Comments on: Apartment Decorating: How to Turn Trash into Treasure

By: Cara

Cara — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:50:58 +0000

Half of my room a home is DIY, often of cute stuff I found in catalogs like PBTeen, but didn’t want to pay for and/or wanted to see my own twist on. I’ve done drawer pulls, cute little paint-bordered mirrors, bead-edged lamps, the like. Back in middle school I made strings of colored beads and hung them over my window curtains and valance, a la the inside of Jeannie’s bottle on “I Dream of Jeannie.” I got sick of them eventually, but they were really cool and sort of Boho while they were up.

By: elle

elle — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:53:56 +0000

Some wonderful ideas here… Once I get my first place I will definitely start hunting for pieces to make over :D :D

By: Julie Oh!

Julie Oh! — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:53:27 +0000

I adore this. DIY is such a great way to decorate on a budget and really express your personality! With a limited budget and limited space, moving to college really forced me to be creative. I started a youtube channel all about DIY so that I could share my project ideas with other people looking to express themselves and have practical, easy projects at the same time.

I can’t wait for more! =]

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:38:38 +0000

I have been in love with the drawer pulls from Anthropologie and I finally decided to create my own Anthropologie-inspired piece of furniture. I painted my dresser and gave it an “antiqued” look and then added a mix of drawer pulls to give it an eclectic, bohemian sort of feel. It was very easy, inexpensive and fun. I’ve already started scoping out the next piece of furniture that I want to paint.

Here’s my blog post about the project…
http://katewestby.blogspot.com/2009/09/labor-of-love.html

By: mary

mary — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:47:13 +0000

I love this idea.

I recently completed a project like this.

when you go shopping for furniture, there are a few things to keep in mind.

look at the shapes and lines of the pieces, not on what they look like currently. also, make sure it’s solid wood, and not pressboard covered with a veneer.

I got a solid wood dresser that used to be in a college dorm more than 50 years ago. i got it at goodwill for 10 dollars. I painted it black, and then got some plain wooden knobs for a dollar, and spray painted them hot pink. the whole dresser cost me less than 2o bucks, and looks great! we’ve also done things like this with furniture we’ve found on the curb. our stuff looks really great.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:32:30 +0000

My best project was a small dresser that I inherited after my grandfather passed away…it was a lovely dark wood, except for the top, which for some reason was painted white. I went to my local paint store and they got me set up with a wood marbling tool and some stain – basically I painted something that was (originally) wood, but then was painted over (in too many layers to just strip it), so that it once again looked like wood. And it turned out great! I would recommend it to anyone who has something that isn’t wood, but they would like to make it look like it is.

By: Valeria

Valeria — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:34:32 +0000

Great! :D I love to diy, and I really need it. My room it very boring, so I’ll try some of the tips! Thanks! :D
My inspiration is the room thar Serena Van der Woodsen has on Gossip Girl (drool) I really looove her style.

By: Jess

Jess — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:24:03 +0000

I love doing this! Before I came to college I was in search of a small desk that I could turn into a vanity. I found a wooden one and stripped it, painted it white, and gave it adorable drawer pulls.

By: Brittney

Brittney — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:39:06 +0000

I lovelovelove the idea behind this series! My most recent project was really small, but I have a white board/magnet board that I painted blue so it wouldn’t be so boring. I obviously can’t use the white board function of it now, but I have pictures and magnets and stuff up on it. It was a really cheap, easy way to make something functional a little more colorful (which is always needed when you are working with white walls).

By: Angelica Berry

Angelica Berry — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:26:03 +0000

I definitely want those two projects you completed for your room, they are in my fav color, bright blue! I love all these tips and how they show how we can all be innovative & inventive with a budget — comes in handy when there’s an urge to rearrange. =)

I’m a brand ambassador (titled expressionista) for some cute/fun/colorful room decals from flair4all.com. The brand is all about encouraging expression.
Check em out, if you want a free sample (any design of your choice) to include in your decorating series let me know.