Monday, May 25th, 2015
Every time I’ve moved into a new space, I have come up with many, many grandiose ideas for how to decorate. When I was a senior in high school dreaming about my college dorm room, I spent hours online deciding which posters I would buy. When I moved into my first apartment in college, I scoured thrift stores for diamond-in-the-rough furniture and tchotchkes. My current apartment, which is also my first New York City apartment, suffered from a lack of decor for a good long while, due to the stress of moving, running a blog, working for a demanding job, etc, etc. But now that I’m moving in with my favorite girl come September, I’m back on the DIY decorating Pinterest grind. FYI…I am going to make ALL OF THE THINGS. And you know there is going to be a blog post for each and every creation.
Although I can’t get my DIY decor on just yet, here are 10 quirky and colorful DIY projects I intend on eventually carrying out.
Incase you’re out of the loop when it comes to serious crafters, covering your tables in concrete is all the rage. It’s simple, it’s inexpensive, and it makes for a super sleek looking piece of furniture. Aimee of The Crazy Craft Lady covered her dining set in concrete, and I intend on following her instructions to revamp an unfinished wood end table I already have.
Because I intend on making my new apartment all kinds of grown-up sophisticated, I’m definitely turing this $30 Ikea utility cart into a retro-chic bar cart with some spray paint. At our housewarming party people are going to be like, “whoa. There is a bar cart in this apartment. That is some fancy shit.” You can check out the tutorial from Lindsey at The Curly Diaries.
Starting now, I will be saving all of my glass jars and their lids. With a coat of rubber paint, hot glue, and a drawer pull, you can make old jars into apothecary-esque creations. The jars in this photo are used for bathroom supplies, but I’m going to use mine in the kitchen for salt, sugar, coffee, and spices.
This photo doesn’t come with much of a tutorial, but it seems pretty self-explanatory. First, acquire a canvas and some fake flowers. Then, hot glue the fake flowers to the canvas. Then spray paint the shit out of it with some bright colored spray paint. Voila! It’s art. Put it in your entryway, you crafty bitch.
This idea from Fiskars is actually recommended for kid’s crafts, but I think it looks cool so I’m doing it for my grown-up apartment anyway. All you need is special bleeding tissue paper, which you can find at most craft stores, a white canvas and water. You cut shapes out of your tissue paper (or strips), wet the canvas, stick on your paper and then remove it after it sits overnight. So easy! So pretty! ONE-OF-A-KIND! My girlfriend claims she doesn’t like being crafty, but I am forcing her to do this with me.
I already know that no matter how great of an apartment we end up in, there is not going to be enough closet space for two girls with a whole lot of clothing. Since I have a lot of vintage clothes I’d love to show off in a cool way, this DIY hanging coat/garment rack will be practical and sleek. The instructions are simple: get tube. Get wire cable. Get two hooks. Hang it. If you feel you need more detailed instructions, check out Love Aesthetics.
This giant piece of octopus art is actually a shower curtain, and this idea is absolutely genius. Big wall art is so expensive, but all you need to make your own is a shower curtain and some plywood boards from Home Depot. Kirsten over at 6th Street Design School says this project only took her and hour of work. I say YAAAAAAAS to everything about it.
Not only will we have a fuck ton of clothes in our new apartment, we’re also going to have a whole lot of makeup. This mason jar bathroom organizer is not only easy to make, but it will also be easy to clean with a quick swipe of a Clorox wipe. You can read the whole tutorial over on The DIY Playbook.
I’m not sure how I feel about using Christmas lights for this project, but I’m thinking I’ll use wiry string lights like these instead. I’ll also paint the hula hoop gold and use gold wire to hang it from the ceiling instead of lace like Sarah from Sarah With An H did. I’d rather have a sleek chandelier than a shabby-chic one, but to each their own.
In most rented apartments, you can paint the walls, as long as you paint them back to white before you move out. That sounds like a whole lot of effort to me. Instead I’m going to opt for a less permanent accent wall and use decals or washi tape like Emily of Everything Emily did for her son’s room. Washi tape comes in so many colors, you could create endless patterns with it…and if you get bored, just create another one! Plus, she has a cool name, like me. Nice job, Emily.
