Wow Home Idea

Eric Piasecki 1. Overfill your throw pillows. There's something so luxurious about plush, overfilled throw pillows, which go a long way in transforming your bedroom from "everyday" to a bonafide retreat. 2. Add a hanging light fixture. The boob lights have got to go. Replace them with a statement-making hanging light or a glamorous chandelier. No need to spend too much money — this West Elm Capiz Round Pendant light adds drama and romance for less than $$$. 3. Rethink your nightstand. If you're anything like us, your nightstand is a hodgepodge of essential items: Hand creams, charging cords, half-full glasses of water, quarter-finished novels. Hide some things away in a drawer; display small items in a beautiful tray. 4. Focus on the statement pieces. A dark wood bed frame, a gorgeous gilded dresser, a velvet arm chair — each bedroom has its own centerpiece, but make sure it's the room's focus. Don't clutter the room, instead letting each piece stand...

Will Scott This is one beautiful and seriously smart barn! Dubbed the "Ancient Party Barn," this stunning barn conversion was designed by London-based architecture studio Liddicoat & Goldhill, which won a prestigious 2015 RIBA South East regional award for its work. The project began with a cluster of beat-up agricultural buildings located near Folkestone in Kent, England that were begging for a second chance. Fragments of the 18th century barns — including a threshing barn, a dairy barn, and stables — were combined and transfixed with exposed industrial-scale kinetic mechanisms to make a new eco-friendly home. Some of the coolest features? An aircraft-hanger door that lifts up to create a canopy for an outdoor dining area and barn door-inspired shutters that insulate a rotating window operated by an adapted chain-lift. Clad with energy-efficient features, including a ground-source heat pump and low-energy LEDs in reclaimed light fixtures, the home now offers gorgeou...

Primitive and Proper When faced with an old, chipped piece of wooden furniture, sanding it down and staining it isn't your only option. Just ask blogger Cassie from Primitive and Proper, who found this ratty old campaign nightstand and its matching desk. For a whole new look, she opted for a bold color. A vivid emerald green milk paint from General Finishes and a satin top coat — along with a quick buff on the metallic hardware — make this nightstand shine. Primitive and Proper More from House Beautiful: • This Furniture Makeover Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity • 11 Times Old Furniture Gained New Life • 7 Bar Carts That Gained Serious Style By Jamie Wiebe

When Monica Mangin, the designer and blogger behind East Coast Creative, was challenged to a 24-hour makeover (as part of a partnership with Lowe's) she accepted and went all in — even though it was a sweltering 100 degree day. But she knew the homeowners, Betty and Edgar, had a baby on the way, and after recently purchasing their Los Angeles-based home, they needed help prepping it for their future daughter. She wanted to transform the dated room into a cozy oasis for their daughter to sleep, so the first order of business she set out to conquer (after waking up at 4:30 a.m.) was the paint colors. The warm cream and salmon walls had to go (they made the wooden floors look pink). And the small scale of the space needed a neutral palette focused on textures to help make the room feel open and breezy.   Take a look at the before: Tessa Neustadt Out went the warm shades and in came cool colors (l...

Imgur/ChristineHMcConnell One Los Angeles photographer and artist has gone above and beyond to create a chilling haunted house masterpiece out of her parents' historic home.  Christine McConnell transformed the picture-perfect 1900s home into a spectacularly spooky monster house, complete with eight bulging green eyes and jagged yellow teeth.  Imgur/ChristineHMcConnell Although the project was time-intensive, it wasn't as expensive as you might think. McConnell told BuzzFeed that the materials for her haunted house cost about $$$. With the amount of attention she's getting for her work of art, it's certainly paid off.  "When I was photographing myself on the porch, people driving by were stopping and also taking pictures; it was pretty funny," she told BuzzFeed. "Also, tons of parents with their kids kept wanting to take pictures of themselves against the house." As for where she draws her inspiration, she looks to de...

Amanda Forrest Decorating a rental is an exercise in creativity. You have to get around what your lease dictates and think in the short-term. No wonder many of us stay away from paint, even when landlords are liberal about it!  However, this project by Canadian designer Amanda Forrest (which also happened to be her own rental) might change your mind and inspire you to pick up a roller. Though this particular home, at 2,500-square-feet, is much larger than your typical rental, there are plenty of takeaways from the dramatic design. Namely, that bold paint in the living room. Forrest used an inky hue to create a feature wall, which gives the space a cozy feel. It's a color that most homeowners — let alone renters — would shy away from. "For me, black is a bold neutral," Forrest says. "It creates drama in any space and adds a luxury feel to rooms with not much architectural flair. I feel the same about a deep navy blue." Forrest...

"This space has to wear so many hats. It's a place for me to blog but also has to function as a small photography studio," says Simple Stylings blogger, Summer. "We needed space for little man to do his homework as well as office supply and craft storage." "This modern space is way outside my design comfort zone but I really enjoyed putting it together! I incorporated some coastal elements by adding twine to the basket pendant, the oversized woven basket on my desk and paint dipped baskets on the bookshelves. The accessories, like the shell bowl, starfish, octopus print and large coral, also add a coastal touch." "This is my desk area. I built the pallet desk myself and added fabric to the bulletin board." "The gallery wall is filled with little personal treasures of our family." Find more project details on Simple Stylings. More From ElleDecor.com: • Louise Roe's Study Gets an Elegant Makeover • A Manhattan Apartment Goes...

Squirrelly Minds The kitchen is the heart of the home, but it can feel more like a headache if the space is cramped, outdated — or both. Usually, if you don't have the money for a full renovation, you have to adapt to the limitations. (We could write a book on the many ways to lead a full life despite not having any counter space.) Not so for Tan of the blog Squirrelly Minds. She transformed her kitchen for less than the cost of refrigerator. Heck, the project was less than many people's monthly grocery bills. In this case, removing a few cabinet doors did wonders to make the kitchen feel more open. (This also created display space for her adorable dishware collection.) Another feature that immediately went into '80s kitchen decor heaven was the over-the-sink light fixtures. But what really got us talking was the way she crafted her own cabinet pulls from copper piping. She even coordinated the old hinges to the new hardware with the help of a copper leafing pen, which i...

Chris Humphreys If you're looking for a truly glorious countryside escape, this is it: Once a vacant chapel, the place was given a second life by the architect firm Evolution Design. Now, its a historic home with beautiful modern decor and luxuries. It's located in the idyllic countryside of Forest-in-Teesdale, England (there's even a pasture full of cows out back!) and can be rented for $$$ per night. Can you even imagine what it must look like in the winter right after a snowfall? The designers aimed to restore the Gothic building without altering the historic details. So the team settled on a mezzanine floor in the living space to let the structure's architecture shine. Arched windows frame the country views and allow natural light to seep in, making the space bright and open. Meanwhile, the roof trusses were kept a natural fini...

SFARMLS If you found yourself rounding the corner of Ord and 17th in San Francisco in 2012, you might not have noticed this unique art deco home at all. It was, well, gray. And such a limp shade of gray that the place could blend into the sky on a foggy day. But today — well, today's a much brighter story. Three years ago, the home got a new owner who painted the exterior a shocking purple hue (complete with turquoise and magenta accents). Basically, you c annot miss it — even in a city with homes known for colorful curb appeal: SFARMLS According to Curbed, the home was once under consideration to be a historic resource for the city, back when it was painted yellow (there's just something about this place and paint, we guess). The surveyors deemed it "unfortunate" then — and we're not sure vibrant violet was the alternative they were looking for. The home's interior also underwent many changes since 2...