DIY…You Can Do It!
After giving you a little cheat sheet as to where you can go
to shop for affordable home décor, I have started a path that should help guide
you to the perfect cozy room. In this next blog, I will provide you with several
other ways to help create this space through a few simple DIY projects.
Now I know for some people when they hear the words “Do It
Yourself,” many tend to run in the opposite direction. The thought of creating
something completely on their own scares many of them; therefore they won’t even
give it a try. While I know DIY projects can often sound like taunting and challenging
tasks, they truly are a way to not only save money and create something unique,
but they also give you a sense of accomplishment when all is said and done. So
for those of you who value price and originality, and are willing to put in a
little time and effort to create a one of a kind piece, the challenge is
definitely worth it (Angell, Lecture 2, 9/12/17). With that said, I’m here today to show you how easy DIY
projects can be; to change your perception, or interpretation of these projects; and to motivate
you, by giving you inner reasons, to give these projects a try in your own home (Babin, 2016, p. 51, 91).
Crafting and DIY projects have been some my favorite things
to do ever since I was little. They've always been my way of self-expression and what I show my personality of innovativeness and creativity through (Angell, Lecture 6, 9/12/17) I used to
constantly make crafts for my bedroom, gifts for my friends and family, and other
little projects just for fun. Once I got a little older I started moving on to
bigger projects such as painting and refurbishing old furniture, sewing
together pillows and blankets, and even constructing items from pallet boards
and other wood pieces. Coming to college and having my own room and living
space was the perfect way for me to get down and dirty in crafting and DIY projects. Over the last four
years, I was able to use my own creativity and ideas to make a variety of
different home décor items. While I have done countless projects throughout the
years, I have decided to share with you just a few of my favorites that I have completed, as well as other popular projects.
Below you will see several ideas and instructional videos on
different DIY projects that you can do yourself that will help you save money and give you a new way of self-expression.
DIY Headboard
When I was looking online at headboards for my dorm room
freshman year, not only were the prices for the pre-made ones extremely high,
but I also couldn’t find one that fit the exact look of what I was searching
for. Therefore in order to save some money and to get precisely what I wanted, I
decided to try and make my own. Doing this allowed me to choose everything I
wanted, such as the fabric, shape, size, and amount of cushion. While I chose
to make a hot pink cushioned headboard in just a basic rectangular shape, there
are many other ways you could go about making one. For example, you could get fancy
and do a different shape or a tufted finish; you could hang different materials
on the wall behind your bed to give the illusion of a headboard; or you could
even use many wooden boards to construct a unified headboard.
DIY Collage/ Photo
Wall
One of my favorite DIY decorating tricks that I have done in
all of my rooms over the years is to create a collage or photo wall. It’s not only
an easy way to fill up empty wall space, but it also creates something unique and
appealing to look at. When I make my collage walls, I like to pick out several
different pieces that I can combine into a random fashion. For example,
I like to mix it up with architectural pieces, quotes and sayings, photographs,
and other little knick-knack wall décor. When making different photo
arrangements on my walls, my favorite thing to do is to clip the photographs or
other artifacts to ropes with clothespins. However, there are many other simple
ways that you can go about creating your own photo wall such as attaching the
photos to wooden boards, hanging them from strings attached to different
objects (ex. tree branch, wooden pegs, or even stringed lights), or even just arranging them on the wall in frames.
DIY with Wood Pallets
Wood pallets have become a very popular material in the DIY
world within the last couple years. People have found dozens of different ways
to utilize the wooden boards from the pallets. With a little tender, love and
care to the boards, you can refurbish material that can be used in a variety of
ways. All you need is a hammer, some sand paper, a handsaw, and wood stain (if
desired), and you create any project with a wood pallet. While I have mainly
made small things like flower boxes, picture frames, and wall signs, there are
many other ways you can utilize the boards. For example you can use the boards
to make shelves, frame mirrors or photographs, or even just small decorative
pieces for your walls.
Some of My Own DIY
Project
I hope after seeing some examples and demonstrations on simple DIY projects, you have become more motivated to give them a try in your own home. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next blog!
Sources:
Angell, A. (2017, September 12). Marketing 313. Lecture presented in University of Michigan.
