Instead of feeling down about money you don’t have to buy “new” things, use your creativity to refashion the old!
- The ground beneath your feet
A bright bohemian décor rug can change any room. Shop around in flea markets and second-hand stores, for deals. Browse moving sales. One person’s trash is another’s treasure.
- Embrace your local “Dollar” store!
You can walk out of there with a great big bunch of colourful artificial flowers, which will spruce up any place in your home, and add to your crafting ideas.
- Changing the material outlook
You can never go wrong with slipcovers. Buying a whole new chair or couch is an expensive venture. If you’re somewhat crafty, you can sew these, yourself. Your creation doesn’t have to be perfect. Look for material “clear-outs”. Add large buttons and pompoms. Thread can be your best friend, and is very cheap.
Change a shower curtain, for a pattern that’s a bit, well, springier. You can add colourful ribbon to so many items in your home, to spruce them up. Ribbon can accessorize pillows, and you can wrap them around artificial flowers, tying huge bows. They look divine, tied around mason jars of jam you may be gifting, and they beautify wooden/wicker baskets/boxes around your home. Glue some around tired picture frames/ mirrors, to create a refreshed look.
- Treasure hunt
Be on the lookout for inexpensive gold or pewter figurines. Placed at odd places around your house, they offer a whimsical look. Around corners, they will surprise you in unexpected ways.
- Turn your bookshelves upside down!
Not literally, but reorganize them. Seriously, this can really make a difference. Organize books in odd, mismatched ways. Do some horizontal and vertical stacking. Play with colour themes. Place cool knick knacks from rooms that need decluttering, in front of the bookstacks. Arrange things as though they were in a display case, with book covers as their backdrop.
Leftover wallpaper can decorate and spruce up any bookcase. A little white glue, and you will transform your room, with this inexpensive masterpiece.
Self-adhesive paper can be stuck on the faces of your stairs, to create a wild look. Just cut to size, and press on!
- Wooden boxes are everywhere.
Sometimes, liquor stores will have them, from uncrating expensive wines or champagnes, and will let them go for a song and a dance, or a buck. You can use these to organize storage under your bed, and get rid of clutter you still need, but don’t want displayed. Paint them crazy colours, and use them as catch-all around your house. Fit some under some chairs or dressers, or use them as closet organizers for boots and hats and scarves.
- Paint Terracotta pots.
These can be used for flowers or pens or coloured pencils. They can be spread around your home, or concentrated into a “crafts” nook, for an added “artiste’s” motif.
- Believe it or not!
Sometimes, just rearranging the furniture can transform your space and your mood, as well. Looking at things from a whole new perspective changes your attitude. Maybe your sitting chair will end up facing a whole different direction. More sunlight might pour in. Perhaps you’ll just be pushing that apothecary cabinet into the corner it always should have been in.
You can use diagrams to foresee how the moved items will appear. Remember to measure beforehand, so you won’t be moving things, only to have to move them back! No one will be happy about that!
- Galvanized steel is not expensive.
You’ll find vases, pitchers, and cups, made from this lovely textured material. You can place bunches of flowers in them, or use them as catch basins for individually wrapped chocolates or easter eggs. Who wouldn’t appreciate that Spring décor idea?
- When all else fails…
If you’re just not inspired anymore, to come up with punchy and creative home-crafting magical solutions, there’s always the entrepreneurial solution:
Have a garage sale with items you no longer wear, no longer use, no longer like, and no longer want to keep tripping over. Use the proceeds to buy a couple of favoured items you truly cannot replicate with your DIY best intentions.
You’ll be very motivated by the desperately needed Spring cleaning, gain some space, clear out cobwebs, and best of all, be allowing yourself to indulge (just a bit) in some fresh Spring décor.
Cheryl Struzer | Staff Writer
