You know how taking hormonal birth control tricks your body into thinking it’s pregnant? Well, I think mine has tricked me into thinking I’m a mother of three, armed with a Pinterest account, the loyal patrons of my mommy blog and a burning desire to get crafty. (My children’s names in this scenario are Kayleeigh, Kaiylen, and Kaedenn, by the way).
Let me explain.
I’ve recently noticed a monumental shift in how I like to spend my free time. Lately, my perfect evening is spent holed up in my apartment, pounding Diet Cokes and making macrame. Nothing gets me more jazzed these days than the prospect of organizing my cupboards or repainting my closet doors. Who have I become?
As winter slowly draws to a close, the mood to change things up in my home has been especially strong. Redecorating costs can add up quickly though, so I’ve had to find some ways to do it on the cheap. Here are some easy, quick, and affordable projects that I’ve really enjoyed so far.
Plants, Paints and Pots
Whenever I pick up a new houseplant for my home, I usually plant it in one of those cheap terracotta pots from the dollar store. While this looks nice enough on it’s own, a great way to make things a bit more sophisticated is with a quick coat of paint. Personally, I’ve been enjoying this stone-gray colour. It’s easy to paint over afterwards and the porous surface of the terracotta is really forgiving when it comes to making cheap paint stick on. The only thing left to do is actually remember to water the plants. This is something I struggle with and will likely continue to struggle with until the end of time.
Origami on a String
I recently took up the hobby of making origami—again, I genuinely don’t know who I am anymore. Something I’ve been doing lately is stringing paper cranes together using a needle and embroidery thread, and then hanging them around my apartment. I think it adds a really pretty pop of colour to the room and the cranes are surprisingly easy to make once you get the hang of the different folds. I learned how to make them following YouTube tutorials.
As long as it’s cut in a square shape, any kind of paper works when it comes to origami. That being said, I do find that using actual origami paper makes things much easier since it’s so thin and easy to fold.
Put Some Chalk Paint on It
Do you have a roommate? Does that roommate have an old whiteboard they’re going to throw out? Does that same roommate also have a can of spray-on chalk paint? Do you feel confident enough in your relationship with said roommate that you can steal their whiteboard and chalk paint without their permission? If so, try it out!
A chalkboard looks much nicer than a whiteboard, in my humble opinion. Plus, chalk paint is great because you can apply it to all kinds of surfaces. Just make sure to draw a cute doodle of you and your roommate on it afterwards, to make up for stealing her things.
Cards are Cute
A cheap frame from the dollar store is a magical thing. I keep a stack of them stowed away in my closet, so that whenever I stumble across a cute print, I can easily hang it up that same day. A frame also allows you to get creative with what you display on your wall because it makes almost everything look pretty, elegant and intentional.
Lately, I’ve been really into framing the postcards I’ve collected over the years. Whether they be from my own travels or someone else’s, I can’t resist bold colours with a glossy finish, ya know? I think they look lovely grouped together in four-panel frames like the one you see here. (The skull print is not a postcard, by the way, but a print by a local artist—you can find her as manson.grrrl on Instagram. Her stuff is great!).
This also works really well with greeting cards. In this case, I cut off the front portion of the card and glued it down on a coloured piece of paper so that it would fit into a larger frame. It’s a great way to liven up a room without spending the big bucks.
Redecorating doesn’t have to be expensive and time consuming, and you don’t even have to be a Pinterest mom to make it happen. Plus, focusing your energy on personalizing your space and working on yourself is a great way to put off studying, so that’s healthy! Hopefully these ideas can inspire you to get creative with your home. Happy decorating!
Photos by Laurence Brisson Dubreuil
