Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru
Decorating your home can be an expensive proposition, no doubt about it.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need it, or maybe you’re just getting tired of the same old, same old. So let’s explore a few things you can do yourself that don’t require a degree in architecture or engineering to spruce up the homestead.
Here are our top ten DIY home decor tips.
10. Murals
Great for the kid’s rooms, these are easy and sometimes even fun ways to doctor up a room without expensive furnishings and wholesale changes. There are a number of mural painting outlines and patterns you can buy, or even make yourself to ensure the design turns out just right. Murals can either be painted on the wall (which makes them semi-permanent) or applied from stick-on designs for the art challenges among us.
9. Move the Furniture
Other than a bad back and the distinct possibility of torn muscles, this one doesn’t cost a thing. I know many of you already do this on occasion so you know the impact a simple shift in furniture can have. If you haven’t tried this simple trick, go ahead and give it a shot. But if it’s been a while, you may need some carpet cleaning supplies. Yeah, you thought you kept the carpet clean, and then you move some furniture around and realize, uh oh.
8. Window Coverings
The long, white plastic slats in the window are practical sure, but a bit pedestrian for the design conscience. They’ll keep prying eyes from your home’s interior but leave a bit to be desired appearance-wise. Conversely, the window treatments can change your entire living or dining room from fun and functional to elegant in a flash.
7. Crown Molding
Few things are as elegant as crown molding. Whether you opt for adding it to the top of your wall or floorboards, this is a great DIY home decor project. Now, it can be a bit difficult cutting the ends at just the right angle for the perfect fit. Thankfully, most home improvement stores will do that kind of thing for you. Now, you just need to decide between staining or painting.
6. Museum reproductions
It would be great to have a collection of artifacts gathered from trips around the world, or a selection of fine antiques to use as home accents. But the truth is, most of us haven’t been fortunate enough to do our shopping in tiny African villages or European capitals. But fear not! You can get the look of exotic travels or priceless collections by shopping for home decor in museum catalogs. Their reproductions look almost as good as the real thing, but for a fraction of the cost of real artifacts. It’s up to you to decide if you’ll share your secret — or let them think you’ve shopped the world.
5. Wainscoting
I can’t even tell you what it is about wainscoting that I love so much. Obviously, it alters the appearance of a room dramatically, and it’s not difficult to put up either. I think it’s the nautical feel it evokes, or maybe the instant sense of comfort that comes when you walk into a room that utilizes wainscoting. Whatever the magic; it works, it’s easy and it looks fantastic.
4. Marble Tiles – real or faux
Perfect for the bathroom, but will work in the laundry, entry, or kitchen areas just as well. To be clear I’m not cheap, just (overly) cost-conscious. So if it’s possible to complete a DIY home decor project and save money, I’m all over that. If you can swing the expense of marble tiles for your new floor, by all means. But if not, or just don’t want to, today’s faux marble will give visitors the illusion they’ve entered a small palace. Marble has that effect on people, and it will certainly turn the look of your home upside down; in a good way of course.
3. Stucco Fireplace
Whoa. You’ve got to be some kind of master stonemason to pull this one-off, right? I mean, this can’t be for the average DIY home decorating Joe, it’s way too cool. Actually, it’s almost embarrassingly easy to transform your old dingy fireplace into a Southwestern-inspired beauty. Step 1) apply a bonding agent. Step 2) buy, or mix your own if you’re so inclined, stucco mix. Step 3) apply stucco. Step 4) change your wardrobe to nothing but brightly colored, Native American-themed clothing to match your new home interior. Add a new fireplace set, and your work is done!
2. Tile Tattoos
Tats are all the rage, as we well know. Try watching a basketball game; you can count on one hand the number of hoopers that don’t have a tattoo. Well, tats have now moved to the world of DIY home decorating. Check out these tile tattoos; as simple as peel and stick. What a great idea to spruce up your bathroom or kitchen, all in a matter of minutes. Or paint your own with glass and tile paints and simple stencils. There is a myriad of colors and patterns so whichever way your design tastes lean, you’re probably covered.
1. Painting
Yeah, seems kind of blah compared to some of the DIY home decorating tips on our list. But there’s rhyme to my reason, I swear. Here’s the thing; other than time-consuming and requiring some busy work; taping, moving furniture, and the like, painting is about as easy a DIY project there is. And the results are absolutely incredible. Very few things can transform the entire look and feel of a room or entire home than new, perfectly balanced colors. Old, drab-looking rooms suddenly become new and vibrant all from a simple coat of paint.