Decor & Organization

Getting organized can be expensive. 

At first, storage bins seem cheap because some only cost a few bucks.

But, multiply that by the number that you need – and you’ll find that getting organized is super pricey.

It’s easy to use old Amazon boxes or cereal boxes for organization, but then the bins don’t look as nice.

And, I love when things match and look pretty – like the expensive ones in the store. 

If you’re like me, I have super simple solution for you.

It will help you save money by creating  your own storage boxes but the solution will keep you from having to look at Tony the Tiger while putting your things away.

DIY Storage Bins with Three Materials

You can easily reuse old cardboard boxes and cover them in contact paper. Add a knob and you’ll have yourself a little storage bin that can be easily pulled out. 

For full instructions, hop on over to my post how to make storage bins from cardboard boxes.

I have these homemade storage bins all over my house, in various sizes and colors, and they are easy, thrifty, and they keep your house looking nice. 

DIY Storage in the Nursery

I made the first set of DIY storage bins when I was pregnant with my son, and I couldn’t find changing table bins that were the right size for his discounted changing table. So, I put these together and absolutely LOVED them. They used the changing table space perfectly, provided plenty of storage, and were really durable. 

I lined the insides with contact paper too – for easing cleanup.

The thing that makes these storage bins so perfect is the knobs. They’ve held up for so many years – even after the constant pulling when grabbing diapers. Check out the how-to post to for easy instructions on this. 

DIY Storage in Closets

Since the DIY storage bins turned out so nice, I started organizing everything in my home using random boxes and contact paper. 

One of my favorite places I used these cardboard box storage bins was in my hall coat closets.

Using boxes keeps everything so organized. Everyone in my family has their own boxes for gloves, hats, etc. The knob makes the storage drawer easy to pull too.

I love how it maximizes the space too. Every bit of space is used – from the shelf to the ceiling.

We actually have double shelves in here – so I can fit 8 of these storage boxes in the closet!

DIY Storage in the Pantry

In the pantry, I also have these bins. I don’t like resting food and drinks directly on the floor, so I originally used baby wipe boxes. 

I had some leftover contact paper from the closet project, so I whipped these together. How much better does this look?!    

DIY Storage for the Office

The last thing that needed major organizing was my hubby’s office, which is filled with every computer part there is. (And after watching Marie Kondo, it definitely needs to be revisited…)

I saved up all the diaper boxes for months and covered them in black contact paper.

One type of contact paper had a leathery look, which was cool, and the other was chalkboard contact paper.

This made it fun and easy to label 🙂 

I loved how different and modern the chalkboard storage boxes looked. It shows how you can achieve any kind of look you want depending on the contact paper. 

Other Places for DIY Storage

You can use these DIY storage bins anywhere that you need smaller compartments to organize things.

They are great for toy storage because the boxes are sturdy but light – and the knob makes it easy for kids to pull. You can make these storage bins to fit into cubby shelves too.

The DIY storage bins could be used a filing system for papers or mail. 

You can use the storage bins on any kind of shelf. For example, if you have a bookshelf, but toys line the bottom – this is a perfect way to hide those toys in a stylish way. 

To Do 🙂

Basically, save all of your old boxes, pick up some contact paper at the dollar store and start getting organized!

Here’s one more look at our changing table – the original inspiration for the cardboard storage boxes. 

Happy organizing!

DIY Nursery Wall Decor on a Budget Post Preview: Make your own DIY nursery wall decor with this simple tutorial. This easy wall art is perfect for anyone to make on a budget for their child’s nursery. 

While wandering around the craft store, I found a fun sale item – a few rolls of adhesive fabric. It was discounted and it was pretty, so of course, I bought it and stashed it in my craft room.

Lately, I’ve been working on my daughter’s nursery, bringing in some brighter colors and textures – leading me back to those adhesive fabric rolls. 

I got out the fabric and a few other things from around the house – and threw together these easy DIY nursery wall hangings. If you are looking to decorate your nursery, before you start shopping on Etsy or at Target, check out this easy tutorial – anyone can do it and you’ll save a ton of money. I also have the baby animal outlines available to you for free.

Baby Animal Nursery Wall Hangings

This DIY wall art is so simple to make. Below are the materials you’ll need to make this adorable nursery decor. If you are worried that you aren’t very artistic, almost no skills are required. With the free baby animal templates, all you need to do is cut it out and attach. This is a perfect first DIY project that you can get done during naptime. 

Nursery Wall Art Materials

• 3 8×10 Picture Frames (If you can’t get to the store, there’s these frames )
• Adhesive fabric (I found these at Michaels but I LOVE these textured ones)
• X-acto Knife
• Scissors – Use a really good pair of scissors. You’ll get a much nicer edge with a great pair. 
• Optional: card stock – keep reading for more on this 🙂
• Baby animal outlines (see below for free wall art templates)

Material Alternatives

If you can’t use the adhesive fabric, you can certainly use scrapbook or card stock or some other material you find around your home. I’m all about using things from around your house! If your material doesn’t have its own adhesive, you can use mod podge or adhesive dots to place on the back. 

