30 Fun DIY Decorating Projects
Dig into our DIY weekend projects library for fun new ways to personalize your home.
Shadow box wall vase
Turn a shadow box frame into a vessel for your favorite things from the garden or flower shop. Flowers or cuttings--such as these leucadendron blooms--extend through the opening of a picture mat to create an organic work of 3-dimensional art.
Group two or three frames on the wall or use one for a tabletop display. Change the background and cuttings for a new look any time you like.
> More: How to make a shadow box vase
Tabletop twigscape
Create a mini forest for your table from elegant branches and twigs. Here, tree-like twigs edge a stream bed of green pebbles running down the center of a sealed 30-inch piece of redwood.
> More: Make tabletop forests
Easy eco table
A ready-made base makes this side-table project especially simple: Just add your own top.
For our base, we selected a small side table with a 22-inch-square top from Ikea's Lack series (from $7.99, available in 13 colors; 800/434-4532).
For the surface, we chose Kirei Board--an environmentally friendly, plywoodlike product from Japan (kireiusa.com or 619/236-9924 for dealers).
> More: How to make this side table
Painted party glassware
Perk up your table by turning ordinary wine goblets into stylish geometric art glass. It just takes a little glass paint and a stencil or template.
Designer Sarah Caska used a fine-tip black permanent marker and enamel paint formulated for glass to create these Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired designs. The cost was about $36 for 8 decorated glasses, including stemware.
> More: How to paint glassware
Fake a Roman shade
In rooms where privacy isn't important, you can give windows all the dressing they need with shorter faux Roman shades. They aren't full-length, so these tricksters require far less fabric than the real McCoy and can often be made from inexpensive remnants.
> More: How to fake a Roman shade
Galvanized metal table
This sleek indoor-outdoor dining table is a particularly simple woodworking project because key steps like crafting the legs and the metal top are done for you.
To make the tabletop, start by edging a rectangular piece of plywood with 2-by-2s. Take it to a sheet metal fabricator and ask the shop to make a covering that fits over it like a shoe-box lid. Then glue the metal top to the plywood, sand and wax it, and add a set of ready-made legs.
> More: Get the complete how-to
Make a personalized paperweight
Turn smooth river rocks into a stylish paperweight with white rub-on transfers. Or turn it into refrigerator art by adding a small magnet to the back.
> More: DIY monogrammed paperweight
Artful lampshade
A plain lampshade becomes instant art when you add a paper design to the inside lining. The design remains invisible until you turn on the light. Click here for our template.
> More: Make an artful lampshade
Reinvent thrift store candlesticks
Turn mismatched candlesticks into a fresh new set by painting them an unexpected color (in this case, high-gloss indigo).
> More: Get the complete how-to
Make a truffle box
A gift box of chocolate takes on new significance when it comes from your own kitchen. These intense, cocoa-dusted truffles are actually simple to make--so simple, in fact, that their flavor depends entirely on the ingredients you start with. A good-quality chocolate is worth the expense; choose one you would enjoy eating on its own. Then wrap it in a truffle box you can make in 3 easy steps.
> More: How to make a truffle box
Etch glass
There is something magical about etching glass--the process turns plain glass pieces into decorative objects in minutes. The secret is etching cream. You simply apply it to the glass, and the surface turns into a translucent white. The results are beautiful, subtle, and lasting.
> More: How to etch glass
Paint a floor canvas
A cool floor covering made from painted canvas is simple to make and surprisingly durable--and it adds instant graphic punch to your room. You can paint one freehand or work with a favorite printed design.
> More: See how to make this floor canvas project
Nature's stained glass
Chinese pistache leaves are translucent enough to glow like stained glass when lit from behind. To celebrate their vivid fall beauty indoors, display them on simple glass hurricane candle holders.
> More: Get the complete how-to
Makeover a dresser
Remake a dresser with paint, a little wood putty, new drawer pulls, and fresh detailing.
We found this one on Craigslist, painted black with grey accents, and added Mission-style square oak knobs.
> More: See how to remake a dresser
Make a message board
Communicating with a busy household is much easier when your message center is tailor-made to fit your space and your needs. This customizable message board project combines three different surfaces--chalkboard paint, magnetic paint, and cork--with a frame that you paint to blend in with your kitchen.
> More: How to make this message board
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