budget diy decorating ideas
The prospect of furnishing a college dorm room can result in a lengthy shopping list. Nix the stressful spending as you prepare for a new semester, and instead try some fun DIY projects. These bloggers’ DIY décor ideas offer inspiration for ways to turn household items into inexpensive, one-of-a-kind accent pieces. But first, a few tips to remember for dorm prep: If you’re against downsizing your personal shoe collection to suit dorm life, then Creature Comforts’ Simple DIY Shoe Storage is perfect for keeping your heels from getting tangled up, and you will never waste time trying to find the right pair for the day. These pretty boxes will also save closet space because they will look decorative and neat stacked under your bed or on an exposed shelf. You can use old shoeboxes and neglected wrapping paper, scrapbook sheets, or even old magazines and newspapers to get this effect. DIY Wood Hanger Necklace Holder Clothing hangers somehow seem to accumulate through the years.
Turn one hanger into a jewelry rack with Dwell Beautiful’s DIY Wood Hanger Necklace Holder tutorial. Display your statement necklaces for an aesthetic appeal and keep your jewelry organized. It’s easy to keep this piece ligt enough to hang on a wall, so a small dorm-friendly Command hook would do the trick. Whether you already have an old clock at home or you can find an inexpensive, plain clock at the store, you won’t need to spend a lot of money on finding something cute with this DIY Wrapping Paper Clock courtesy of Henry Happened. Since it’s especially easy to customize, this decorative piece can be made to fit any style and color scheme. Pretty Painted Wall Art DIY Never underestimate the power of a simple painted canvas. Once you have some blank canvases and paint, you can create as many works of art as you wish to quickly brighten up your dorm room walls. Use two Command hooks to place the corners of the canvas on, and you should have no problem hanging your paintings.
A Side of Sweet provides a creative idea for Pretty Painted Wall Art. Add some personal style to your dorm room with a bold print of your favorite designs. Patchwork Cactus’ DIY Stamped Fabric tutorial requires few supplies and can be customized depending on your favorite shapes and colors. Try stamping a plain pillowcase you already own to spruce up your bedding for almost no cost. Display your favorite quotes and photos on your desktop or dresser with Passion Shake’s DIY Geometric Picture Holders. If you have blocks of wood and clothespins at home, then this craft is much cheaper and more fun than buying overpriced picture frames. The clothespins make it extra easy to swap out pictures too! This surprisingly easy Pendant Tassle Light from A Subtle Revelry uses poster board to create a boutique style lamp. This project may require some creativity as far as how to assemble it in a dorm room with the school’s regulations, but the design could still be used as a lightweight decorative hanging—imagine one of these suspended underneath a lofted bunk bed or hanging from a tiled ceiling.
Make a statement—and enjoy a few pieces of home—with this DIY Inspiration + Mood Board from Jillianastasia to combine all of your favorite keepsakes and pictures on an old frame.
living room decorating ideas gold Gather up some Ping-Pong balls for this much-needed dorm accessory.
beach room decor ideasHanging lights will make your dorm cozy so you don’t have to resort to overhead fluorescent lighting all the time. This DIY Ping-Pong Lighting Tutorial from Heart Handmade UK is a creative way to upgrade a string of classic twinkle lights. Look to the kitchen for tabletop accessory inspiration. In general, mason jars and mugs are often wonderful pieces for displaying flowers or keeping pens and pencils. Here, The Lovely Drawer shows how to make DIY Japanese Printed Bowls for storing jewelry in a stylish way.
Turn a basic cushion or pillowcase into a pretty, one-of-a-kind piece with this classic pattern. The DIY Polka Dot Cushion from Rock My Style can be completed in a few simple steps with just a cork, fabric paint and cushion cover. Use this item on your bed or as an extra place to sit on the floor. Summer Coffee Table Tray DIY My Fabuless Life’s Summer Coffee Table Tray DIY transforms a table surface into a sophisticated, expensive-looking space. By using tools found around the house, this tray will make your room feel more like an upscale apartment than a college dorm—without breaking the bank. You Might Also Like… 7 DIY Decor Ideas for Summer Decorating, 7 DIY Projects to Revamp Your Wardrobe Affording College, Living & SpendingDo you want to know why every Pinterest wedding (aka fake wedding shoot) is super tiny and only has ten people at it? Because decorating a small space is easy. And more importantly: decorating a small space costs significantly less than decorating a big space with the same amount of stuff.
It’s never your friend.) So if your wedding plans involve a big empty space (think social hall, rec room), it’s understandable if the prospect of decorating might be… daunting. Big empty spaces come with their own set of challenges: tiny details are liable to get swallowed up, but trying to tackle the question of scale without destroying your budget is hard. Which is why the answer for big empty spaces is often less about how you fill it, and more about how much you can fill it. Aka buying inexpensive decor in bulk. Think: paper streamers, honeycomb decorations, balloons, and anything else you can buy large quantities of, fill lots of space with, and not spend a million dollars on. But how do you do that without making your wedding look like a children’s birthday party? The answer is: it’s all in the execution. So when our friends at Oh Happy Day launched their brand new party shop this month, we were pretty excited. While the online shop features some things you’ve probably seen before (honeycomb decorations, streamers, balloons), this #lazygirl is very into the idea of having it all in one place, curated by someone with a designer’s aesthetic, so I can give my Googling a rest.
We thought we’d use the launch of their shop as an excuse to show you a bunch of different ideas for decorating big empty spaces with lots of cheap (cute) decor. Because with a cool idea, bulk decorations in a big empty space can actually look way more stylish than the intricate details you see on those fake weddings on Pinterest. Just… don’t tell Pinterest I said that. To Make: A cool oversized ceremony backdrop. Bonus: this design is scalable, so make it as huge as you want for a really oversized backdrop. To Make: Have a space with really tall ceilings? Use giant balloons to make floating centerpieces that pack a lot of punch. Or: If you don’t want to bother with helium (more on that below), stick big balloons to a wall for a big ass ceremony backdrop. To Make: A photo booth backdrop (or to highlight any other part of your reception.) To Make: You don’t need to go for broke to make a cool backdrop or statement wall. Some strategically placed washi tape will suffice.
Use: Bright Balloons (6 for $6) To Make: Sometimes you just gotta FILL the space. Colorful balloons are a cheap and effective way to do just that (and I think these dip-dyed ones would look super cool.) To Make: Honeycomb balls look great hanging from a ceiling or a tree, but you can use them pretty much anywhere, including as ad hoc wall decor. Or: Use smaller honeycomb balls for an easy centerpiece. To Make: Floating table numbers. Makes your table easy to find, and fills up lots of space. Or Use: Mylar Letters ($5.50) To Make: A personalized ceremony backdrop. To Make: A cool dance floor. A note on setup: If you’re ordering balloons from a local party store, you should be able to order pre-inflated balloons. If you’re ordering from a place like Oh Happy Day, you’ll need to look into getting a helium tank. Call around your local party stores to ask about renting, or you can order one from Party City right here. For hanging paper products, Oh Happy Day’s Jordan recommends white gaffers tape for its staying power and because it won’t ruin walls.