There’s something about winter that gives me the urge to redecorate my entire house. Maybe it’s the feeling of sparsity after all the holiday decorations are taken down and packed away. Or perhaps it’s restlessness as a result of my frustrated drive to be outside in the garden. (If I can’t be working to beautify my surroundings outdoors, perhaps something can be done indoors?)
Whatever the compulsion’s origins, late winter is when I crave change that makes a difference in my home, a project that my meagre DIY skills can tackle — ideally cheaply, and without incurring further costs by requiring a professional to fix. In the past, I’ve painted and wallpapered rooms, re-caulked bathrooms, and one desperate year, I even tiled a kitchen backsplash.
If you feel the same way, the good news is that hundreds of simple do-it-yourself projects are available that can make a big difference in how your home looks, many without requiring a ton of expensive tools or extensive skills. We’ve gathered a few of these ideas for you to explore in case you’re also feeling the DIY itch.
The Peel-and-Stick Revolution
Wallpaper
When peel-and-stick wallpaper ads started popping up in my social media feeds, I was dubious. I thought, ‘There’s no way that it won’t look cheap, or come unstuck in the corners within a few weeks.’ But the appeal is considerable: installation is way easier than hanging traditional wallpaper, the cost is relatively cheap, and if you realize you hate it you can simply remove it without any damage to your walls.
When I was struck with the urge to turn one of our closets into a mini-office for my sometimes-remote-working husband, I gave the peel-and-stick wallpaper a shot. Two years later, I’m still not disappointed. The hardest part of installation was getting the pattern and edges perfectly aligned, and gently smoothing out tiny air bubbles that seemed to appear no matter how carefully the paper was applied. (Admittedly, these issues could have been ameliorated if I had accepted a little help.)
Peel ‘n Stick wallpaper comes in all kinds of patterns and colors, and even mural options. You can find them everywhere from Walmart and Amazon to more upscale online retailers, like Spoonflower or Tempaper & Co.. According to various online reviews, the main differences in quality comes down to pliability, durability, and design options, although most of these differences seem negligible.
The beauty of peel-and-stick wallpaper is its versatility. You can use it to add an accent wall, or paper an entire room. You could even use it to cover the sides of kitchen drawers, to add a little pop of color in a surprising place. Similarly, peel-and-stick wallpaper is fantastic for updating tired looking cupboards.
Tiles
Just like the peel-and-stick wallpaper, peel-and-stick tiles are another fantastic option for people looking to make a big change without a big commitment. Thicker than their counterparts, peel-and-stick tiles come in flooring and wall tile varieties (although many can be used for either purpose.) They work beautifully for adding a kitchen backsplash, covering outdated bathroom tiles, or simply adding visually eye-catching elements to an otherwise blah room. Some innovative decorators have used them on the risers of their stairs, and others have been daring enough to use peel-and-stick tiles to re-do their showers. (There is some debate amongst the reviews whether this was wise — usually water doesn’t mix well with temporary adhesives — but apparently it’s do-able.)
I recently decided to give peel-and-stick tiles a try on my pantry floor, and was — again — pleasantly surprised at how nice they looked and how easy they were to install. The biggest advantage is how easily they can be cut to fit, especially around door moulding and odd corners. The second best aspect is how quickly the project was completed: it only took about three hours to do my entire pantry. (Talk about instant gratification!) Time will tell how they hold up under high-traffic areas, but so far, so good.
Exterior Touch-Ups
Paint your front door
When was the last time you painted your front door? It’s not something we often consider, and yet, it’s the first view people have of your home. Start off with the right impression by giving your front door a fresh coat of paint.
While you’re at it, it’s a good idea to do a total refresh by removing the hardware (which you were going to do before you painted… right?) and giving it a good polish. Or, you could invest in some new hardware to really update the look.
Garage Hack
Garage doors are ridiculously expensive to replace, and they can be a real pain to paint. If you’re looking for a quick and super easy way to “upgrade” your garage doors, these magnetic hinges and handles will do the job. Simply slap them onto your garage, and suddenly you have the sought-after carriage house garage doors that are all over the Home & Garden network.
Interior DIY Projects
Frame Your Builder-Grade Bathroom Mirror
If your bathroom mirror still looks like it’s being held up by tiny plastic clips (you know… these) then it’s time for an upgrade. One simple trick that makes a huge difference is to add a frame. HGTV has some fantastic, step-by-step instructions for how you can make your own mirror frame and attach it, or you could cheat a little by having one custom-made by a website like FrameMyMirror.
Paint Your Doorknobs
Replacing dated doorknobs around your home is a relatively easy way to give the place a new look, but the cost can quickly add up. Instead of shelling out for $20 door knobs (seriously) and their matching hinges/latches, consider painting the existing ones. You can find excellent instructions from the DIY blog Young House Love, but this project is pretty straightforward: remove your knobs and hardware, sand them with fine-grit sandpaper, apply liquid deglosser, and then refinish by spray-painting with universal all-surface spray paint. Voila!
Cover/Reupholster Dining Chairs
One of my favorite tricks for refreshing a room is adding new covers for tired throw pillows and redoing upholstered dining chairs. To be clear, I’m not talking about reupholstering a whole armchair — that requires a level of expertise far beyond DIY — but rather the ones with fabric only on the seat. All you’ll need is a screwdriver (to remove the seat from the back and legs), some pretty upholstery fabric, and a staple gun. The Spruce has some fantastic, step-by-step instructions for how to go about repairing and recovering your dining chairs the proper way, but they make it harder than it has to be (in my humble opinion.) It doesn’t take a ton of measuring and careful calculations: You simply:
- Cut out a square of upholstery fabric (or any sturdy fabric that doesn’t have too much stretch — I used a shower curtain once when my kids were little and I wanted something a bit more liquid-resistant. The fabric needs to cover the size of the seat plus a few inches extra allowance all the way around.
- Staple the new fabric to the underside of the seat, being careful to keep the fabric taut and the pattern straight. The corners get a bit tricky, so just mess with how you fold the fabric to make it lay as flat as possible.
- Reattach the seat to the chair.
