A Home Decor Makeover with Crafts
Give vintage finds the feminine touch with a trendy color palette and clever customization.
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Take a look at how we turned vintage finds into beautiful decor for next to nothing. Paired with bold colors and patterns, these trash-to-treasure items take on a modern twist.
This worn-out chair was kicked to the curb, but our designers gave it new life. It's amazing what paint, fabric, and a little love can do for a curbside find.
Basic or unattractive wooden armchairs are a flea market staple. Buy one for a few dollars and give it a new attitude.
Use a wool blanket to cover the chair back. Cover buttons with a coordinating fabric and tuft the chair back for a dressy look.
Add upholstery batting to the seat and slipcover with a patterned fabric. Dress it up with a ruffle and piping for pretty detail.
A step stool steps in as a side table when topped with a framed doily design. Cut plywood to fit inside the frame and nail it in place. Paint the stool and frame (we chose a pretty pink) and then attach the pieces with a strong adhesive.
To use a doily as a stencil, spray the doily with starch, press flat, and let dry. Cover the frame with painter's tape. Coat the back of the doily with spray stencil adhesive and apply the doily to the plywood tabletop. Spray over the doily with white paint to cover the new tabletop in two light coats. When dry, carefully remove the doily. Finish the top with two coats of water-base sealer.
Extend the life of a tattered quilt by using the best parts to accent a curtain. Cut a bedspread in half lengthwise for two drapery panels. Cut pieces of a quilt to the width of each panel, plus seam allowances, using the binding along the bottom edge for a hem. Press under the raw edges of the quilt and topstitch to the curtain panel. Hem the raw edges of the curtain panel. Add buttonholes across the top and hang the panel with fabric ties.
Add buttonholes across the top edge of each panel and hang with coordinating fabric ties.
Give your sofa personality by wrapping a thin quilt around the seat cushion. This no-sew approach allows for easy laundering.
Repurpose a favorite old quilt block into a pillow embellishment with applique. Open the side seam of a purchased pillow and remove the form from the cover. Carefully cut out the desired portion of the quilt block and center it on the pillow front; applique in place. Replace the pillow form and sew the opening closed.
Turn a blanket into an elegant pillow with applique. Use our free pattern to make this beautiful floral applique and give this pillow an instant vintage feel.
Vintage grain sacks often feature great designs. To turn one into a pillow, cut it into two pieces. With wrong sides facing, stitch around the edges, leaving an opening for turning. Turn right side out, insert pillow form, and hand-stitch the opening closed.
This old window makes a great frame for artwork. Sand, prime, and paint the window the desired color.
Fill the openings with wallpaper, fabric, or scrapbook paper taped to the back of the frame.
Give a purchased modern ledge vintage charm by screwing architectural brackets to the bottom, then prime and paint the entire piece one color.
Give your collectibles a pretty place to land with this vintage-looking ledge.
A few strategic cuts can turn an ugly drop-leaf table into an oh-so-pretty coffee table. Shorten the legs to coffee table height and cut the leaves into curves to soften the edges.
After painting the table, wallpaper the top and drop-down leaves. Adding casters to the legs makes the table easy to move around the room.
Wallpaper scraps are perfect for this makeover project.
Cut a base from 1/2-inch-thick medium-density fiberboard to fit a metal tray. Trim wallpaper to fit the base, and laminate the wallpaper at an office supply store. Secure it to the base using double-stick tape.
Primer, paint, and wallpaper can give an old dresser a fresh look.
After priming and painting the entire dresser, cover the drawer fronts with wallpaper. Secure the pieces with decoupage medium, then coat the fronts with more of the glue.
After the dresser is dry, finish the look with new pulls.
Creating artwork is as easy as clicking a mouse. This floral-and-butterfly adorned canvas was created at winkflash.com.
A dark and dated wicker vase becomes the base of a funky new lamp.
A wicker vase looks trendy when topped with a blossoming shade. Paint the vase, then turn it upside down and drill a hole through the bottom to accommodate a lamp kit. Wire the lamp, following the manufacturer's instructions. Wrap a shade with paper and secure with double-stick tape.