Print & Cut Baby Animal Outlines

After you gather your materials, you’ll want to print out the baby animal outlines. If you can, print it on card stock.

That way when you cut it out, you’ll easily be able to trace the card stock cut-out onto the fabric. If you don’t have card stock, no problem. You’ll just be extra careful when tracing.

Trace Baby Animal on Fabric

After you have printed and cut out the baby animals, trace the animals onto the BACK of the adhesive fabric. You’ll get a better cut cutting from the back (less tear on the fabric) and you won’t have to worry about pencil lines. I traced onto the front the first time – and while it looked nice, using the back was much easier and gave a cleaner look.

I also made sure to center the animals vertically and horizontally.

Cut Out the Animals 

Find a hard board, big old book, or some other surface that is fine to cut on. Then, use the X-acto knife to carefully cut out the baby elephant, lion, and giraffe. Remember you are using the outside of what you are cutting – not the animal itself. 

If you’ve never used an X-acto knife before, it’s super easy. Just practice first to make sure you can the hang of it. 

I found the easiest way to use the E-xacto knife is to pivot the sheet when you to make a turn, rather than picking up the knife constantly. When you are finished separate the baby animal from main piece. 

Place Fabric onto Background Paper

Choose a background to place the main piece on. I was planning on using card stock, but my card stock choices weren’t cutting it. The white looked way too harsh against my fabric. So I found some watercolor paper that wasn’t as pure white and gave the animal a little texture.

Then, I carefully separate the fabric from the adhesive. I found the best way to do this was to peel off about the first inch going across.

Next, I placed this part directly onto the watercolor paper. I then carefully pulled the backing as the fabric part slid onto the watercolor paper. You can also slide a ruler across the fabric – but be careful not to stretch or misshape the fabric. 

Placing the fabric onto the watercolor paper was very similar to using contact paper. 

Frame Your Animals

Last, choose a frame for your baby elephant, baby lion, and baby giraffe, and you are finished! How’s that for nursery wall art on a budget?!

If you don’t have the adhesive fabric, you can very easily use something else – such as card stock, wall paper, wrapping paper, or anything else you can find around your home. Save your money and use what you have 🙂

Time & Cost

This project should only take you about an hour or so to complete. I hem and haw over everything, so I feel like things take me longer at times. However, I finished the project before my daughter woke from her nap.

Nursery Decor on a Budget

My total cost for the nursery decor wall art was less than $20 – and almost all of that was spent on the picture frames. I did get two frames on sale and with a coupon from the craft stores. The third frame I took off my wall and painted white when I decided to add a lion one too. The adhesive fabric for the nursery prints was $5 on sale. 

To save more money, check thrift stores and dollar stores for cheap frames and look around your house at materials you can use or reuse. 

If you’re looking for nursery decor, definitely think about making it yourself. Not only will you save money while still getting nice quality art work, but you’ll have something special that you made yourself for your son’s or daughter’s nursery. And, if you aren’t that artistic – don’t worry! With the free baby animal templates. all you have to be able to do is cut.

This easy nursery decor craft makes me smile every time I look at it. Hope it does the same for you 🙂

This post is sponsored by Commercial Silk. All opinions are entirely my own.

Moving into our home, one of the most appealing things was the fresh white paint that adorned the entire house.

Glossy white paint.

This new space of ours was definitely light, bright, and airy.

However, before long we realized just how plain the rooms were. The bright white walls along with the off-white carpets and our neutral furniture made for some really boring spaces.

Scrolling through my Instagram feed, it was easy to see that neutral-colored rooms are definitely gorgeous and in style. Neutral colors make rooms feel larger, fresher, and more welcoming.

The neutral color scheme in our new home was a good start for us, but we needed to incorporate some color to add character and expression to our new home.

If you are finding yourself in the same position, check learn how to add color to neutral rooms on a budget.

Add Vibrant Throw Blankets

One of the easiest ways to add color to neutral rooms is by incorporating throw blankets. A cozy blanket tossed over a patterned chair or the arm of the couch adds color, comfort, texture, and style to your home.

Blankets can work in any room – but are especially perfect for adding color to living rooms or bedrooms. We tend to decorate our kids’ rooms in neutrals and then use pops of color here and there. Throw blankets are a really easy way to bring color into a room in a subtle, thrifty way.

Decorate with Expressive Throw Pillows

Throw pillows are another perfect way to add color and character to neutral spaces. For example, if you want to incorporate navy blue into your living room, you might not want blue walls, a blue couch, or a blue carpet. Yet, adding blue throw pillows is a subtle way to bring in a vibrant color.

For my living room and family room, I went digging in my collection of pillow covers to find something that would add some color and texture to our boring rooms. I love having pillow covers on hand. You aren’t stuck with a ton of pillows when you change your style or mind – and you can much more easily store covers than whole pillows.

You can also easily sew pillows and save money. Just grab a fabric you like and a pillow insert or stuffing, and get cracking at that sewing machine.

