For those of you who are renting, leasing, or are otherwise too LAZY to paint....
Here are some fun ideas to bring color to your walls without paint, and without dropping a small fortune a large piece of art.
DIY diamond accent wall with duct tape. This is awesome - no paint and depending on the size of your wall, you could easily spend less than $30! Check out
the full post and details on The Nesting Place.
They used white tape on a wall that had already been painted. If your wall is white, no worries - thanks to all those kiddos who decided it was cool to make their wallets and prom dresses out of duct tape, there are a billion different colors and patterns to choose from.
Use plates, platters and trays to create a collage of sorts. I really like these three shots that show a good variety of ways to select colors and shapes. The second image has an interesting hombre effect that I love!
Create the look of one large piece of art by using paper (scrapbook, wrapping, wall, etc.) and frames. You could use
16 of these record frames from Target, $10 each, and cover a little over 4' x 4' of wall space with a custom look. I also love the idea of using something like
this mirrored frame to make it a bit more dramatic!
Last but not least, a great idea to not only add color, but also add texture with fabric.
Here’s the general idea: Use particleboard
covered in fabric to lean against your wall. That way, you don’t have to worry
about nailing and hanging anything. Easy.
You will need:
Staple Gun
Fabric
Step 1) Assume the fabric you find will be 52” wide and you
need 2” on each side for securing the fabric, the max width will be 48”.
Keeping that max width in mind, determine how tall you want your “wall art” to
be. If you don’t have a truck, bug a friend who does and get yourself to
hardware store. Let some one know what you’re working on and ask them to help
you find a piece of particleboard or plywood and cut it to your desired
dimensions.
Step 2) Pick out fabric and have it cut to the length of
your board, plus 4” to be used in securing it to the board. I would select a
fabric that has a colorful floor or background. This will help it to really
contrast against the white wall – like the yellow in the picture.
Step 3) Iron your fabric if necessary. Lay the fabric face
down on a hard flat surface. Place the board on top of the fabric, leaving at
least 2” on each side of the fabric showing. I would begin at the top edge in
the middle, carefully folding the fabric back over the board. If you feel
comfortable with a staple gun, go ahead and begin securing the fabric down. If
you’re not such a pro, or have selected a fabric with a geometric pattern or
something that requires it to be super straight and lined up, I would fold the
fabric back and use so masking or painters tape to hold it in place while you
staple.
Once you’ve worked your way around the board, lift it up to
see your work. If you need to make adjustments, just carefully pull the staples
out with pliers and give it another go.
Optional - If you want to jazz it up a bit and like the
framed out look, you can easily accomplish this with a few additional steps. If
you have some one like Mr. Husband who is pretty handy, they should be able to
frame this out for you with no problems. If you don’t and you’re on your own –
here’s a fast and easy shake down to get the job done.
You will need:
4 pieces of pre-primed trim (like this, 3 pieces total, $10.68 each at Lowe’s)
DAP household silicone sealant (white if you’re going to
paint the trim white – or clear)
White paint (like Valspar semi-gloss/eggshell)
Take the length and width measurements of your board to the
hardware store. Ask some one to help you pick out pre-primed trim pieces and
cut them to your measurements (they should even be able to cut the corner
angles if you don’t have a skill saw at home).
Go ahead and paint your trim pieces prior to attaching them. You may
have to do some touch ups, but it will be easier than waiting.
If you have a nail gun, I would recommend using it. If you
don’t, there’s a plethora of permanent craft glues that will get the job done.
Lay the pieces on top of the board to see how they look and fit, and then
secure them down. If using glue, make sure you use enough and give it plenty of
time to dry.
At this point you can still see the fabric on the sides of
your board (unless you have a Mr. Husband handy who properly framed it out for
you). Use the DAP to fill in any space in between the board and the new frame
you’ve made. Let that dry, and then paint over the DAP and the fabric on the
sides of your board. You may have to let the paint dry, and do several more
coats until you are able to completely cover the fabric and get the desired
coverage.
