Quick decor ideas

Need an uplift and don't want to work too hard?  Here are five quick ideas to implement.

1) Add a wall covering.  Whether you like wallpaper, paints, or moldings, a few hours of time will become and investment in your home.  Update a corner of your bedroom, the small wall in your living or dining room, or just a hallway. With wallpaper, you can roll on a self-adhesive product very quickly. To add a 3rd dimension, have a local hardware store cut moldings to the sizes you  need (mitered corners are easy with a $5 miter box) and tack up with finish nails. Paint, of course, is the easiest!

2) Create your own art.  Love a swatch of fabric but don't have enough for a pillow? Frame it!   You can frame several similar but different fabrics and create a unique ethnic look, or a large pattern cut into several sizes and design a larger vignette.

3)  Dress up a wooden chair. Add a bow to the back, a seat cover with a napkin, a slipcover for a whole new look, or a skirt tied or tacked to the underside of the seat. Have a bit more time?  Paint is a great update in solid colors, stripes, and even with stencils and decoupage!

4) Give furniture new life.  Changing the hardware on a large dresser or chest can change its look. Swapping brass knobs for glass, adding some molding to the drawers, and then re-positioning in the room...and voila....a new piece!  This one got ceramic knobs, some applied moldings and black paint! 

5) Change your bed.  As the largest piece in your bedroom, making a change to the bed, bedding, and where it sits in the room, will have a huge impact on the space. Here, a four poster bed was given a poplar wood canopy - attached to the ceiling with "L" brackets - and dressed with fabrics and a staple gun. Not expensive but requires some skill. An option is to change all the bedding and pillows and simply hang curtains from the back or sides!