If you have a few gaps on your walls at home or the office, and want to fill them with something but can't afford art pieces, then consider adding Word Art.
This is basically a page with motivational or life quotes printed on them in pleasant looking fonts that you can instantly download to your printer and then frame and hang on the wall.
This is a super cool way to ground you each day or uplift you, and there are many phrases and sayings to choose from. My favorite so far is on ETSY.
They are affordable and you search one that fits your situation whether you need some encouragement, mood lifting, Inspiring, funny, or Spiritual. This particular Shop:
Just look at the side index and find that page. These are quick to print as they are all either 8x10 or 5x7, so works for most printers.
One Word Quotes can add to your wall art too. They are simplistic or minimalist if that is what you prefer. Simple black and white word art.
Head to the Dollar store and get a simple black frame and you have instant art for your walls. Group them together for some fun and interest. Or create a collage.
The Thrift Store is another great source for frames. You can usually get frames for a couple of bucks, that you can either clean up and paint if you like DIY or use as is.
Positive Quotes can Uplift Your Mood as Well as Decorate a Wall
Pick some words or sayings that inspire you, and personalize your wall with quick printable word art. They definitely make a focal point and are fun. Some have a bit of color in the background such as this one below.
Create a Focal Wall of Word Art that Reflects Your Personality
Hopefully this has inspired you to fill your walls with something a little different but that is also affordable. These prints are under 10 bucks and many are under 5. Just click on the pictures to find out more.
If you Don't Have a Printer ... Or Don't Want to Use Up Ink
Purchase the file and then upload it to Staples or Walmart or wherever photos or copies are made, or copy to a data stick and take to a copy store. It can be printed right away and still on the cheap especially if you get a few printed at a time.
Cheap Wall Decor Ideas
Using printables or printable art is a great way to fill a wall with awesome stuff! It doesn't have to be a photo or a picture or a painting it can be as simple as words or even one word. Once printed and framed especially with a black frame they look awesome.
So if you have just moved in, and just don't know what to fill those walls with, or want to cover a bad wall, then consider making the wall a focal point and instead of one large piece of art, fill it with many 8x10 or 5x7 or mat them and use larger frames with word art or inspirational quotes and have fun!
Create Your Very Own
If you are pretty good with writing or love to do calligraphy, then consider creating your very own word art. These have become very popular and fun. I think it is a quick and cheap way to make a fun wall or to cover a bad one.
This is such a cool craft idea, and awesome way to allow me to store some of the smaller items, such as spice jars and those little containers that somehow get lost in the sea of "things".
Method:
Take one baking pan, and dump the bag of marbles into the pan. Check to make sure they are all about the same size.
Sometimes you get larger marbles in with the bag. Take those out.
The marbles act like little casters or ball bearings for the second pan that you simply sit on top of the lower one fill with the layer of marbles.
The bottom pan is stationary and the second one moves. This is such an affordable way to organize your cabinets on the cheap.
You could also decorate them and use them in other places like the bathroom or bedroom or hall closet, but they are especially useful in the kitchen..
I love finding awesome ways to make life easier and cheaper. The dollar store definitely fills in the gaps when it comes to affordable and creative storage ideas.
They are also online now too! You can get many of the supplies delivered to you.
How to Decorate a Bookshelf so it doesn't look like a jumbled mess like this picture!
Decorating shelves is akin to window displays, some people just seem to create awesome displays, and then someone like me tends to simply pile it on... and of course it just looks like a jumbled mess that is also a pain to clean.
If you don't want your shelves to look like the above pictures, then check out these ideas. Short on time? Check out this video for some quick ideas.
Some Quick Tips on Bookshelf Organization:
Tip 1 - If you are a book worm, then obviously you will want to display your great volumes of your favorites. Before you just shove them on the shelf, why not take the time and organize them by size or color? This creates an organized look and makes you books the focal attention in the room.
Get rid of old tattered novels you have already read (donate them to used book stores) and only display the good looking books! Also don't fill the shelves from jammed end to end, leave room for some cute bookends.
Invest in some cute looking artistic bookends either you can make yourself or find online. Here are some suggestions from Amazon: You can click the pictures to find out more.
These are super awesome looking industrial style bookends. I love the industrial look and this would definitely add some texture to your display of books, especially older books.
Blue Agate bookends would add some color and depth to the space. Adding any artistic detail is a great bookshelf idea. Using the shelves as a way to display art as well as books creates a nice effect in the room.
If you are more modern and chic styling, then these shiny stainless steel bookends would do the trick too. Decide the look you are going for in this room as bookshelves tend to be a big focal point.
