictures of both options above. The before, cabinets were covered with contact paper from 100 yen store (Japanese dollar store), and my floral cabinets.
Bonus, you’ll probably be the only person you know that has patterned cabinets!
Foyer Makeover with a Stencil
Wanting to add a pattern to your walls but don’t have the budget for wallpaper or need a less permanent change? Transform the space with a wall stencil! Even a subtle pattern with a tone-on-tone color can make a big impact. I used an all-over pattern with pearl metallic paint on the gray walls when we moved in. It is so pretty when the light catches the pattern.
Another inexpensive DIY for the foyer is to paint the interior of your front door a favorite hue. The sample paint containers are ideal for this job!
Furniture Update with Paint and Removable Wallpaper
I can’t believe what a difference-making over a piece of furniture and trying a new spot in the room for it has! I took a family heirloom that had seen better days and gave it new life with paint and wallpaper. Read this article first if you are unsure if you should paint a family heirloom or not.
This cabinet needed to be reinforced so I had a piece of laminated presswood cut to fit the back and applied removable wallpaper to the smooth surface. I also left the feet the original stain to camouflage flaws. Check out how I was able to get a professional paint finish without having to sand this lovely piece!
Furniture placement tip: Look for a sliver of a wall that is roughly the same size as the furniture. Make to measure all possibilities, you’ll be amazed at what fits where! Anchoring the furniture on a section of wall as opposed to a big-blank wall will anchor it. The result is a well-thought-out-intentional design move and creates a wow factor. It’s like creating a large vignette!
DIY Custom No-Sew Window Treatments
I’ll say once again you don’t even need to own a sewing machine to create custom window treatments! You can do wonders with iron-on fusing/hemming tape and a hot glue gun. Create the perfect-sized window panels and hang with a faux pinch and pleat by gathering fabric and securing with a curtain ring hook at the top. Store-bought curtains are often too short or too long but here is an article on how to customize store-bought curtains and another that explains the faux pinch and pleat and no-sew hemming.
Window treatment tip: Add trim to the vertical edge of the panel to visually elongate the room and check out this post for more bedroom decorating ideas like hanging a gallery wall around a wall-mounted tv.
Other notable room makeover ideas
It’s been fun to revisit past One Room Challenge projects. Here are a few additional dramatic transformations that I want to add to this list. These three spaces are from another makeover challenge and do not disappoint!
Girls Bedroom with Chair Rail, Wallpaper, and Paint
Thinking a little outside the box can really up your design and home decor! I installed an art decor bird wallpaper instead of the traditional wainscotting or paint on the bottom half of the room in my daughter’s bedroom makeover. The chair rail is also not a traditional height. We used the window as a guide, removed the sill, and added the chair rail right under. I love the fun juxtaposition of the heavy-busy bottom half to the light upper walls.
Girl’s Mint No-Sand Dresser
Another fabulous DIY in our daughter’s boho vintage bedroom is updating her nursery dresser to fit into the room makeover. I used my favorite furniture paint and selected a color that closely matched the wallpaper background to create a tone-on-tone effect. If you have a room painted in a beautiful hue, painting a piece of furniture to match is sure to create a gorgeous impact! Tone-on-tone interiors remind me of old European homes and look well-curated and designed. It is one of my favorite decorating ideas.
Windowless Office Makeover
Probably the most dramatic before and after room makeover is a dark windowless room into a multi-functional office. With the help of a sun tunnel skylight, customizing off-the-shelf cabinets, and a few other DIYs like floating shelves, cove molding, and bird wallpaper; this room is a second den, guest room, workspace, and yoga studio. In other words, the ultimate she-shed. I really don’t like that term, but there it is. lol
Laundry Room Built ins
This laundry room makeover only took a weekend and used leftover materials but the end results were stunning. Check out this article to see how we created a built-in look for a top load washer and dryer and a French-country design with leftover wallpaper and paint.
One Room Challenge Week Four Update
And now for the “E.T.” pictures and the current state of the bathroom. Simply replacing the tile was asking for too much and we discovered inactive termite and water damage throughout so the entire bathroom has to be gutted and rebuilt first. It may even go into the flanking bedrooms and linen closet. UGH! I’m still hopeful that it will be done in time!
The to-do list:
Demo bathroom with the contractorCheck walls for damageand fix if necessary (Update, it’s necessary.)- Have contractor install floor tile
- Shower surround, floor, and niche
- Wainscotting tile
- Install new vanity
- Have contractor install faucets and trim
- Sand texture down on walls (Won’t need to as the drywall will be brand new!)
- Paint walls
- Paint the ceiling
- Paint the trim
- Style
- Clean up and paint salvaged door
- Have contractor install barn door kit
- Hang door
Thanks for stopping by! I hope these before and after room makeover DIY projects and room makeovers inspired you. Do you have a favorite?
