today’s final before & after belongs to photographer ashley campbell of ashley ann photography. ashley turned this basic wood pallet into a dreamy, colorful daybed for her soon-to-arrive daughter’s nursery. talk about turning raw materials into something beautiful- and i love that sideways door as a headboard. great work ashley!

*ps: tomorrow is a holiday for many of you, but we’ll be posting on d*s as always. we’re going to post an abbreviated schedule, but stick around for a new weeder’s digest column, a new recipe, a new guest blog post from alissa and ryan and a week’s wrap up.

[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images]

i’ve got a bit of an obsession with stripes. ac had to practically pry my favorite striped sweater out of my hands when it got too shrunken and faded to wear, and i seriously squealed when i saw the colorful stripes in bonnie’s stereo cabinet. so you can imagine my delight when i saw this bench makeover from diana van helvoort in munich. diana found this german 50’s style kitchen bench after the nuns from the kindergarten next door to her house left it outside to be recycled. luckily diana moved more quickly than the recycling truck and convinced her husband that dragging “this brownish thing” home through the rain was a good idea.

diana discovered that the inside was actually made of a lovely scented cedar wood so she stripped the brown coating off and updated with with a fresh coat of white paint and seriously happy-looking colored stripe fabric. and the best part? the bench has built in storage under the seat so now diana’s children have a moth-proof place to store their winter bed linens. great work, diana!

CLICK HERE for jessica’s facade entryway before & after, after the jump!

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i’ve always wanted to find a good stereo cabinet we could use for ac’s old albums and record player, but haven’t found one that was in good-enough shape to take home yet. but this project from bonnie van voorst is great inspiration to try upgrading something that’s in less than perfect condition. bonnie’s husband bought her this old stereo cabinet from a neighbor’s garage sale for $15. it was badly scratched and stained (the previous owner had been using it as a sawhorse!) but after 4 days of sanding, painting and upholstery bonnie updated this yardsale find to create a colorful piece of furniture that is the first thing guests see when they enter her home. great work, bonnie!

(click here to check out bonnie’s previous stool makeover).

CLICK HERE to see megan’s nursery makeover after the jump!

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i love this creative before & after re-use project from designer martina ahlbrandt. martina’s husband found three of these black office chairs in a dumpster and decided that they had potential. so with only some silver spray paint and a few 1×4 boards, martina and her husband turned them into an outdoor bench! i don’t think i ever could have imagined something so cute from a few sad office chairs- great work guys!

CLICK HERE for kelly’s dining room makeover after the jump!

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our first before & after post of the day is all about 2 great kitchens. first up is lisa fontaine of picnic. she recently remodeled her berekely, ca kitchen and bathroom with dramatic results. i am loving the tile in both rooms and the clean modern look she’s got now. and all that light in both spaces? i’m so jealous…great work, lisa!

lisa’s bathroom:

CLICK HERE for the second beautiful kitchen before & after after the jump!

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today’s final before & after belongs to barb blair of knack studios. we’ve seen barb’s handiwork with furniture many, many times on d*s (as well as her beautiful home!) but today we’re getting to see her design services in full effect.

barb recently made over a client’s room (along with co-designer teresa roche) to create a modern nursery. i absolutely love this darker spin on a nursery- it’s clearly not for everyone, but then again, not everyone loves pink and flowers. the details in the room like the squirrel pillows (designed by barb and her husband), handmade wire light fixtures, owl lamp (designed by teresa) and the incredible mobile (made by royal buffet, i love the little crowns on the animals) make this a truly unique space. thanks so much to barb for sharing!

[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your pictures!]

there’s something about the combination of grey and pink that i just love so when i saw this submission from d*s reader amy, i couldn’t resist. amy found this chair for $10 at the last chance thrift store in decatur, georgia and decided to restore it on her own. she scored some great fabric for $3 at her local fabric store, some coral paint from home depot and upholstery tacks and screws to finish things up. since the existing straw seat was spent, she created a new bottom with plywood (painted sea blue) and glued on the upholstery tacks to add some texture. with the fabric she created a pillow to use as seat padding and voila! a new chair for just under $30. great job, amy!

[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your pictures!]