Love a quick home decor project, or does your space need a little refresh? We’ve rounded up 12 clever living room decor ideas you can conquer in under a day!
Paint an accent strip
Refresh a tired living room by painting around a window recess or a doorway to create a colourful focal point. Give a plain room a pop of colour by choosing a paint a shade or two darker than the wall, or in a zingy colour to add contrast. Use low-tack painter’s tape when painting for a crisp edge.
ALSO SEE: 4 tips for creating a feature wall for the first time
Make a no-sew table runner
Pretty up a dining table with an easy DIY fabric runner – instead of sewing, use iron-on hemming tape to secure. You’ll need a piece of fabric roughly 50 cm wide and measuring the length of your table, plus an extra 50–60 cm (to give plenty of overhang at each end). First, fold the two short ends and hem, then fold the two longer sides in and hem in the same way to finish.
Brighten up a drab sofa
Swap cushions for a sunnier selection. If you are handy with a sewing machine, make replacement cushion covers using contrasting plain and patterned fabrics – zip-free covers are the easiest option – or try adding interest to a plain throw by stitching on pom-poms or a length of tassel trim.
Pexels
Line a cabinet with paper
Perk up a plain dresser or display cabinet by lining the interior. Use wallpaper or craft paper in a bright pattern. Remove the shelves first, measure the height and width of the back panel and cut paper to size. Secure with contact adhesive, smoothing air bubbles as you go.
Smarten up a shabby table
Give an old wooden dining table a new lease of life with a lick of paint. Rather than priming and waiting hours for paint to dry, try a quicker option with an all-in-one chalk paint that won’t need much prep time. Just give the table a sand down first and wipe over with a damp cloth to get rid of dust and grease. Paint the table and leave to dry for a couple of hours. Seal the painted surface with wax or a finishing sealer.
Create a gallery
Fill empty wall space above a couch with a gallery of family photos. Sort out a selection of your favourite snaps, and resize and reprint a batch to suit the size of your frames. For an orderly, structured display, choose identical frames and mounts with prints that are similar in either composition or colour. Arrange the frames on the wall, equally spaced apart and in a block layout to line up with your furniture.
Pexels
Make your own table
Narrow hallway or a small bedroom? Put together a bespoke dressing table or console table that’ll be the perfect fit, using a DIY kit. Legs come in a range of styles, colours and heights and attach to the underside of a tabletop using screws. For the tabletop, use the leftover length of a kitchen worktop cut to size or a piece of reclaimed wood stained or waxed for a rustic finish.
Put up a shelf
Create extra space for essentials by running a shelf, wall to wall, above a bed. Opt for rustic raw oak, teamed with leather-strap supports. Fix the supports to the wall, spaced 80 cm apart, and slot the shelf in. Paint or wallpaper the wall under it in a contrasting colour for a chic look.
Tile a kitchen splashback
Refresh a kitchen by adding a new splashback. Before you start, make sure the wall is clean and dry and the worktops protected. Working from the bottom upwards, apply tile adhesive to the wall using a spreader and position tiles, gently pushing them into the adhesive. Use tile spacers to create even spaces and work in a small area at a time. Once complete, leave the adhesive to dry overnight, then apply tile grout and buff clean.
ALSO SEE: How to match the perfect tiled backsplash to your kitchen
Paint a room in sunny colours
Transform a dreary dining room or living room by painting the walls a cheery colour combination. Try neutral stone, teamed with a band of sunny yellow just below ceiling height – it will add the illusion of height and make the room feel bright and spacious. Give the room two coats of your base colour on day one, and add the yellow band on day two, using low- tack painter’s tape to give a crisp edge.
Pexels
Wallpaper a room
If it’s your first attempt at papering, keep to one wall and create a feature wall. Make sure the wall is clean, dry and any cracks are filled; troublesome walls might need to be lined. First, mark a vertical line in pencil about 50 cm from the left-hand corner of your wall using a spirit level, to ensure you paper from a perfectly straight point. Use sharp scissors to trim paper and a pasting brush.
ALSO SEE: Add a touch of artistry to your space with artisanal accents
Build a bookcase
Handy with a hammer and nails? Make use of wasted space around a door by building a bespoke bookcase. Construct shelving to frame the door, above and around it, creating cubbies on both sides. Paint shelving white and, once dry, paint wall inserts in contrasting colours.
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Feature Image: Pexels
