Although it’s tempting, you don’t need to spend a fortune on artwork to have a collection that showcases your unique style. You’re probably hoarding some great art options and you don’t even know it.
Love Books?
A super easy and instant piece of artwork can come from framing book pages. You know that coffee table book that you love to browse through, but it’s showing some wear and tear on the cover? What about those magazines stacked in the corner? Cute-ify them and create a gallery wall. Select the pages you love and frame them individually or create a large collage in a single large frame. Typography geek? Show off those unique fonts – the words in an article are art, too!
The frames and your page choices will make all the difference for your desired look and feel in the room. If you want to bring color in where it’s lacking, choose brightly colored frames, or take some old ones you already have, and paint them a fabulous color that will pop off of your wall, and use them to accent or contrast to polish your room’s look.
If you want to go more classic and distinctive, choose black frames and black and white photo pages, or go with white frames for the same effect. If your walls have color, black or white can soothe the eye, and if your walls are white, you can consider adding the color through your framed artwork ideas.
Add Texture
Some people have a fabric addiction and buy fabric at the fabric store for no reason really…but just to have it. (Ok, it’s us, we’re people) It tends to sit forever, folded in a drawer or closet…safely tucked away for that project you had in mind, but never get to.
Hang that up. Literally.
Take out that gorgeous fabric and frame it! Play with sizing, color, folds, and patterns as much as you like. It can be your unique masterpiece and pull together the desired theme you’d like to present.
You can use the same principles as with the book pages for choosing a color, black, or white frame, but remember that a fabric piece can perform well as an art piece all on its own. You are just telling everyone by framing it, that it’s special. It’s also unexpected and can have the most style influence and effect over any other item in your room.
Hang Curtains
Ok, this one is a gimme, but often overlooked. In fact, we noted in a home décor Facebook group recently that members were wondering whether anyone used curtains anymore. Hanging a pair of curtains brings instant personality into any space. Curtains can add a punch of color or bring in pattern interest, or can go the other way and blend calmly into a décor theme. They’re a bolder, large item choice with a strong impact.
If you want to make a statement in your space, a pair of curtains will succeed as a single, affordable choice over many small accessory purchases. In a larger room, you may spend a little more money on curtains, but they will still end up doing so much for you when it comes to the design impact of a room.
Curtains Solve Problems.
Working around an unusually-sized window in your space or is the window placement just plain weird? Curtains can fix these imbalances by virtue of their size and cut, and the way you decide to hang them. It’s stylish camouflage.
Here’s an example. If you have an off-centered window on a wall, extend your curtain width in fabric, and hang your curtain bar in the center of the wall. You could also run a curtain along the entire wall, letting an extra sheer panel piece gently stream the light through while hiding the off-center placement of the light source.
Running a curtain on an entire wall from ceiling to floor can fix most odd window placement, and also allows you to control the light coming into your room. If it is too bright or exposing your home life to the neighbors and passersby, a curtain is your solution.
Curtains also muffle and absorb sound, so if your room has wood or tile floors, those louder sounds from those harder surfaces can be absorbed in the curtain fabric on the walls. Goodbye, podcast echoes!
Curtains Showcase Your Design Personality.
Since they’re often sold as singles, you can mix and match them to create a look. You can bring in bold colors and patterns on a simple panel, but you can also spruce up the design and cut of the fabric.
Go for striping, ruffles, ribbon or layering for something more unique. Curtain designs offer variety in curtain cuts, so explore your curtain personality options before making that purchase.
Paint
And finally, let’s talk paint. It’s easy and affordable, and if you’re hesitant about design and décor ideas for your space, start with paint. It’s forgiving and easy to change (with a little effort).
Still wary? Choose just one wall, one ceiling, an old piece of furniture, a door, a staircase, or even a floor. The things you can paint, and the way you can paint them are endless!
Paint can also trick the eye, so by painting a small room a dark color, you can make it seem bigger. In the same vein, if you don’t have a lot of light coming into a room, choosing a lighter paint color or going monochrome white can create that light for you.
If you have a problem area in your home or something that’s personally an eyesore to you, visualize how paint can change it. Be creative, like striping or using a sponge technique. You can also paint a mural anywhere, or paint a frame around anything—window, picture or door.
You can even create a stencil by drawing a pattern on some poster board, cutting out the desired shapes, and creating a repeat pattern by filling in the paint on walls or furniture.
If you picked up a thrift or Facebook Marketplace find that looks dingy, give it a fresh coat of paint.
Hate the result? No problem. Just try a different color or effect. Sometimes a paint color at the store won’t look the same at home on your surface. Always try a sample spot first, but you still might not get the big picture until you’re finished.
If the color is “just a little off”, consider just using a glaze over the color to soften it. You can also blend colors to get a more worn and natural look or change the hue for your lighting.
So stop sighing over your boring room. It’s time to do something about it!
