A round-up of DIY-able wall decor ideas for designer farmhouse style on the cheap.
Weren’t we just talking about the TV switcheroo / wall decor situation happening in our living room?
There are a lot of exciting things happening here behind the scenes (which I sort of mentioned on Instagram yesterday), but one of the current debates is placing some wall decor around our behemoth television. And it got me thinking about ALLLLLL of the wall decor we have DIYed in our house over the years. It’s a lot…like A LOT.
Apparently we’re into the “why buy it when you can make it for half price” look. So I thought I’d round up all 18 inexpensive DIY wall decor ideas to help out if you’re ever feeling stumped in that department too.
One of my first stops at the thrift store is the frames section. You can pick them up for a couple of bucks, and if you don’t like the picture inside, no biggie. Once you have a great collection going, paint them all to look cohesive. And if you need some pointers for hanging a rockin’ gallery wall, you can see all my tips here.
Our dining room sported this look last summer, and adding shutters is still one of my favorite ways to add texture to a plain wall.
To fight clutter in our closets, I try to display our keepsakes from the past on shelves or in shadow boxes. This white dress that Olivia wore as a baby now hangs in her bedroom.
Cut Up a Calendar for Easy Art
When I was in college, I decorated my entire apartment with calendar pages. To fill this window, I just used some prints from an old Ansel Adams calendar I had. Done! Instant art.
Make Art from Vintage Yardsticks
Robert and I made this yardstick American flag for his office, but there are so many possibilities to create different types of art using them.
If you have a collection, display them all together for a big impact. I have a thing for clocks so I put them together on our kitchen wall.
Purchase sheet music to your favorite song to have blown up as an engineer print. You can see the full tutorial for making this sign here.
Using just a scrap piece of wood, paint, and a few craft letters, you can make a basic sign in minutes.
If you find an old book with great art, rescue it by framing some of your favorites. These prints came a book that was bound for the trash. You can download a set of 6 of them here.
You can find ceiling medallions at thrift stores, estate sales, and yard sales pretty often. But you can recycle them for your wall instead of the ceiling.
I love when wall decor can also double as organization. All you need is a thrifted frame, chicken wire, scrap wood, and a few knobs, and you no longer have to dig through a cluttered jewelry box.
This one I made in the fall (and this similar one for Christmas) are simple to build and look like the real rustic deal.
We dug into our scrap wood pile to come up with this door knob towel rack for something a little more interesting than a basic towel bar in our hallway bathroom.
Make a Chalkboard from a Window
I love changing out the scriptures and poems on this chalkboard to work with the different seasons and holidays of the year. If you have an old window, just prime, paint a couple of coats of chalkboard paint, dry and rub down with chalk to season, and you’re good to go. (You can see my trick here for hand lettering chalkboards the easy way too.)
These shelves cost about $20 to make and they add a pretty, farmhouse vibe in our hallway bathroom. Plus, they double for function.
Make a Vintage Style Pull Down Map
Use just a poster, two dowel rods, string, and a little glue… voila! Easy and vintage industrial art.
If you have a favorite verse, quote, or song lyric, type it up, resize it into a engineer print, and paste it onto a wooden sign. Or you can even create typography art using existing frames.
Hang a Mirror with a Ballet Barre
I mean… I know this won’t work for everyone, but if you have a little girl, do it right now! This ballet barre is definitely Olivia’s favorite place in the whole house to dance and sing and play dress-up.
So do you have a favorite one? All of them are so inexpensive and they have added lots of personality to our home to make it reflect so much of what we love.
If you ever need to come back to this post for ideas, you can pin it for later here:
Hi Lauren,
You have so many beautiful ideas, and the colors you use happen to be some of my favorites also.
I have 3 questions for you, all related to paint. What is the wall paint you have in your stairway and dining room. I have some bedrooms and other rooms to repaint and am looking for a soft taupe gray. This might work in our house also. Second; What paint product did you use on the frames you have your daughters dress in? I love antique silver, and pewter and hope to redo some frames I find at Good Will or thrift stores. Last; what finish or paint did you use to get the soft gray look on your wooden (Pumpkin) sign? I would so appreciate your sharing those with me.
