Spray-painted silver, these baskets look like boutique finds but were created in minutes.

Mask run-of-the-mill storage with a little trompe l'oeil magic. We transformed a boxy, unfinished dresser into a dressier rococo masterpiece by painting it and decoupaging the front with blown-up clip art.

A wooden flea-market cupboard makes a great towel cabinet, left. Use top of cabinet for extra storage. Keep your regular supply in the glass-fronted cabinet. Having all towels visible makes it easy to keep track of your inventory. Open shelves on the sides hold glass jars full of cotton balls and soaps.

Brass knobs and ivory paint streamline the bureau; drawer fronts covered in toile fabric look distinctive. Choose wooden drawers with easy-to-remove faces, such as those held together with nails or screws.

Silver leaf lends luster to the interior of an ordinary display cupboard; it is also an accent on the doors. The pale-green base color matches the walls for a built-in effect.

Simple, inexpensive embellishments like a paint treatment or upholstery tacks to a unfinished bureau or tag-sale cabinet can render spectacular results in any room.

Personalize a dresser in a child's room with playful, pointillist motifs made with upholstery nails.

These two flea-market cupboards looked nothing alike, yet it wasn't hard to turn them into a single piece that functions like an armoire.

This Swedish-style bureau is painted in colors inspired by the Gustavian period. A glaze was rubbed with steel wool to enhance the overall patina of the piece.

This retro-looking cabinet is perfect for a kitchen or storage area.

A vintage wooden cupboard provides handsome storage for gardening supplies. Perched on the front porch, it serves as a way station between house and garden.

Combine inexpensive, unfinished cubes to create a larger structure, and then treat it to a dose of style. Here, circular knobs, curvy feet, and two tones of sage-green paint evoke cool elegance.