Babin, J.B., Harris, E.G. CB, 6th edition
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! It was relevant to me because I always have a specific vision of what I want something to look like in my head, but often struggle to find it in a store or online. What has held me back from DIY-ing is the time risk due to searching for materials in addition to designing and building the piece, which could potentially take up a lot of time (Babin & Harris, p.253). However, your blog helped me realize the experiential decision-making perspective of DIY-ing. Not only would I have fun being creative and crafting something myself, but I would feel a sense of accomplishment once the piece is finished (Babin & Harris, p.252). Adding onto this, IKEA is a great store for people who are cost conscious and like to build things themselves. My dad always goes to IKEA when he needs a new piece of furniture because he enjoys the challenge of building something himself. If you are not familiar with IKEA or want to look into their shopping app, here is the link to their website: http://www.ikea.com
ReplyDeleteBabin. B., & Harris, E. (2016). In CB 7 (7th ed., pp. 252-253). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Rachael, I loved reading your post! I'm always so impressed with people who are crafty because it can be difficult, and people who can make their own decorations have the most personalized and unique rooms. Usually when I try to make something my expectation does not always match the result (Babin/Harris, 2016, p, 294), but I think with detailed instructions like the ones you've provided in this post I could create something that I really like. The projects I would want to make would require a bit more discretionary time than I have at the moment (Babin/Harris, 2016, p. 229), so I think I'll make a list of projects that I can work on before moving into my next living space after graduation. I currently have photos hung on string in my room, but I have never thought to hang them from something like a stick, or add things other than photos to a wall collage. I'll try that out next time. If you're looking for a new project, I made one a few years back where you attach crayons to a canvas and then melt them so it creates a dripping design. It sounds childish but if you use darker colors or space the crayons out more it looks a lot more mature. Here's a link that shows a bunch of different styles of crayon art if you want to take a look!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/creative-ways-to-create-melted-crayon-art?utm_term=.skW8bBZWV#.up3p36OJE
Babin, B., & Harris, E. (2016). In CB 7 (8th ed., pp. 229, 294). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
So informative and interesting, Rachael! I am so impressed with your projects. They look professional! I thought I was viewing a catalogue or shopping guide when I first scanned your blog. I definitely would identify as one of those people who might run the other way when faced with a DIY task before reading this post. One reason for that may be because the majority of the household decision making (Babin, 2016) in my life before college was the domain of my parents, not me. However, now you have instilled in me the confidence to produce something unique and special on my own! Like you said, going away to college and having my own bare room in need of some decoration is the perfect opportunity to develop my own consumer socialization (Babin, 2016) and maybe invest in some of the affordable craft supplies you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteLastly, one amazing source of #inspo for these types of projects can come in the form of youtube channels or Pinterest! I personally do not have a Pinterest account, but I have heard that the ideas on the social media site are really cute! Also, many "you-tubers" dedicate their entire channels to teaching viewers how to DIY decorate! Check out Rachel Talbott's entire DIY playlist channel. I personally like her Simple DIY Home Decor video, which can be accessed via the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jhWfku6AzA
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Babin, B. J., & Harris, E. G. (2016). CB (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage-Learning.
Talbott, R. (2016, August 01). Simple DIY Home Decor. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jhWfku6AzA
Hi Rachael.
ReplyDeleteI have never been that great at decorating my room, so I found your blog very helpful. My friends all joke that my room looks like an abandoned mental hospital because it is all white with harsh lighting and no decorations. I complain that I don’t like things that they sell at the classic home goods stores, and that my room will look like everyone else because I value originality (Angell, 9/12/17). When it comes to shopping for things for my room my motivations are definitely more utilitarian; I don’t want to spend an absurd amount of money on decorations that I will most likely throw out in a year (Babin et al., 2016). Your DIY options help me create a cost effective item that I will be more likely to keep since I made it myself and will have a stronger connection to it. I’ve been waiting to get started on my decorating for a while and you really gave me some great inspiration. I particularly really liked the headboards you made, I had never thought about how a headboard could really make my room more cozy. The one made out of lights in particular sparked my interest. I'd really be excited to hear about how you make your house here more of a home. I know you discussed your room in particular, but I know my living room is kind of a mess since I live with so many other girls. If you have any advice on how to make a communal space more inviting I would love to hear your thoughts!
Angell, A. (2017, September 12). Marketing 313. Lecture presented in University of Michigan.
Babin. B., & Harris, E. (2016). In CB 7 (7th ed., pp. 29). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Amazing blog post! You have inspired me to get more creative when it comes to designing my own room. When it comes to decorating, I can be very lazy and indifferent towards maintaining a theme or a color scheme for my room. I usually just order a few posters online and easy stick-on wall décor since I typically value convenience over other factors, however, you have encouraged me to get more creative and convey my personality more by implementing physical characteristics to the décor in my room (Babin et al., 2016); I’m thinking about printing out photos and hanging them on my wall just like you did. I never can come up with which little knick-knacks would be a good touch for my room because when it comes to moving in, I only look for products that fulfill my needs. However, when I first moved in I knew right away that I needed a headboard so that I can have a more defined head/back rest for sitting up in bed, which is very utilitarian of me (Babin et al., 2016). However, I really like your idea about “[giving] the illusion of a headboard” because if I choose to spice up my room a bit more I can definitely add twinkly curtains to fix how boring and simple the area above my bed currently looks. Additionally, I love having flowers because it’s a quick and easy way to brighten the ambience of my room and there are so many DIY projects that can be done for that like you mentioned. I found a great video that shows a beautiful way to design a vase, which also could be a cute idea as a gift for someone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y7AtZnt6TY
ReplyDeleteBabin, B. J., & Harris, E. G. (2016). CB (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage-Learning.
M. (Producer). (2017, June 8). How to Decorate Flower Pot | How to Paint Flower Pot [Video file]. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y7AtZnt6TY
Rachael,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog, and my blog is about interior design too! I think that girls who like design and decorating as much as we do aren't ordinary (perhaps we are a micro culture!). I love to make collages like how you have talked about in this post. Where do you find the coolest pictures / items for making the collage? I always have a tough time finding the perfect set of pictures and items to put together that look aesthetically pleasing together.
Do you find that doing projects brings you hedonic value (Babin, 2016, p. 29)? It does for me! For me, there is a sense of accomplishment after finishing a craft and having it turn out beautiful. Another reason that I love DIY projects is that they provide so much economic value! It is so much cheaper to make a lot of items yourself than to buy them at the store, plus they are much more individualistic!
Here is a link to one of my favorite projects I've done. I made these flower balls, but with roses instead of sunflowers! http://www.alwaysorderdessert.com/2016/09/diy-hanging-sunflower-pendants.html
Babin, B. J., & Harris, E. G. (2016). CB (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage-Learning.