Accessorizing your home with chic accents doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. In as little as one hour or as much as a weekend, you can brighten any room—even the bathroom—and leave family and friends admiring your creativity. Here are five projects to get you started. For more ideas, see the sources at the end of this article.
Geometric Rugs – Start with a plain flat-weave or sisal rug and add to it your favorite geometric design—stripes, triangles, diamonds, triangles, or whatever comes to mind. Use painter’s tape to map the design on the rug, and then paint the rug with your choice of interior wall paint. When the paint is completely dry, peel off the tape, stand back, and admire a job well done.
Veggie Art – This project makes unique wall art for any room. But no, you won’t be cutting up veggies and framing them. You’ll be using them as a paint stamp. Start by cutting a few stalks of bok choy or celery two to three inches from the bottom. Wipe off as much moisture as possible, and then let the stalks dry for one hour. Grab a paint canvas and two cans of crafts paint in the same color but of different hues. Pour some of the darker hued paint onto a paper plate. Dip the end of the bok choy or celery into the paint, and press the paint end of the stalk on the canvas as if using a stamp—wherever and in whatever orientation you choose. When the paint is dry, repeat the process with the lighter-hued paint. Overlap the colors, as you like.
Lace Doily Bowls – If you don’t have any lying around the house, check flea markets and antique stores for lace doilies in a variety of sizes and shapes. Prepare a mixture consisting of one-part crafts glue and one-part water. Dip a doily into the mixture. Smooth the doily over an upside-down glass bowl, using your hands to ensure that the bowl is covered. After the doily has dried, gently peel it from the bowl. You now have a repurposed storage vessel to hold some of your timeless treasures.
Ombre Furniture – Turn the drawers of a ho-hum dresser into an ombre beauty with this project. Grab a can of paint in a color of your choice along with another can of white paint. Use the white paint to make various hues of the colored paint. If you would rather not mix paint, grab a can of paint in each of the hues on a paint-chip card. Paint the top drawer with the lightest hue. Use the next darker hue for each subsequent drawer. The bottom drawn should be in the darkest hue in your palette.
Dip-Dyed Accessories – Perk up drab cotton curtains, place mats, napkins and pillowcases with a dip into a pot of fabric dye in the color of your choice for a color-popping two-toned look. It’s simple. Just dunk the fabric in the dye, remove it, and wait for it to dry, and you’re ready to go.