Many homeowners like to do their own decorating projects themselves. This is a great way to ensure that your style and personality always come through your decorating. Here are 5 great DIY decorating projects that you can do for your home.

1. Paint the Walls
The easiest yet most effective way to give room a whole new look is by painting. It’s important to remember that the color of the walls will always influence the décor of the entire room. If you decide to paint the walls, be sure that you do it properly and prepare the walls as needed. You may need to fill in any cracks and then sand them down, as you want the wall to be crack-free and smooth. You also need to be sure to put on a coat of primer. You may have to put on a few coats of paint as well, depending on the color and the saturation of the wall.

2. Install Molding on the Walls
Molding instantly adds a new touch to your walls. If your wall is boring, molding will give it some interest and appeal. You might install crown molding to the top of the wall or go a different route and install a chair rail in the middle. Before nailing it to the wall, paint or stain the molding first. Then you can go back and touch up the nail holes later.

3. Personalize the Lampshades
If you can’t find the exact lampshade you’ve envisioned or just want to create something that shows your style, then consider designing your own lampshade. This is easier than it sounds. Simply take a white or cream-colored lampshade and cut figures or designs out of a dark paper such as black or red. All you need do is to tape the paper to the inside of the lampshade. What will result is a designer lampshade that reflects your own personal style. Another way to personalize the lampshade is by adding embellishments and ribbon to it. This is wonderful way to accent a wooden end table in your living room.

4. Make Your Own Artwork for the Walls
Even if you can’t paint or draw very well, that doesn’t mean you can’t come up with your very own artwork to hang on the walls or to place in wood bookcases. With a little creativity, you can use items you already have. You might hang photographs, postcards, and book images on the wall. Collages of items like those found in nature also make great pieces of art. Another simple project is to take a frame or blank canvas and wrap it in a patterned fabric that fits in with the room’s décor. Choose two or three different patterns and attach them to different sized frames. Then you can hang them in a cluster on the wall.

5. Make Your Own Window Treatments
For those who aren’t handy with a needle and thread or a sewing machine, there are many other techniques you can use to make your own curtains that don’t involve sewing. By taking a long silk scarf and draping it over a window curtain, you can create instant interest around any window. You might also consider using such things as placemats and tablecloths to create instant window treatments. If you do sew, then find a pattern you like, pick out the fabric, and create the window treatments you’ve always envisioned for your home.

Great DIY decorating projects don’t have to be difficult. If you’re looking to decorate your house in your own personal style, these are just 5 of the many different projects you can do for your home.

One of the most popular ways to decorate a home is with artwork, but most people believe it has to be expensive to look good. This is not the case, as inexpensive art can result in a wonderfully decorated room. If you want to include art in your home décor but don’t have a lot of money to spend, then here are some great ways to add interest and character to your home on a budget.

Find Free Artwork around the House
With a quick look around your home, you are sure to find many pieces that can easily be framed to create a beautiful addition to a room. Some examples of what you might find would be: hanging calendars with pictures, postcards, greeting cards, and perhaps even a decorative flag. You can even add something special to some of these pieces to make them look more professional: simply matte them with matting board in the frame.

Look to Nature for Art Pieces
Quite a few different things from nature can be framed in a shadow box or even a matted frame. For instance, you can frame a collage you’ve created from pressed flowers and leaves. Other items from nature such as sea shells, seeds, pinecones, branches, and flowers can all be used as pieces of art. It may take a little creativity on your part to come up with a collage of these items, but it is well worth it, for you’ll end up with artwork that fits your style perfectly.

Take Your Own Photographs for Your Artwork
If you have the ability to take photos, either with your own camera or one borrowed from a friend, then the possibilities of art you can come up with are virtually endless. After all, you can take pictures of just about anything: from flowers and trees, to houses and the sky . If you really want to get creative, you can use a photo editing website and develop the pictures in black and white or sepia. Have the photographs developed in the proper size, regardless of whether you enlarge them or print them in normal size.

A creative way to display them is to buy matching frames in different sizes and arrange the photographs on an empty wall. You you can also collect the photographs into a book and place it as a center piece on oak end tables or wood coffee tables. If you find that creativity is not your thing, then enlist the help of a friend to take photos. You can also go the traditional route and hang pictures of your family on the walls.

By getting creative, you should be able to find any type of artwork for your home without having to spend a lot of money. It’s easy to turn everyday objects into pieces of art. Find some old illustrated books and see if there’s a picture that would look great in your room that can be framed and displayed. Items like fabric swatches, buttons, magazine clippings, and other small things you run across can be used to make a collage for a shadowbox or frame. If you take the time to look around your home and use what you have, you will discover many possibilities for inexpensive artwork.