Changing something in your room or home can instantly boost your mood. There’s the seven micro change rule in feng shui, for example: adjust seven items in your room to restore balance and energy flow. But major home renovations have an even greater effect. In fact, 55% of people who remodel their homes say they feel a major sense of accomplishment afterward.

It’s also fun to look at strangers’ home makeovers, even if you had nothing to do with it — there’s just something visually pleasing about a good before-and-after photo. Bored Panda has scoured the internet to find you a new selection of home renovation pics that might even inspire you to take up that hammer, open that can of spackle, and get your hands dirty to transform a space in your own home.

#1 Volunteer Work I Did For An Elderly Neighbor Who Needed A Wheelchair Ramp

#2 Attic Renovation Start To Finish

#3 Gut Renovations , 100 Years Old House

As with almost anything in life, there are trends and cycles in home and interior design. Millennial gray may have dominated interior design magazines over the last 10 years or so, but the tide has shifted in favor of color since then. Kitchens and bathrooms are the rooms homeowners renovate and redecorate the most, so the trends are most apparent there.

Kitchen designers report that people want these spaces to have some color. The most popular color for kitchens is green, as 86% of respondents in a kitchen and bathroom association, NKBA, survey said they would prefer it over others. Blue tones (78%) and browns (67%) are the subsequent choice, but whites and greys still make it to the top five.

#4 House Renovation

#5 Not To Everyone’s Taste But Very Proud 100% DIY

#6 I Work For A Children’s Television Show And We Recently Renovated A Kid’s Room In Six Hours. He’s Had Rough Couple Of Years And Is A Huge Harry Potter Fan

Kitchen backsplash is where many homeowners are advised to have fun. It doesn’t have to be just functional and practical — it can be the focal point of the room. Senior economist at Houzz, Marine Sargsyan, told Forbes that kitchen islands, larger kitchens, and extended backsplashes are all the rage now.

According to The Houzz 2025 Kitchen Trends report, 67% of homeowners are covering their walls with backsplash up to the ceiling. People don’t shy away from borrowing space from other rooms, like dining rooms and living rooms, to make their kitchens bigger. 18% even go so far as to build an addition to the home to make their kitchen bigger.

#7 Renovating My Late Fathers Home

#8 Renovating Our Guest Room Into A Nursery (Before / After Photos)

#9 Before And After Renovation

Regarding backsplash, traditional styles are making a comeback. Homeowners are choosing tried-and-tested tile shapes and patterns for their kitchen walls, with 68% opting for traditional rectangular tiles. Ceramic tiles remain the most popular, but kitchen designers invite people to try out other styles as well.

Although ceramic is the classic choice, these can breathe some life into your kitchen, too:

Subway tiles
Brick tiles
Natural stone
Marble
Colored grout
Metallic and pearlescent finish

#10 Cleaning My Grandad House After He Passed Away

When I Was 6, I Used To Put My Playmobil Characters To Bed In Kleenex Tissues. I Am Now 30 And I Discovered He Kept Them Asleep In A Drawer All This Time.

#11 DIY Remodel Of The Lakehouse My Grandfather Built. More Comfy Than Ever

#12 Kitchen Renovation – Grey To Green

Let’s say you get inspired by this list to transform one of your rooms: how long is it going to take? Experts say that the planning phase often lasts longer than the physical work. According to the 2026 Houzz & Home Study, homeowners spend an average of 9.5 months on their kitchen renovation and about 5.8 months doing actual construction. Many renovation projects get thwarted by unexpected finds. A whopping 51% of homeowners say they end up spending way more money than they expected before buying the house.

#13 I Wanted To Share My Before And After Door Design

#14 How’d We Do? Master Bath/Closet

#15 Wife And I Refreshed Our Half Bath In The New Home We Bought

Due to financial and time constraints, some folks are opting for micro-renovations. For some, big, months-long projects are not possible, so folks decide to take 1 to 3 days to give their homes a makeover with cosmetic improvements, like paint jobs, re-grouting and finishing, replacing cabinet handles and hinges, or adding wall-mounted storage.

#16 Aw The Vision And Made It Happen

#17 One Year Ago I Convinced My Partner I Could Renovate A 60yo House Abandoned For The Last 20 Years

One year ago i managed to convince my partner we should buy a house and i would restore it myself. Needed new full eletrical and plumbing installations. A load bearing wall to come off and so much more. Mind you I had never touched a construction tool. I’m a filmmaker. Had absolutely none of the skills necessary and a mental health condition that makes me prone to abandon projects. This week i’m finishing the bathroom (last pictures). After this, the house will be fully usable. I am so tired of showering with cold water, outside with a garden hose. Next i will do the kitchen. Other than having a cousin help lifting a concrete beam and my mom and partner help moving debree, i did everything by myself. I am normally very not proud of myself, but currently i am a bit. Just hope i have the mental strength to finish it. I cannot believe my partner went along.

#18 Insane Home Transformation In Record Speed

Research actually shows that micro-renovations result in higher house value in the long run. When doing large renovations, homeowners get back about 60% of the cost in resale value, while micro-renovations recoup an average of 83%. So, don’t hesitate to pick up that paint and brush and breathe new life into your kitchen or bathroom cabinets!

#19 Secret Bookshelf Door. Wife Wanted A Bookshelf, But We Still Needed To Get To The Water Shut-Off

#20 Brought Some Life Back Into This House – Before/After Pics!

#21 Manhattan Charm, Now With A Fresh Twist. Every Inch Was Worth The Effort

Which transformation from this list was your favorite, Pandas? Let us know which room you would gladly include in your dream home. If you’re in the process of planning a renovation, be sure to check out these red flags home professionals noticed in people’s homes, and home decorating ideas so good people just had to share!

#22 Such Style And Elegance In This Beautiful Renovation

#23 Absolutely Gorgeous, Colors Make Every Renovation Look Better

#24 Two Years After My Divorce And I Can Proudly Say The House Is Finally Looking Like Myself Again

#25 Accidentally Knocked Down A Nice Old Lady’s Wall, Thankfully Good Friend And I Rebuilt It The Next Day

#26 I Renovated An Abandoned House In Catalunya – My First DIY Renovation Project! Happy To Answer Questions

In 2019 I bought this 200+ year-old house that had not been lived in for over 20 years. It took 12 months of full-time effort (14 months including a break in winter). and I estimate it took about 3500 – 4000hours to build the house in total. Total project cost – around £140,000.

As I had not done any house building work before this involved me learning how to do plumbing, electrics, welding, structural work, roof building, bathroom and kitchen installation, wood flooring, furniture making, tiling, heat recovery, and solar installation and so so much more. It was quite a journey, hard work at times but now I have a house, so totally worth it.

I think by doing it DIY it saved me abot €80k to €100k in costs and probably was able to do it 2 years faster (especially as the pandemic would have stopped most contractors working for some months in Spain). The pain of doing it myself was probably the better option compared to 2-3 years of stress paying other people to do the work.

I have provided a load of before and after images below. I put a video up of the build to give much more detail than I can with images about the house and the eco-systems I installed. You can see the full details on my YT Channel (search for Nate Murphy).