Tip 2 - Display Like with Like - If you have lots of knickknacks you want to display, but they are tiny, then group them together on a cute tray or piece of old wood. Not only does this make them more visible, but it also makes dusting day a little easier.
Tip 3 - Stack Some Books On their Side - With the largest at the bottom and pick books that gradually create somewhat of a pyramid. If set them in the center of the shelf and create groupings around them, this gives the room a spacey feel. Try not to add too much to a shelf, go for more of a minimalist look.
Tip 4 - Add Greenery - Depending on the type of lighting you have in this room, add some cute little slow growing plants that will add some green to the space. You can group smaller plants together so they are visible and on a tray.
Tip 5 - Use Clear Tiny Display Cases for Memorabilia or Tiny Knickknacks - If you want to display some of your memorabilia or even those tiny little knickknacks, then consider investing in clear cases to house them and keep the dust off and yet add some decor to your shelves.
Just click on the picture and find out more. You can get these in different styles and sizes. I love tiny ceramic figurines that I used to get from the old Red Rose Tea Bag boxes, and would love to display them.
These cases not only let you display them in an organized fashion, but also keep the dust off of them.
Bookshelves Can Reflect Your Personality and Make a Huge Impact in a Room
If you are renting, bookcases can be the perfect place to display your framed pictures, knickknacks and more, they don't have to be reserved for books.
So hopefully I have got you inspired to work on your own shelves. Start by emptying them and giving them a good clean, and then going through the books and objects and decide what you want to keep and the best way to display them.
Whether you are renting and inherited whatever appliance was in the kitchen, or you have an old refrigerator that still works but has not done well in the beauty side of things.. there are ways to hide it and add some fun and pizzaz to your kitchen on the cheap.
✅1. Peel and Stick Fridge Murals!!!
Lets face it, no matter what you do.. the refrigerator is front and center in a kitchen. You can't hide it other than pasting all your kids drawing to the front of it, but I found a super cool way to upgrade the look and add some personality to your kitchen. Check these out!
This removable vinyl sticker is a bright photo of a British phone booth. If you have a boring all white kitchen this would certainly add some punch and pizzaz, and if you are renting, it is totally removable, although you landlord might just love it too.
Afternoon coffee or tea break with a gorgeous sunset in the background.
If you have a larger "side by side", you can still make it look pretty too! Measure your present refrigerator door or doors and find one that will fit.
Eiffel Tower, Paris. This has a lot of color that would be fun in the kitchen. These are designed for any door but fit fridges nicely.
If you prefer something a bit toned down, and not so much color there is this other option of the Eiffel tower below:
Click on any of the above pictures and you can look it at closer and also see other suggestions. Refrigerators are expensive and it doesn't take long, especially with a full house of kids and pets for them to get chipped or simply age out and that white fridge is now yellowed.
These murals are all under 40 bucks (at the time of this writing) and I think this is an affordable way to not only decorate your kitchen and personalize it to your tastes, but save on the cost of a new fridge simply because it is ugly!
✅2. Appliance Paint
If you don't want to make your appliances stand out, but simply want to cover the rust and chip marks, then you can also go the route of repainting them with this specialized epoxy paint.
This option can totally renew the refrigerator and any other appliances. It is white epoxy, so there will be a odor, but once dried it will look brand new.
This special paint by Rust-Oleum will not leave brush marks. Just follow the instructions to totally renew your appliances safely.
If you move a lot, and also move your appliances with you, eventually they show the wear and tear.
Reduce Waste and Reuse!
As long as it is still working, why spend the money to replace it? Your old one ends up in the landfill and yet it still is working.
So consider the above 2 ideas before you decide it is time to get rid of that old faithful refrigerator. There are some pretty cool fridge decorations on the market now.
She is a beautiful lovable cat but as like most kitties, has a mind of her own that has worsened as she aged.
Just recently she decided that peeing outside the litter box was acceptable, which of course it was not to me!
Not sure what got into her head at that moment, but think it was simply laziness on her part in the end, but it quickly became a bad habit.
She Just Stared at Me and Peed!
I figured this was going to be a battle of wits. I looked at the obvious things, such as ..
Did I change the litter brand? - NO Did I clean it out often enough? - YES So what has changed?
I Thought maybe the box sides were too high now as she walks a bit stiffly with age, so I replaced the litter box with one with lower sides, but that changed nothing. Until I made one big discovery!!
Change Out the Newspapers or Floor Protection!
I always kept layers of newspaper under the box as I have 2 other messy cats. I guess Muffin decided on one of her lazy days... that the newspapers were just as good as litter and would pee on them and then shred them up with her claws as if burying her business and walk away.
