53 Unexpectedly Brilliant DIY Home Decor Ideas on a Budget

Last updated on March 4, 2024

These DIY home decor ideas will help you turn a house into a home. And the best part? You can do all of them on a budget.

We all love to decorate our home, but it doesn’t mean we have to do everything by the book. You don’t have to do what a popular decor magazine says or what your favorite interior designer has done in their latest project. Most of them will suggest that you create personal decor. And that’s why DIY projects are so great.

Pinterest especially thrives on this as everyone who loves decorating has boards full of creative ideas. We are always on the lookout for new and most innovative ideas so we can offer them to you on a silver plate. And here they are.

Important Tools You Need For Your DIY Projects

You’re probably looking at the right tools to complete your DIY project, but the problem is finding the correct ones. In order to avoid making a big mess out of a DIY project, here are some tools you’ll need:

  • A screwdriver – Screwdrivers come in all shapes and sizes. The point of getting a basic one is to use it to pull out small objects, such as screws and nails. 
  • A cordless drill – Investing in the best cordless drill offers you great convenience when drilling holes on wood, concrete, and even metal materials you need for your DIY projects. 
  • A drill bit – This is the most important tool to have when working with DIY projects. You need to get a drill bit that’s appropriate for the project you’re working on. Also, the drill bit should be able to take the shape of the screw you are removing.
  • Power saw – You’ll find that some projects do require you to use a power saw. Essentially, the blade should be sharp enough so that you don’t accidentally cut yourself.
  • Pincers – When it comes to DIY projects, pincers come in handy for many tasks. For instance, if you’re planning to create a cabinet out of wood, you need to have pincers to make sure that the cabinet will be sturdy enough for the long hours of work you’ll go through.
  • Pry bar – A pry bar is used for removing screws from a wooden surface or metal. You’ll need a long pair of pincers so you can remove all the screws from the surface. A longer pair is better as you can remove screws from several levels at the same time.

These are some of the tools that you’ll need to get when completing DIY projects. Thus, it’s important to make sure that you have them so you don’t mess up your work. These tools will be useful to help you complete the project you have in mind.

Before you start using these tools, it’s best to prepare the area where you’ll be working. This will help prevent you from accidentally cutting yourself. It also helps protect the material from any damage that might occur due to an accidental slip. Lastly, if you use a protective covering over the area, you won’t have to worry about it getting damaged during the process.

What's Inside

How Can You Decorate Your Home without Spending Much Money?

We’re all about decorating our home and spending less on it (that’s the DIY way). Here’s what you do:

  1. Stick to one color pallet (safe choice – neutral tones).
  2. Choose a few accent colors and stick to them.
  3. Mix different styles (but keep the previous two points in mind) – it’s an easy way to tell a story and make your decor attractive without breaking the bank.
  4. Keep the scale of the room and furniture even. That is, big furniture should go to a big room and vice versa.
  5. Use new and vintage items. This is where thrifting shines.
  6. Choose the right rug (Nate Berkus).
  7. Let as much natural light in as possible.
  8. Layer lighting. Get a few table and floor lamps in addition to ceiling lighting.
  9. Create personal DIY decor!

Let’s expand on the last step.

Tip: our list of DIY projects is continuously updated, so check back often for fresh ideas.

DIY Rustic Decor

Log Shelves
Source: homedit.com

Providing a mix of rustic and modern charm, log shelves help add to the beauty of your home decorating naturally. Also, you can custom-make these shelves, provided the necessary tools and materials are handy.

DIY Wooden Magazine Holder

Magazines don’t have solid covers. They, therefore, do not set in shelves as regular books do. If you’d like some assistance with organizing your magazines, an x-shaped magazine holder would help. The x-shape holder not just serves the purpose but looks cool too.

DIY Mercury Glass

mercury glass

This is a nice idea for a DIY home decor project that is simple and quick to make. The resulting mercury vase is absolutely stunning. Choose the best spray paint for glass and the project will be a success.

DIY Macrame Chair

This DIY hanging macrame chair may not be the easiest to make, but the result is worth all the trials and errors you’ll endure during the making process. You’ll need a lot of ropes for this chair, so keep them stocked.

DIY Painted Vases

These enamel painted vases are ideal for people who like painting and want to put it to DIY use. These vases from Dollar Tree look fresh, modern, chic, and elegant and should remind you of vases found in restaurant lobbies.

