Hello A Little Craft in Your Day readers! I’m Shannon and I’m the writer and creator over at AKA Design, a design and lifestyle blog full of crafts and DIY projects for your home (among other things). Whether your home is a dorm, a bedroom or an entire apartment, all of the projects we share aim to be super budget-friendly but still gorgeous! I’ll share a couple in this post – maybe they will work for your space!
Right now I want to share a little trick for getting a higher end, designer-look for a lot less.
Do you ever drool over decor pieces on Instagram or even your favorite shop’s website, knowing you’re in love – but absolutely cannot afford to pay what they’re asking? Have you ever wished that those candle sticks or that silhouette figure were available in another color? Did you ever leave something you loved at the store because it was perfect, except for the color?
It’s a common problem that we all have when shopping for our spaces. DIYers also have this issue when searching for things to make. Sometimes the perfect thing isn’t available, only something that’s almost perfect.
So often I’ve found something I adore, but the color doesn’t suit my house. For me it’s typically something that’s too brightly colored – I’m a white, black and wood kinda girl. But maybe for you, it’s the opposite. Maybe you can find the thing you want, but the color is too bland for your tastes and space.
Well, here’s a little cheat that I’ve used SO many times when decorating and creating for my home:
If you love the size and shape of something but not the color – and the price is right – buy it anyway. Then go and buy a can of spray paint in a color that you do love, and give your new treasure a makeover!
If you like the currently trending look of raw wood, you could even sand the color off of something! And you can search for things to makeover anywhere: thrift stores, dollar stores, dollar bins at Target, craft stores, discount stores or even on Amazon!
Like I said, I’ve done this so many times while searching for decor for my home. For example these coral pieces.
Last summer I was looking for decor and everywhere I looked I saw these beautiful corals, mostly from Pottery Barn. Unfortunately, I don’t have a PB near me and shipping would have cost a small fortune, so I used my little trick. I bought some actual aquarium coral – like from a fish store! – and spray painted them white.
This summer I still loved the look of coral, but I fell in love with these ones on stands from Restoration Hardware. Much like Pottery Barn, there’s no RH near me and shipping would have made the already pricey pieces more expensive. Then I found very similar looking ones at Michaels, only the gold doesn’t fit my house (black and white and wood, remember). So I used my little trick again and this time spray painted the bases in a matte black. And now these pieces fit into my house so much better!
So, have you ever left something behind because it wasn’t the right color? Maybe you left it behind because it was too boring for your bright space? Or like me, too bright for your neutral space? Or maybe you stopped looking at your favorite piece because it was too expensive? Well, now you can go back and get it, or find one similar for less, and give it a little makeover with some humble paint!
If you liked this idea, I’d love it if you stopped by AKA Design to see my other projects and ideas! From there you can follow me on social media too!
Thank you so much Tanner and Courtney for having me share today!
xo,
Shannon