So, it wasn't that she was too stiff and arthritic to get in, she just got lazy! I got tired of the drippy newspapers full of cat pee, and washing the floor around it.
Puppy Pee Pads to the Rescue!
As an senior cat, she tends to pee a lot and I was getting tired of stockpiling newspapers, and decided this situation wasn't on.
So I got rid of the papers, kept the original kitty litter box, and placed it on a puppy pee pad.
Hoping this strategy wouldn't send her into other rooms as a protest, I watched from afar to see what she would do when she came across this new layer of material.
She sniffed it, then made the effort to climb in the box!
So far, she only had an accident on this pad, and that was 6 days after I put it there. Even this accident was only because her bum was not totally inside.
She couldn't shred this material like she could with the newspapers, so decided that she had better make the effort and get in.
So for anyone else out there with a senior cat that still has some life left in them, don't let them get control of this situation!
Take a close look at the way they use it and if you have not changed anything, and they go beside the box, then try the puppy pads. AT least this way you are not cleaning wet floors all the time. Even if they keep going on these pads, they are much easier containment as they are designed to hold a lot of pee.
They are not thick, but I am amazed at just how much they can hold as they are designed for dogs.
Compromising with my Cat
When they do pee on this material it totally contains it. So for me this was a compromise.
I thought I would simply have to invest in these for the remainder of her life, but was surprised to find out she could still use the box, just found the papers easier.
One for Me!
So this was one battle I seemed to have won... for now.
If you use a litter mat or something under the box and your cat is peeing and pooing on this instead of climbing in, then at least by using puppy pads you can keep the area clean.
But with my cat, Muffin, it seemed to cure the situation that had been going on for months. Some of the pee had actually migrated under the baseboard and now that needs replacing, so this was not looking good for my old cat.
These puppy pads totally limit any damage the cat pee does when you are not there and they decide to go on the floor beside it. I found them online for a good price. I found I didn't need the big ones, just enough to cover the floor area on the side she was using.
Dog owners know that chocolate can be a serious hazard for our poochies, but wouldn't it be nice if you could still let them join in the spirit of the night with a simple to make Halloween Dog Treat?
As long as your dog can tolerate plain greek yogurt (most doggies can) then let them enjoy!
What you will need:
2 x cups of natural Greek Yogurt (no sugars or flavours added, it needs to be plain)
1 x medium ripe banana (no green bananas here!)
1/3 cup of peanut butter
1 x tablespoon of honey (optional)
Method:
Dump everything into a food processor or blend well with a mixer. It needs to be totally blended.
Pour into silicone (or non stick) molds.
Freeze for at least an hour
Serve!
This would be a great idea as a doggy treat for visiting parents who bring their dog along with them all dressed up for Halloween.
It is nice to give them a treat too! Of course always ask the dog owner if you can give them a frozen treat, and let them know what is in the treat.
When they have their very own treat, they will not keep bugging for the kids goodies.
These can be eaten by people too, as the ingredients are natural, but it is nice to keep them for your dogs. I like the silicone mold above as the frozen treats are not huge.
If you don't want to make your own, you can also purchase ready made doggy treats online. This is so cute especially if your dog loves to dress up and be a part of the festivities. You can also hand out these little bags to friends and neighbours who stop by on Halloween Night.
Your dog is part of your family, it is nice to give them affordable little treats that are designed for them and won't upset their digestive systems.
Have a Bowl of Doggy Bones or Your Homemade Treats Ready to Hand Out for the Four Legged Trick or Treaters!
Organize an area at the door where you will be giving out the goodies so that your candies for kids are easy to grab. Example: I pour mine into a large salad bowl so it is easy to grab and I can see how many are left.
Also have a bowl of small dog bone treats either purchased or homemade and if you like the above recipe, a cooler bag with freeze packs inside to keep the yogurt/peanut butter treats frozen.
I am sure the dog owners would love the idea of their doggy having a treat so they can join in. They can eat it right there and then.
So many dogs are dressing up for the occasion and so adding some Halloween dog treats to the night will certainly get a tail wag I am sure! Who could refuse their cute faces!
If you have just moved into a rental apartment or house, then chances are the kitchen is not the happiest place right now! Whether is is just builder white or has seen better days as with an older place, there are ways to personalize and transform your kitchen to make it welcoming and actually inviting.
✅1. Peel and Stick Countertop
If your counter is an ugly color or worn out or you just want to add some pizzazz to your space, then start with the countertop. It is the largest surface in your kitchen and will make an impact by changing it.