DIY Door Trim

Add Decorative Trim to Any Door
Source: www.gluedots.com

Give some character and definition to your otherwise dull and flat doors with this decorative trim. These trims are easy to attach and also don’t leave behind any holes after you take them off.

DIY Faux Brick Wall

Unlike traditional faux brick walls, this brick wall comes with a world map painting on it. At first, the wall might look like a fallout of a shoddy paint job, but upon closer inspection, you shall realize the uniqueness.

DIY Art

This sparkly wall art is made by manually pinning more than 2000 sequins. It may take anywhere between three to four hours to put it together, but the result is worth all the effort and time.

DIY Lace Doily Bowl

If you’d like to make some doilies using fabric (and not paper), here’s a solid example to get inspired by. You can make these in different sizes and shapes to serve multiple purposes.

Faux Marble Table Top

The marble looks elegant and attractive, but not everyone can afford the material. This is where a DIY faux marble table comes in. Get the expensive marble look for cheap, and since it’s faux, you can remove it when you dig it no more.

Built-in Bookshelves IKEA Hack

If you want a clean and modern bookshelf that looks like an IKEA but doesn’t cost as much, give this DIY bookshelves project a try. Importantly, you’ll not be ripping out any of your current woodwork.

DIY Sink Skirt

This skirt for your pedestal sink would camouflage unsightly plumbing and offer some much-required storage space in your tiny half bath. The fabric used ensures any water splashing down doesn’t get absorbed, keeping it dry always.

Faux Antique-style Table

This hack helps you transform a standard floating shelf into an artistic antique-style table. You’ll need some clever paintwork to get the look right. If you are not an artist, use vinyl decals.

DIY Mirror

If you have an empty wall in your house and are not sure what to put there, you could try placing these Ballard Designs knockoff mirrors. These will use up space judiciously, within budget.

Himmeli Geometric Sculpture

Himmeli geometric sculptures are typical Finnish Christmas decoration pieces that you can use as a desktop decoration item or as a hanging embellishment. Despite being part of a tradition, they are modern and sleek.

Canvas String Art Pattern

String Art Canvas Graffiti
Source: jugglingactmama.com

This art graffiti involving canvas strings is a fun spray paint project that both kids and adults would appreciate. This easy-to-do project can be executed even by kids, provided they’re under supervision.

Decorative Chrysanthemum Mirror

Give your boring mirrors a colorful twist with this decorative chrysanthemum mirror hack. Putting together this mirror can be quite fun, provided you are up for the challenge.

DIY Seashell Candles

This hack lets you make unique looking romantic candles using seashells. You’ll need quite a handful of them to create a solid ensemble. These candles are incredibly inexpensive to make.

Picture Frame Shadow Box

The shadow box is a glass front, an enclosed picture frame that holds and exhibits items that have particular meaning or hold specific value for an individual. Compared to regular picture frames, these boxes are deeper, which means they can both store and display items.

DIY Gold Magnetic Letters

Coat magnetic letters in some plastic primer and gold spray color and relive your childhood memories. These are super easy to make and would add some sheen to your fridge or any other place you attach them.

DIY Mini Pallet Coaster

Put popsicle sticks to good use so that you can make these easy and quick to make mini pallet coasters. You can color these popsicles as you wish to give the coasters a unique look.

DIY Honeycomb Shelves

These honeycomb shelves prove even the most practical items, such as popsicle sticks, could be used to make something beautiful. The project is super affordable and extremely doable.

DIY Hanging Shelves

If you’d like smaller shelves to work as a piece of art, the strength and simplicity of rope cord along with the unfinished wood look would do it. Make a significant impact within your space with this simple design.

DIY Beach Decor

Customize your vinyl to make your very own wall art. Choose your customized vinyl piece so that it blends with space it will be in.

DIY Mirrored Furniture

Make your own mirrored dresser to brighten and expand your room, without having to put up with the extravagant costs of mirrored furniture. Making your dresser also means a bit of your character infused into the piece.

DIY Baby Room Decoration

If you have some additional pieces of wood handy, inclination to make your wood pieces, and most importantly, a baby in the house, you should seriously consider making this wooden gym for the little one.

DIY Pallet Art

This Americana Door Art is a DIY project to truly consider if you are feeling patriotic or Memorial Day is around the corner. An old wood pallet, leftover paint, and some scrap wire is all that you need to pull this off.

Makeshift Easel TV Stand

This DIY TV stand can be rolled around for the right viewing angles from any corner of the room and can be tucked away when you’re done watching television.

