Easy DIY Home Decor Projects You Can Do In A Weekend

If you want to update your house without committing to a long, drawn-out project, these weekend DIY home decor projects are a perfect fit. They are all simple updates that can completely change how a room looks in just a couple of days without spending a lot of money.

I’ve always believed that your house should make you happy and feel like a welcoming place to come home to.

So if there are rooms in your house that don’t, it might be worth making a change.

But if you’re like me, you don’t always have the time, energy or budget to do a full makeover.

Fortunately, there are plenty of weekend DIY home decor projects you can tackle in just a couple of days using simple supplies and basic tools.

And those small updates can make a big difference in how a space feels.

Here are a few of my favorites to get you started.

1 | Paint

I’m sure you’ve heard a million times that the easiest, least expensive way to update a room is with paint.

And you’ve heard it that many times because…it’s true.

But wait…you might be saying…just finding the right paint color is going to take me longer than a weekend.

My solution for that is to order the paint online from my favorite paint store…Farrow & Ball.

They have a limited selection of colors which makes choosing one so much easier!

But they are absolutely beautiful, have more depth to them than any other paint that I’ve used and seem to change colors in different light.

Like “Pitch Blue” which is the color I used on my living room walls.

And all of their paints are low odor, low VOC and eco-friendly.

You can see (and order) the Farrow & Ball paint colors HERE.

If Farrow & Ball doesn’t have the color you are looking for (or you don’t want to pay that much for your paint), Home Depot has a larger selection of paint colors that you can purchase online.

Find the Home Depot online paint colors.*

Note: In either case, I would order a sample can to test on your walls before putting in your full order, just to make sure you like the color in your room.

2 | Stencil

If you are someone who likes patterns on your walls but you don’t want the hassle of hanging wallpaper (that would be me most of the time!) , then you might want to try out a stencil to add some interest.

Stenciling has a lot of advantages:

• There are so many stencil patterns available now that you’re sure to find something you like.
• Since you get to choose your own paint colors, you can make the design match your decor exactly.
• If you don’t like the look of your stenciled wall, or you get tired of the pattern, you can paint right over it. You may need to sand the wall a little first to get rid of the raised edges. But it’s a lot easier than removing wallpaper!

Want to buy a stencil and aren’t sure where to look? I’ve found that Royal Design Studio has a great selection of stencils for all different applications (walls, floors and furniture).

Or if you have a Cricut or Silhouette machine, you can make your own stencil pattern. Which gives you even more flexibility to get exactly what you want.

Find a few of our DIY stencil patterns (as well as instructions on how to paint them) below:

• DIY zebra wall stencil
• How to paint a Chinoiserie wall
• DIY gold dot stencil
• How to paint a trellis wall

3 | Decorate The Ceiling

It’s no secret that I think decorating the ceiling is one of the quickest ways to make a builder grade home look like it’s custom.

Don’t believe me?

Take a look through decorating magazines like House Beautiful, Veranda and Elle Decor.

Pay attention to the ceilings, particularly in the rooms that are painted a color.

Many of them are not plain white.

So if you’ve never painted a ceiling anything other than white, why not go out of your comfort zone and give it a try?

After all, it’s only paint (you can always put it back if you don’t like it).

If you’re a little nervous, go with a safe color like a tint that’s a few shades lighter than your room color.

Or you can try the exact same color on the ceiling as you have on the walls.

This will tend to make a room look bigger and the ceiling look taller (especially if you don’t have crown moldings or the crown moldings are also painted the same color). That’s because it’s harder to see where the walls end and the ceiling begins.

If you’re feeling bold, use a coordinating color from your room (that’s not the wall color) on the ceiling. This definitely makes a statement, and will look absolutely stunning if you pick the right color.

This last one is what I’m planning to do in my silver and black master bathroom where I want to paint the ceiling purple (to match my bedroom paint color)!

I’ll be sure to send an email with a picture when it’s done. (If you’re not already on our mailing list and you want to see the finished project, you can sign up HERE).

Find more ways to decorate the ceiling.

4 | Put Up Some Panel Moldings

Moldings are another one of those custom finishes that are often lacking in builder grade homes like mine.

And they’re not that hard to install yourself.

The easiest molding project is to hang picture (or panel) moldings on your walls.

Or maybe I should say faux-panel moldings. I’m talking about creating the look of expensive panels, but actually only installing the outline of the panel.

They are great for adding interest to large, blank wall surfaces, and giving rooms a more formal feeling.

Which makes them especially appropriate for hallways, bedrooms, home libraries (or offices), formal living rooms and dining rooms.

On the flip side, I don’t like to install panel moldings in rooms that tend to collect a lot of dirt and grime (like kitchens and bathrooms) since they are more difficult to keep clean.

There are two ways to go about doing this project.

The first is to order the picture moldings already assembled.

They will be more expensive and you’ll have less control over the size.

But they come in many different shapes and are very easy to install. Find them HERE*.

The second option is to build your own from thin trim moldings (like these*).

With this option, you can make the panels exactly the size you want.

And the moldings are a lot less expensive

To learn more, read our tutorial on how to make and install your own panel moldings.

5 | Add Gold Leaf To Something

The last weekend DIY project on my list is near and dear to my heart.

What can I say? I love gold leaf!

It’s often used on very expensive furniture and in expensive rooms.

So I always thought it must be really hard and expensive to do.

And then one day I decided to try it and see.

So I applied it to the front of my really inexpensive bar.

To be honest, I used faux gold leaf, not the real thing. But I don’t think you can tell the difference.

And I love how much better it looks! (If you want to see how ugly it was before, check out the whole Hollywood glam bar makeover).

Since then I’ve used the same leafing technique on lots of things. Not always with gold. It works just as well with silver and copper.

And my mother used it to glam up the nook and a mirror in her living room. It’s stunning!

So if you have an old piece of furniture or some accessories that need a little upgrade, try adding some gold leaf.

It literally only takes a couple of hours to apply.

For a step-by-step tutorial, read how to gold leaf furniture.

Have comments or questions about our weekend DIY home decor projects? Tell us in the section below.