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Before-and-after photos show how a woman transformed thrifted furniture into expensive-looking home decor

Before-and-after photos show how a woman transformed thrifted furniture into expensive-looking home decor

Rachel Askinasi

Keanna Hiebert transforms her thrifted finds into stunning home-decor pieces.Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

Keanna Hiebert thrifts furniture and styles it to look like new.
A recent video showing what she bought and how she styled it went viral on TikTok.

Keanna Hiebert has been thrifting items for her home for the past two years. She recently went viral on TikTok after she shared before-and-after clips of how she's styled some of the items she's found.

Hiebert thrifted her dining room chairs (left) and a storage unit (right). Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

After doing her first thrift-store transformation project, 26-year-old Keanna Hiebert, who works in corporate advertising, said she was "hooked."

On February 12, Hiebert posted a video on TikTok showcasing some of her pieces. The video had 7.7 million views at the time of writing.

Hiebert told Insider she only buys things that she and her boyfriend need for their home, and that it helps to go into thrifting and styling with an idea of what you want.

"I use Pinterest a lot, or art magazines or interior-design magazines I love looking at," she told Insider on how she gets inspired. "I just try different things"

But not every styling job is as easy as picking things to put on a shelf. Hiebert said she is careful to stick to what she loves and makes sure it's her personality coming through each piece, not someone else's.

For others looking to follow suit, she recommends drawing inspiration from accounts or publications that showcase styles you feel drawn to, and then searching for specific keywords when looking on a forum like Facebook Marketplace. For example, if you're looking for a mid-century modern piece, make sure you use those indicators.

Most importantly, though, Hiebert says to keep it authentic to you.

"I'd say try to find your own personality in it," she said. "Having your own personality in your house is really cool and will help make it not look like someone else's."

The very first piece Hiebert said she thrifted was this 1950s-era TV.

A thrifted TV before being styled. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

After seeing converted old televisions on Pinterest, she went searching in thrifting groups and on Facebook Marketplace for one of her own.

Hiebert found this one for $120 two years ago, making it her very first restoration project.

Now, she uses it as a display console in her living room.

The same TV after being renovated and styled into a shelf. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

Hiebert said that this cost her around $20 to turn it into the dream display case it is today.

She watched YouTube videos and had her dad, who she said is familiar with electronics and technology, help remove anything that could be an electrical danger from inside the TV.

Hiebert said that she used wood panels, which she painted pink, to restructure the inside, and then had to use glue to put the knobs and buttons back where they belonged.

Now, she uses it to show off some books, an old camera, houseplants, and her record player. She told Insider that this was one of her favorite transformations.

Hiebert found this shelving unit on Facebook Marketplace, and she said it didn't require any refurbishing.

This is what the unit looked like before being styled. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

Hiebert said this unit cost her around $125, but she didn't have to spend anything on getting it ready for her own home.

She styled the shelving unit with books, art, and more plants.

The same shelving unit after she styled it in her living room. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

When it comes to styling pieces like this one, Hiebert says it's important to stick with your own personal taste rather than trying to make it look exactly like what you saw in a magazine or online.

She played with vertical and horizontal lines, as well as some pops of colors.

Hiebert also used another thrifted item, the yellow-and-brown chair, to style this corner of the room, making it a cozy nook.

She was in need of storage, so Hiebert decided to make use of these lockers.

Lockers before Hiebert painted and styled them. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

She purchased this three-locker unit on Marketplace for around $100 after seeing some people on Pinterest use lockers for storage in their homes.

Now, they match the art and pillows near her entryway.

The lockers are near her doorway and match other pieces around them. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

In order to make use of these, Hiebert said she first had to apply a coat of metal paint, which she already had from painting a door in her home. She then was able to get sample sizes of the yellow, orange, and pink paints for $5 each and gave the unit a color scheme that matched her own aesthetic.

Hiebert said she tried to match the colors with her house rather than mimicking what she saw online, which she said "were all kind of farmhouse-style."

Hiebert picked up these chairs, which she said just needed a few hours of work.

A set of dining chairs before Hiebert re-did them. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

She paid $10 each for this seating that she also found on Marketplace.

Going into the purchase, Hiebert knew she would have to reupholster the seats and treat the wood to make them pop.

She added a pop of color to her dining room by adding yellow seats.

Now, the chairs sit around her dining room table. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

She sanded, stained, and reupholstered these chairs, transforming them into the ones placed around her matching wood dining table. The biggest change she made here was swapping the white seats for yellow.

While the fabric for the seats cost her between $50 and $60, she said the stain, which she was able to use for another piece later on, only cost her $10.

Hiebert bought these two dressers from the same seller.

This pair of dressers came painted blue, but Hiebert stripped them down to the wood. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

For $20 each, Hiebert bought a pair of matching dressers off of Marketplace.

They came already painted and she had to figure out how to remove it while keeping the wood intact. Hiebert ultimately was able to remove the blue with heat guns and then sanded and stained the wood. She showed off her method in a TikTok video.

The plants she used accentuate the natural feel of both of these pieces.

Matching dressers after she renovated and styled them. Courtesy of Keanna Hiebert

After staining both dressers and repainting the drawers on the wider of the two, Hiebert styled both by adding potted plants and art.

She also bought the drawer handles separately and added those herself.

One dresser is used as more of a console in the home's living and dining room space while the other holds art supplies in her home office.