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| Bedrooms | Kitchen/Dining | Living Rooms |
| Bathrooms | Window Treatments | P.V.C. Ideas |
| Accessories | Walls | Children's Rooms |
-Fashion an easy headboard using untreated picket fence boards attached to 2 1x4's, paint and attach to wall behind bed. Painted shutters attached to a cross board at varied heights also looks great and gives a cozy feel to the room!
-You can also use floral vines around a window alone or draped over curtains for a romantic effect.
-Add a little romance to your comforter also with lace cut outs, doilies, silk hankerchiefs, silk roses, or chiffon bows. Just use an inexpensive, plain comforter and either form a pattern or attach the decoration every 12 inches by sewing or using fabric glue. (just be sure to read fabric glue label to see if it is washable)
-Get that "nautical" feel by using seashells, granulated candle wax (available at hobby stores) and a wick to create beautiful candles.
-Dress up a plain shower curtain with lace doilies by sewing or gluing with "liquid stitch" in a block pattern. You could also use large vintage buttons, quilt squares, glass beads, or wire-rimmed ribbon to create a "custom" look and feel.
-Get away from those "furry" toilet seat covers by creating your own with a damask fabric or any washable fabric that matches your decor. Just cut out to the shape of your seat, leaving 2 inches all around, turn under and sew in a strip of elastic. The best part is that when you need to clean it, just toss it in with the wash!
-Turn one of those large inexpensive plastic flower pots into a focal point by planting a tall indoor plant and covering the entire pot (and attached saucer) with 1 - 2 yds. of high quality decorative fabric (sit pot in center and loosely arrange fabric up and over top of soil) and tucking the ends around the base of the plant. Finish off by tying jute rope, upholstery cording or ribbon around to secure one inch up from the center. We'll be adding our new leather-look lampshade project in the next couple of days so check back!
-Get that great vintage costume jewelry out and create interest in many areas! Use clip on earings or brooches on the top of panel draperies every few inches for great decoration. You could also make a simple bow with 2 inch ribbon and leave long tails and attach earrings or pins down the tails and hang on the wall for a Victorian look. A cameo pin in the center knot of the bow looks wonderful also!
-Bring out those wooden or plastic wine racks that are not being used and use them as magazine racks. They look fantastic and can hold all of your decorating magazines!
-Sew or liquid stitch lace placemats or doilies onto plain throw pillows for a custom touch!
-Turn a woven basket into a wonderfully whimsical clock by spray painting the inside bottom a light or metallic color and feeding a clock hands mechanism (available at hobby stores for about $5 - 8.00) through the middle. You can glue large flat-back beads for numbers or large wooden beads attached with beading wire fed through the weave and attached with a knot on the back side.
-Add a sophisticated touch to open doorways by adding decorative scroll shelf supports or hangers to each top corner. We like the verdigris cast iron scroll plant hanger designs for the most dramatic look! CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTO
-Instead of throwing away those empty baby food jars clean them and cover them by gluing fabric and ribbon to the outside and use them as cute votive candle holders! Just be sure the ribbon doesn't obstruct where the candle and flame will be!
-Don't throw out those gaudy clip on earrings that have been collecting dust! Clip them on plain wood napkin rings for a great "Shabby Chic" look!
-A great way to re-use old forks is to twirl them into a circular shape with needle-nose pliers. Curl each tine of the fork under or in a spiral shape, but just curl the middle one under in a hook fashion and use them to hang tab top or grommet top curtains. They give a great "folk art" look to a room!
-Another great way to use old silverware is to take a 4" clay flower pot, 20 gauge jewelry beading wire and pliers, some jute rope twine and create a fantastic mobile/wind chime to hang indoors or out! Just use the wire to "wrap" the end of the handles of the silverware and create a loop. Also, curl the tines of the forks and bend spoons or knives into interesting shapes. Use the twine to attach to the ends of each piece and feed up through the drain hole of the pot tying a knot on the inside to prevent slipping and create a loop to hang with!
-Cover your empty coffee cans with fabric (using tacky glue) or wall paper border (use glue also) to match your decor, top off with wire-rimmed ribbon or fringe around the top or flat-back beads glued around, use as a custom utensil holder. You can also use clay flower pots or wine buckets!
-If you have an old wood dresser that you're not using, it's great to sand it down in some spots to give an aged look (you can also color wash those spots), change the drawer pulls, put small casters on the legs, place a colorful table runner along the top and use as an ecclectic, trendy buffet! It looks fabulous and you get bonus storage space for linens, china, serving pieces or just about anything!
-Can't figure out what to put on that rod? You could use colorful napkins folded and draped "triangle" style as a valance or find beautiful flowing fabric when it's on sale and buy about 6-8 yards per window (depending on size) and drape it around the window on coat hooks attached to each top corner of window like a scarf. Just puddle the bottoms and turn the raw edges under for a casual flowing look.
-An oblong crochet lace table cloth also looks fabulous threaded in and out of a cafe rod in a pleated manner! They make great valances or curtains!
-You could also buy an inexpensive vinyl roller shade and use a rag-rolling or sponging painting technique that matches the decor of the room.