One of my favorite ways to save money on pillow-making is through buying throw pillows that are severely discounted- no matter the color or style! I’m talking crazy colors and patterns. Instead of buying a pillow insert or stuffing, I use the discounted throw pillow as the insert and just sew a pillow cover. You can get really great prices at Bed, Bath, and Beyond on these.

Another place to get a great price on pillows and pillow covers is Amazon. They have pillows similar to Pottery Barn and Pier 1, but at much better prices. I ordered the below bird pillow years ago, and it’s still so gorgeous.

Accent pillows are the perfect way to bring in vibrant colors

Beautify with Plants and Greenery

Plants can instantly change the appearance of a room. Just by adding a little greenery, your neutral room becomes more lively and homey. Plants are definitely an easy way to add color – no painting or sewing necessary.

If you don’t have a green thumb, a high-quality artificial plant adds the same effect. We have a beautiful, artificial ficus tree (below) from Commercial Silk in our family room.

This ficus tree looks real but doesn’t come with the task of keeping a real plant alive. We incorporated it into our living room, and it’s the perfect pop of color against our red brick fireplace.

Adding plants and greenery to neutral spaces instantly make a room feel more welcoming

It’s nice knowing the leaves won’t brown, and it instantly made the room feel more welcoming and enlivened while adding some much needed color to our previously-boring space. It’s like a breath of fresh air!

Paint Old Furniture

If you have an old piece of furniture that has seen better days, why not give it a coat of fresh paint to add color into a neutral room. Whether it’s an old chair or an outdated dresser, there are lots of wonderful paints that can be used to give an old piece new life.

Chalk paint or milk paint are great options. Depending on the piece, you might even be able to get away with spray paint.

We recently redid an old dresser (we shortened it too), and it perfectly adds color to our way-too-neutral bedroom.

This old wooden dresser was refinished with milk paint, bringing color and modernity into our neutral bedroom

Add Patterned or Stenciled Walls

Accent walls are another thrifty way to add color to a neutral space, and there are so many options that you can choose from. You can do a patterned wall, such as stripes. Or, you can do a solid color wall (if you do this, definitely pick a color in the same tone as your main color). You can even do a stenciled wall – or put decals or wallpaper up.

We painted a gray and white striped accent wall in our nursery – which we loved! We painted a heart stenciled wall in our second nursery. We applied wall stickers on canvases in our toddler’s room. And, we have a stenciled wall coming soon to our mudroom.

Each of these things added just the perfect amount of color and flair to our neutral rooms. And, we didn’t have to change the glossy white in the rest of the room because the patterns and stencils complimented what was already there. Thus, we saved money on paint by just doing an accent wall.

A stenciled or wallpapered accent wall is a simple solution to a room of white

Adorn with Wall Hangings and Pictures

Don’t underestimate the creativity and color that you can add to your home by decorating your wall space. A bright picture or an interesting gallery wall brings character and color to a room. Also, you can easily spray paint frames for a little more color too.

I also love to find a vibrant picture and use the colors in it as an inspiration piece to decorate the whole room.

My favorite spots to shop for budget-friendly pictures are Home Goods and Christmas Tree Shops. You can also find some great pieces at the craft stores, as they are carrying more and more home decor items.

Enrich with Fresh Slipcovers

If your couch or upholstered chairs are looking a little too neutral, and you want to add freshness or vibrancy, think about throwing a slipcover over them.

Slipcovers add color and aren’t as expensive as replacing couches or chairs and the comfort they provide. You can also easily wash them.

Slipcovers might be just the touch of color that your space needs.

Use Eye-Catching Duvets

Along the same lines as slipcovers, duvets provide a similar solution. They can easily cover an old bedspread to add color and freshness to a room.

Easily washable, you can switch out duvets based on the season or your mood – and they are much less expensive then buying new quilts or bedspreads.

Hang Vibrant Curtains

An easy way to add color to a room is through hanging vibrant curtains. There are so many options with curtains – from popular patterned designs like Moroccan and damask to simple stripes. Curtains are one of the best ways to infuse your neutral living room or bedroom with color.

If you have a neutral bathroom, add a vibrant shower curtain. We added a green plant shower curtain to our brown and tan bathroom, and instantly it softened the appearance of the room.

When thinking about how to add some vibrancy to your rooms, think about letting the sun sweep in with an eye-catching curtain.

Eye-catching curtains add tons of character and color to living rooms and bedrooms

Incorporate Accent Rugs

There’s no reason color has to stop when the wall ends. Add a little more style and flare with a smartly-colored accent rug.

Committing to a bright carpet can be daunting; however an accent rug is just the flare that a neutral room needs. They’re easy to add, move, or clean, and can go anywhere in your home – from the kitchen to the entryway to little reading nooks.

If your home is looking a little too neutral, delight your eyes with a gorgeous accent rug.

So, if you’re looking to add color to your spaces, these top ten tips are definitely ones to incorporate.

You’ll have your home looking much more expressive, homey, and vibrant without spending much. Even just a few of these home decor tips will work wonders.