Thank you! :)’s
Hi Karin! Thank you! The wall paint in both the stairway and dining room is called Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige. It’s a little darker and beige in person, but it seems to photograph with more of a gray tint in the natural light. I’d definitely get a sample pot to try out first before you commit. For my daughter’s frames, I actually didn’t do anything to them. Those were some of the only frames I bought new because I needed a set of 3 at that exact size. I got them from Michaels, and I think they still carry them. For the wooden pumpkin sign, I stained pine planks with Rustoleum Weathered Gray stain. Hope that helps!
These are some great ideas! I’m new to your blog, but I’m a fan already! Keep up the inspiring ideas and great work!
Yay! Thank you, Kelley!
Wow! I’ve seen all of these as individual posts, but shown together they really display how creative you and your husband are. Great work and ideas!
Thank you so much, Angie!
Wonderful ideas!
Thank you!
There are several inspirations I’ve gotten off your post. I realize now why I’d really like an old window!!! A place in my town sells them reasonably. I know just the spot too. I’m amazed at how much you’ve done to create a space that is your own!! It’s fun to look back and see all your inspirations. Thank you
Yes! Get one! I never met an old window I didn’t like. 😉 Hope it turns out well. Thank you so much for all the love you always give me, Gwen.
New to your blog and really happy to be here. Always looking for DIY ideas I can pull off and I found a few here. Especially like and appreciate the map project. My hubby would love that in his office. Thanks for sharing your genius!
Awesome! So glad to have you here, Trudy!
I love all your ideas-my favourites are the yardstick picture, shutters & old window. Your home is fab.
Thank you so much, Shirley!
These are all great ideas, my favorite is the Irish Blessing. Your fall sign is a so cool.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Pamela! I have a soft spot for that Irish Blessing one too. 🙂
Hello, could you please send me the link to your free offer for 6 botanical prints? I can’t seem to find it on your post. Thanks very much.
Hi June! Sure!
I have enjoyed so many of your clever ideas!! I copied your chalkboard poem idea onto an old tray back. I’ve done the anniversary sign–adapted to using my leftover strip of chalkboard board. I love your color scheme on your family wall. Clever yet striking ideas
Yay! Thank you, Gwen! So glad these could help!
Hi Lauren:
Would you please give the number of yard sticks you used for the flag decor?
And, how many for each color?
Wonderful wall decoration for our cabin!
Hi Robin. I used 21 yard sticks total, 10 red and 11 natural. You can see a more detailed tutorial in this post: https://www.blesserhouse.com/2016/04/diy-yardstick-american-flag-wall-art.html
I love your website. We built a faux fireplace based on your plans and it is my favorite part of our home! we are now selling our house and the new house doesn’t have a fireplace either…but it has a two story wall that is open. I want to build another one in this house, but my hubby is wondering if the planking would be too much going that high on a wall? what ideas do you have for a two story high wall?
I’m so glad to hear that! I think you could still get away with planking. But you could try a board and batten look too. Like this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/513903007474045714/ Here’s planking too: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607071224741920892/
Hi i’m new at decorating. I have white walls in my house. what’s a paint color you would suggest for a living with the colors black, gold, and cream? I really need help.
Nice article! Wall arts play an important role in interior design. These are the best ways to decorate home beautifully. I am so excited to try them. Thanks for sharing the great article.
None of your photos are showing up, only the printed words.
Another great thing that we used was a reclaimed barn window frame. You know the really HUGE window frame. It sort of sections off the wall into 4 big sections and we’ve placed shelves or smaller wall decor in each to fill out the space.
LOVE your suggestions for hanging pictures on the wall. I wish I would have read this yesterday before I put four EXTRA nail holes in the wall to hang one medium-sized collage. Oh, well. I’ll be an expert now. Thanks!