Hot Glue Gun DIY

This crayon art project for kids entails a glue gun and peeled crayons that should be gently pushed via the gun. Crayon pieces can be used if whole crayons aren’t available.

Old Window Decorating Idea

Add some charm to your house with chalkboard windows. You’ll need some old windows for this, which can be easily found at thrift stores, flea markets, etc. Just make sure the window frame and glass are clean before you proceed with the project.

Handmade Flowers from Fabric

Use scraps lying around to make a flower out of them so that you can use it atop fabric origami box. You can even use these flowers for decorating napkin rings, wedding aisles, tote bags, etc.

DIY Country Decor

Make your own real wood curtain rods with this DIY hack which makes stunning country decor. Curtain rods don’t cost much, but that doesn’t mean there’s room for flimsiness. In other words, these are “pocket-friendly” luxurious curtain rods.

DIY Kitchen Decor

If you have an old rake for spare, use it to make a decorative utensil holder. This project is super easy if you know your way around power nailer tools and have manual help.

DIY Girl Room Decor

If you have a little girl and want to make her room look special, make her a bed canopy. You’ll need a large embroidery hoop and some sheer curtains to make this canopy.

Fall Pillow Cover with Dollar Tree Placemats

Fall Pillow Cover
Source: feedingbig.com

Give a unique look and feel to your pillows with this fall pillow cover project using Dollar Tree placemats. Most importantly, the project is fun, easy, and super inexpensive.

DIY Dollar Tree Halloween Decoration

Greeting friends and family isn’t the same anymore when you have a season wreath hanging on your main door. This skeleton hand wreath is for the Halloween season and can be made with supplies from a dollar store.

DIY Pallet Home Decor

This DIY faux pallet frame can be your beautiful homemade décor piece or innovative gift idea. This simple project can be easily and quickly executed with a few inexpensive materials.

DIY Living Room Furniture

This project entails making a movable crate coffee table. The table might look expensive and a lot of work, which it is not. You’ll not spend more than 100 dollars on this project and need only a Sunday afternoon.

DIY Garden Decoration

If you don’t have real mushrooms in your garden, create some non-real ones using a few dead logs, bowls, screws, and some spray paint. The bowls could be steel, plastic, or any other material.

DIY Succulent Planter

If you like crafting objects out of clay and pineapple is your favorite fruit, try this succulent pineapple planter project out. You’ll need a terracotta pot for this, by the way.

Valentine’s Day Decoration

If you like your Valentine’s Day celebration or decorations to be simple yet effective, you would fancy this small craft piece getting added to your decorations supply.

DIY Nautical Decor

If you like nautical décor, this white and navy wreath project would be ideal to create. This classic nautical wreath would look great in all seasons.

Glass Bottle DIY

Beach Glass Bottles
Source: www.livingwellspendingless.com

Get some decorative corked bottles from a thrift store and create a table centerpiece that complements your beachy mermaid party to the T.

DIY Birthday Decorations

This tassel garland project is inexpensive, easy to make, and adds a good amount of color and fun to the festivities or a celebration or party. Also, the garland looks exceptionally cool for a DIY item.

Cool Things to Paint

There are many cool things you can make by painting ordinary items. For example, your doorstops will not look generic anymore with this dinosaur doorstop project. This door stop not just looks unique but is extremely functional as well.

DIY Fall Home Decor

Leaf Bowl
Source: blog.consumercrafts.com

This decorative bowl made using artificial leaves is an easy project that is a lot durable than what it looks. During fall, this leaf bowl would look like the best thing to have on your table.

Terra Cotta Pot Craft

Mod podge terracotta pots using old cookbooks. This project is straightforward – just make sure you mod podge sparingly on sections to create a seamless overall look.

DIY Bandana Crafts

Bandanas come in different colors and designs. Use them to give a unique look to your pillows. You can use different bandanas for pillows in different rooms.

DIY Lamps

Use this candle lampshade craft hack to make your table look cheery and stylish. For the project, you’ll need some wine glasses, LED tea lights, scrapbook paper, double-sided tape, and scissors.

DIY Mirror Decor

This mirror box project requires some square mirrors and a glue gun. You can choose the specific kind of mirrors that go to the sides and base. For grip, add some cork protectors to the base.

DIY Trash Can

This project is ideal if you don’t want your cheap trash can to look the part. Just cover the can with some leftover rope to make it look a lot more premium.

DIY Serving Tray

Use your old picture frame to make this DIY serving tray. Add your twist to the tray with things you manage to grab at a dollar store.

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