-Not into painting, take the same vinyl shades and remove the vinyl, cut fabric the same size, leaving enough on the edges to turn under with liquid stitch or glue a border on and attach it to the roller with strong masking tape. You can make a pocket at the bottom for the stick or sew a tassle in the bottom center for opening and closing. (just make sure your fabric and trim is the same width as the roller so that it will open and close easily)
-Another inventive way to drape a scarf is to use wall sconces on each top end of the window and maybe one in the top center above the window and drape your fabric or scarf on them. This can really give an elegant look to a plain window!
-Hang your favorite quilt as art for large walls or use a quilt pattern pillow sham hung on a wooden dowel with round ball ends for small spaces (just attach 3 rings of fabric or ribbon on back to hang on the wooden rod).
-Turn large woven baskets backside to the wall and create a nook for displaying your favorite items or silk greenery. Vary types and sizes to add interesting texture to the area!
-Create a victorian feel on your walls by using a bow made with chiffon wire rimmed ribbon and small-link chains such as the ones used for hanging planters (or you can buy it off the roll at home improvement centers). Use gold rub-n-buff to give an "antique" look to the chain and attach it behind each top corner of the picture frame and drape each piece to form a triangle above the frame. Attach each top piece with a nail and cover with the bow so that your picture looks as if it is suspended by the chains and bow! This look is great, especially on large dramatic frames!
-Visually bring high ceilings down to size by painting the walls from about 8 inches above the doorways up the same color as the ceiling. You can also add a display shelf at the same height around the room with 1x8x12 boards and some scalloped decorative moulding for the outside edges. Secure with hidden shelf brackets. We'll have a picture of this effect soon to see the dramatic results!
-For some nostalgia you could frame your child's first dress outfit by pressing it into a frame with a nice mat and using gold or some other color coordinating fabric for a background. These are adorable in a grouping of baby pictures!
-Bring that garden feel inside by painting the lower 40 inches of a wall hunter green and attaching white lattice on top of it. finish it on top with decorative moulding, decorate with silk greenery vines and enjoy your indoor garden!
-Think you have no space for a cocktail table? Just cut the legs down to size on an end table and sand the rough parts slightly!
-If you have an old chest of drawers that is wide and not being used why not turn it into a t.v. armoire by removing all drawers except the bottom two and adding a shelf with supports or floor braces where necessary. Just attach two wooden shutters with hinges as doors, add some handles or knobs, paint and use the bottom drawers for video storage!
-You could also use tall wooden shutters as a decorative screen behind a boring sofa! Just attach each junction with 2 hinges (top and bottom) and paint each panel the same or vary colors for more drama!
We just love PVC pipe because there are so many things you can make from this inexpensive material! Get your imagination going and you can find all sorts of uses for this stuff! The pipes look especially good when spray painted with "Rustoleum-type" gold or copper metallic paint. When connecting, you can use glue or silicone in the connectors for permanence (they don't usually come apart easily though) or leave panel areas open to replace and clean the fabric when necessary.
-Of course if you've seen our fireplace screen project, you can increase the sizes and create a wonderful room screen in the same manner. These look great behind a chair, plant or small table. CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTO
-You can also use the elbow connectors and 3/4" pipe to create a planter cover in the same manner as the screens, except that it takes four panels so that you can form a square. Attach each panel in a square fashion with wire or ribbon and set the potted floor plant inside for a custom effect that will match your decor perfectly!
-Shorten the panels to 6 inches wide by 36 inches long with fabric and attach 3 together in a triangle fashion to create a lovely umbrella stand. (for an idea of how the fabric attaches, see our fireplace screen and be sure to use the heavy(3/4 inch pvc)
-PVC is also great for sunrooms to form a lightweight and continuous curtain rod panel around the room that the panels can easily be moved open and closed by sliding between the connectors around the room. PVC comes in 10 foot lengths and you would use the screw in wall connectors (available in the same section) to attach them above the windows around the room.
-Another great use for PVC is to form a whole canopy to enclose a bed with no headboard or footboard using 3/4" inch pipe and elbow and tee-elbow connectors. You can use a "Rustoleum-type" spray paint and spray primer to match the decor of the room and cover the junctions of the pipe corners with wire-rimmed 2" ribbon or jute rope (for a rustic look). Drape a sheer scarf around the canopy and you have instant drama from a plain bed! Make sure to use silicone or glue in the connectors on this project for sturdiness!
-One of the best and most personal room treatments that we've seen for children's rooms is using their own handprints to form a border around the room. Just mark off about 6 inch-wide border 38-40 inches from the floor around the room. Then paint that area a background color that will coordinate with the room. Paint the bottom portion of the wall 2 shades darker and the top portion 1 shade lighter. Finally, let the little one help by placing little handprints on the border area around the room using 3-4 different colors of non-toxic acrylic paint poured into paint pans for hand-dipping. You can then go over the border area with a clear poly-type topcoat.
-A great way to use those decorative vinyl placemats that are rarely used for eating is to group them on the wall in a diamond pattern. The filled glittery ones work best and we just used push pins to attach them. CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTO
-You could also use wooden baby blocks to dress up tie-backs on the curtains. Just drill holes through a few, feed onto the tie-back cord or use an upholstery cord and secure with a knot on the ends. You could even spell your childs name on the hanging portion.
-Another border idea for the "little princess" is to attach large bows in each top corner of the room and use sheer pastel fabric or wide ribbon to drape from corner to corner along the top of the wall. Just attach with a staple gun behind the bows.
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