The cost of furnishing and decorating your new Houston apartment can be daunting, especially if it's your first off-campus student apartment, or your first apartment all on your own. Even veteran apartment dwellers may be feeling frugal after shelling out deposits, rent, and moving expenses. DIY to the rescue! Not only can you save money by creating your own furniture and decorations, but by doing it yourself, you'll truly make your apartment your own. Ready to get crafty? We've already given you a primer on the basics of DIY home decorating—wall paint, new knobs and handles, and of course the primary rule for apartment dwellers: Always check with your landlord first. If you're looking to create a truly unique home, you may want to dig a little deeper. For advanced DIY decorating ideas, check out these resources:
1 and 2 — Apartment Therapy and Re-Nest
We've often cited Apartment Therapy as a resource for ideas on apartment decorating and living well, but they're particularly great for DIY decorating ideas. Here's just a sample of the many inspirations constantly coming out of the Apartment Therapy blog, complete with tips on how things are done. If living green is important to you (or you're on an especially tight budget), be sure to also visit Apartment Therapy's sister site, Re-Nest. It's all about green homes, and it regularly includes ways to create great DIY decor by recycling, reusing, and repurposing things you'd otherwise throw away. Check out their roundup of “25 DIY Projects that Cost Less than $25.”
3 — The DIY Network
This is the web site for the cable TV network devoted to DIY home improvement, and they have plenty of ideas that work for apartment dwellers. Learn the tricks you saw on DIY network shows, get inspiration for creating your own furniture, window treatments, and wall art, and learn how to do basic home decorating skills, like painting walls and hanging wallpaper, the right way.
4 — Threadbanger's Decor It Yourself
As you might guess from its name, Threadbanger is a web site devoted to young, hip DIYers. If you're a college student of traditional age or you've just kept a rockin', youthful style, the video tutorials on this site are aimed at you. Threadbanger has a specific web video show all about DIY home decorating: Decor It Yourself. All of the ideas are explained step by step, and all are young, stylish, and extremely easy on the wallet.
5 — Instructables
For the wildest, most creative DIY decorating ideas, check out the home decor section of Instructables. These reader-submitted tutorials will show you how to make everything from fancy headboards and room dividers, to customized IKEA furniture, to mounted trophy jackalope, werewolf, and dragon heads. Your apartment decorating possibilities are limited only by your imagination—and those of your fellow Instructables readers.
Posted by Melanie Belasco Levy on 06/08/11