Before and After Countertop with Peel and Stick Granite Looking Paper
You can get this product online and there are many colors and textures to choose from.
Method:
Before you just rip off that backing, you need to do a little bit of prep work. Step 1 - Empty your Countertop Step 2 - Clean to get rid of any grease, this part is important or the paper won't stick Step 3 - Invest in a smoother tool to slowly place the product onto the counter.
Check out this video below to see just how she places peel and stick paper to her rental kitchen.
The Smoother tool is super important for gradually adhering the paper to the countertop for that perfectly smooth surface.
It is amazing just how quickly you can transform your countertop. Just remember to use hot plates and pot holders on this surface when cooking. When it comes time to move, you can peel it off but chances are the landlord will love it and want to keep it.
✅2. Swap Cabinet Hardware
This is an easy swap that doesn't damage the cabinets at all. Just keep the old hardware in a box where you can find it.
If you plan on staying here for a while this is a great investment to simply bring life back into this space and to make it more inviting for you as this is your home whether rented or not.
I like this beautiful hardware as there are 25 pieces to a pack with over 1200 positive reviews at the time of this writing. You don't want to spend too much but it can make all the difference. This style works on cabinets that only have one drilled hole for the hardware, if yours are more like handles, you can still get good deals on them online too as below:
Obviously, do not be drilling holes in the cabinets, try to work with what is there.
With the countertop updated and the hardware updated, things should be looking a little better.
✅3. Temporary Floor Covering for Rental Kitchen
If the floor has seen better days in the kitchen or is some horrid design that you simply can't live with, then you can invest in a pack or two of "click together flooring" These are not installed floors, so there is no gluing or any permanent DIY.
You use an under padding and then just click these together right over the existing floor. This is a bit more money, but if your landlord doesn't want to replace the kitchen flooring, then this is something you can add to it without any damage.
It will feel like a new kitchen without hurting the original design.
✅4. A Bright Runner Kitchen Rug is Another Option to Add some Pizzazz and Personality!
If adding a temporary floor is not in your budget, then consider simply adding a few kitchen runner rugs to detract from a boring or worn floor. Most floors show the most wear in front of the kitchen sink and the stove, so adding some soft non slip rugs to these areas would work too.
✅5. Appliance Paint
If the kitchen appliances are yours and they are older, then simply repainting them white will freshen up the space.
If they belong to the landlord, ask if you can paint them to brighten them up. The paints on the market are so good, you would never know they were not white to begin with! You can actually get specific paint for them online:
This can be a big job, but does pay off in looks!
You can also get this in a spray, but if you are painting your refrigerator for example where it stands, then using the can and a roller is best. It doesn't leave any brush marks and it totally durable and will give your appliances a new lease on life.
After many moves they tend to get nicks and cuts that rust, so by giving them a coat of specific appliance paint, they will look new again.
✅6. Refrigerator Door Stickers - Instant Punch of Kitchen Art and Color
If you can't repaint the refrigerator, you won't believe what you can get!! Refrigerator mural stickers.
Check these out, they are super cool.
If you just want to add some whimsy or a punch of color and don't want to get into any DIY, you can get these awesome murals for doors or refrigerator doors as pictured. Click on it and at the bottom of the page are more mural ideas.
Talk about adding art to the kitchen!
✅7. Add Canvas Coffee or Wine Art to Walls
You can get some awesome art pieces to hang in your kitchen to instantly add some 3D to the space.
These 4 pieces fit together and are under 50 bucks on Amazon right now.
If you have the wall space, this can be an awesome way to add to the plain walls. If not coffee, then go for a wine theme as below:
How to Decorate a Rental Kitchen?
The trick is to not cause any harm to the original surfaces.
But if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do a little bit of DIY, you can make this plain kitchen your home. There are so many cool and yet temporary products on the market now. Even with the art you can use those 3M hooks that cause no holes or wall damage.
By putting your stamp on it, it will feel like a welcoming place to come home to at the end of a hard day.
Just because you are renting doesn't mean you have to live with the decor. If you don't harm original surfaces, then your landlord will be happy, and he might actually love what you have done to the place.
Even if you only add a couple of the above ideas, you can make a difference to the space..
Obviously, budget will be the most important factor. But even if you check out thrift stores and garage sales for some things you can add to personalize you space, this will make a difference.
I Once Rented for a Year and Thought Why Bother? Big Mistake...
I felt since I was only going to be there a year, why make the effort? Big mistake.. it was so uninviting, it actually became depressing and I really didn't feel at home or want to eat my meals in there.
It is good for your soul to add personality to wherever you live including temporary housing, even if it is short term.