When you’ve got your own place, it’s only natural to want to put your personal stamp on it. Then you look at the cost of decorating , get discouraged, and put it off.
Don’t give up! Pick up that toolbox and head to the hardware store. Adding some flair to your living areas isn’t always as costly as you might think.
1. Sometimes many small things are cheaper than one big thing.
Redditor KyZar0 and his girlfriend wanted a ginormous mirror. Thing is, big mirrors don’t come cheap. Rather than forking out, they found some smaller mirrors on sale and mounted them on the wall to achieve basically the same effect.
2. Want to mat? Try a map!
Road maps are visually interesting, inexpensive reminders of trips past. Allison of Dream a Little Bigger came up with this out-of-the-box idea for using maps to mat vacation photos. Something like this is sure to add some visual flourish to a wall.
3. Jazz up your walls with brushstrokes.
To make a wall stand out, you can paint it and make it a statement wall, you can apply wallpaper or go for something else entirely. This DIY from Amy of Delineate Your Dwelling uses hand-painted brushstrokes to create a truly original design.
4. DIY a sconce.
Wall sconces add some character and ambient lighting to a room but finding a sconce that fits your style and your budget can be a challenge. The Sorry Girls came up with this DIY sconce. All you need is some wood, string lights, and standard tools.
5. Accent art doesn’t need to be expensive (or heavy).
Those simple fabric-and-wood art pieces found in many decor stores can be DIY’d for a fraction of the price. This solution from Redditor Omgshinyobject utilizes styrofoam instead of wood, meaning it’s not just inexpensive to create, but also super lightweight to mount.
6. Fill awkward space with a console table.
Narrow tables work well to balance out a room and provide tabletop space with a limited footprint. This DIY from The Crazy Craft Lady utilizes a simple to build console table, stained an elegant white to match the surrounding decor.
7. Add a little pizzazz to lampshades.
Those big, cylindrical lampshades tend to reveal a lot of the inside of the shade. Usually, this is a basic white color, but you can jazz it up to inject some color into your space. Better yet, coat it with glitter — as demonstrated by Reddit’s Omgshinyobject — for some fun reflections.
8. If you love coffee, show it off.
This DIY coffee bar from YouTube’s Kristen McGowan looks awesome. It’s functional and creates tons of visual interest. Using a floating shelf as a base, it utilizes practical coffee accessories and strategically placed decorations like plants and wall art.
9. Make a statement with vignettes.
Vignettes are a great way to add your personal stamp to empty areas like end tables. These little collections of knick-knacks draw the eye and make a house feel like a home. Suburban Simplicity shows just how good a simple vignette piece can look.
10. Transform a busted table into a bougie table.
This fashionable-looking table began as an ugly plank of wood. But YouTuber Nava Rose completely transformed it into an eye-catching faux concrete kintsugi table, giving the wood a weathered, industrial appearance and adding copper legs.
11. Eye-catching and functional at the same time.
These DIY lacquer style boxes from Crafts Unleashed combine form with function in a super creative way. By painting the cylindrical boxes in your choice of color, you can add a fun visual flourish to any space. As a bonus, they’re great for storage too!
12. Change pillowcases on a whim.
If you like to mix things up, try this one from YouTuber Hermione Chantal . She demonstrates how to neatly fold a sweater around a pillow and pin it into place. It won’t damage your sweater or your pillow, and it allows for all kinds of creativity.
13. Give small bathrooms added depth.
It can be hard to know how to jazz up the little half bathrooms found in many houses. Redditor smashley2142 came up with this stunning solution which required only a mirror, skewers, spray paint, and some contact paper. Brilliant!
