DIY Home Decoration Ideas

[Sigtweed Corduroy]

Hey Gents,

I recently moved into a new apt and am looking for some DIY decoration ideas. Since you all are creative, have good taste, and are budget-minded I thought this would be an excellent place to start.

I had a few ideas for wall decorations but mainly i have been sourcing some cool/interesting images from tumblr and attempting to figure out a way to present them. I like the "collection of random framed images" sort of idea but wondering if there might be any unique ways to do this more cost effectively than buying a ton of frames?

I'm almost mid 30's so I'm looking for ideas that are age-appropriate and indicative of an an adult's apartment. My place is a small 1 BR apartment with dark brown carpet (horrible) and off white walls. Most of my furniture is clean and simple dark wood. It's not totally to my taste, which has evolved the last few years (I lean more towards the mid century modern look and feel now) but I don't have a huge budget for new furniture right now so I am going to make do.

Any thoughts or ideas?

What about ideas for plants other than just a potted plant in the corner?

Totally open to all suggestions.

Thanks guys!

-S&C

[JGL]

http://www.ikeahackers.net/
http://www.instructables.com/tag/typ...tegory-living/

[Sigtweed Corduroy]

Cool, thanks JGL, I'll investigate...

[tdig]

Shelves can usually be an easy and cheap way to add personality.

http://fundingslandfamily.blogspot.c...y-shelves.html
http://remodelista.com/posts/storage...wooden-shelves
http://threescoopsoflove.blogspot.co...d-shelves.html

or just go to google images and seach diy shelves. tons of options.

[NYCToon]

Primer Magazine has a whole series on how to put together a manly apartment DIY on the cheap.

http://www.primermagazine.com/

[Sigtweed Corduroy]

Great stuff guys, thanks again.

[ajk170]

Interior decorating is a tricky thing- color tends to be the important rule. If you hang a color(s) on the wall you need to have the color on the floor or in the furniture. Decorators also use the rule of three (or odd numbers) makes things seem more put together. My wife and I for a long time liked and followed Pottery barn/Restoration Hardware, and William Sonoma tastes. We still do but we've also evolved a little as well. The biggest thing that helps tp put things together is knowing what the style is- french, American or Italian country, eclectic, industrial, retro (I tend to think Mad Men popular style which for the time was a modern style) continental, victorian, and the list goes on and on. I would stay away from trendy (think Mad Men) because in a few years it will be out of fashion.

For wall art My wife and I really like places such as canvasondemand.com which a person can send in a photo and have it put on a canvas frame. They run all sorts of specials and livingsocial.com always has varying deals as well. I personally recommend canvasondemand.com, not because I have anything to do with them, but we have several and the customer service is excellent. If a photo won't work for the size you select, then they do a great job to work with you via email and phone calls to get the image right. Other online places will only do what you submit so if it won't work you get a crappy canvas.

Another thing to consider- if you hang drapes, do not hang them level with the window. Get drapes that are long enough to hang about 6-8 inches from the ceiling (if you have 8 foot ceilings). Makes the windows appear bigger. Also don't "puddle" drapes- drapes should just graze the floor.

If I was a bachelor, I would probably be into the minimalist industrial look with vintage (or made to look vintage) advertisements for travel destinations as well as my own photos on canvas. If it was a just an open space for the main living area- I would look to segregate the areas through furniture or a large bookcase wall (think tic-tac-toe grid that you can see through). I would also look into painting if it's allowed in the rental and do a few geometric type designs with painters tape or at minimum, use painters tape to make a faux chair rail and crown molding. May seem like a waste of money but could be cheaper or as much as some wall hangings and plants. (I would consider all three). I would also look at the faux rock/Brick ideas (google search it)- these can be very life-like (not cheesy paper look) and non-permenant. The best use is to make an accent wall with it so you can easily butt it against the two other walls and not have to deal with the open ends and capping it. You can do the same accent wall with paint too - Pottery Barn catalogs do a great job in showcasing the use of color and accents. Plus women love a well decorated place.

Lighting also changes the dynamics as well. You can't really change the hardwired stuff so you have to go with lamps- Down lighting (table or floor lamps that cast the light down) always creates warmer intimate feelings than torch floor lamps.

I bought a couple leather club chairs from Overstock a couple years ago- about $200 apiece- not heirloom leather but they look nice in my bar/study. I also bought a large bar from them as well- looks good but didn't cost a lot

Consider mirrors- but the smart placement of large mirrors is important- the reflection needs to suggest and create a lager environment thus the placement for the reflection needs careful consideration.

Places I would look for stuff:
Overstock.com
canvasondemand.com
Lowes/HomeDepot
countrycurtains.com (don't be fooled by the name)
strawbridges.com
PotteryBarn (expensive but their catalogs have great style ideas if you look beyond the products)
Restoration Hardware (very expensive)
Amazon.com

Not sure if any of this helps, but good luck in the decorating!

[adlen]

Here are some tips for decorating your apt.

Paper the walls
Place photos of you or your family
Add your splash colors
Light up your rooms
Follow your metal urges.

[shad0w4life]

Deviantart.com

You can order prints on paper and canvas, and it's from a lot of unknown artist, I got one that's the 4 seasons all painted together in about 24"x36" for around $60 and a lot of people have said wow.

[adlen]

Here are some tips for decorating your apt.

Paper the walls
Place photos of you or your family
Add your splash colors
Light up your rooms
Follow your metal urges.

Brisbane Builders

[Sigtweed Corduroy]

This is one project I ended up doing. Images from tumblr, small nails, bulldog clips...cheap wall installation. I'm actually thinking about modifying it further by hanging slats or pieces of reclaimed wood on the wall and nailing the clips/images to that so the wood serves as a background of sorts.

[shad0w4life]

If you did that in frames it would look really good.

Also Staples you can get stuff printed on heavy 100lb paper, photo paper and so forth for CHEAP and they look great.

[Sigtweed Corduroy]

If you did that in frames it would look really good.

Also Staples you can get stuff printed on heavy 100lb paper, photo paper and so forth for CHEAP and they look great.

I was going to frame them but the odd sized images and expense of buying a bunch of frames was too much. This whole thing out the door was like $25 including clips and printing the images.

[Duxnuts]

No gentlemans abode is complete without a dartboard but the backing boards and cases always look pretty terrible.

I got this off snap guide. It was easy and it looks awesome. Even if you don't play darts just make it as a feature.

http://snapguide.com/guides/make-a-r...-a-dart-board/

[Jake101]

Check out primer magazines apartment series. He has a lot of DIY projects that look seriously cool , and I would attempt
some myself if I had a Bach-pad.