3 Stylish DIYs That Will Spruce Up Your Apartment

By Meghen Jones

After a hard day spent going from lecture hall to lecture hall, there’s nothing more satisfying than coming home to a peaceful place you can call your own.

Even as a young adult, you feel the pressure of being the one amongst your friends to have the “super chill space” where everyone wants to hang out—and, of course, holds the best parties off campus. But, at the end of the day, space is ultimately your own, and there’s nothing more important than a place where you feel at your most comfortable.

However, it can get pretty expensive to decorate an apartment, especially when you are on a shoe-string, college student budget—like c’mon, you have a hard enough time acquiring all the furniture you need to put a room together much less completely deck it out with all the coolest art.

But luckily enough for you, DIYs (do-it-yourself) projects are the perfect way to achieve the aesthetic you want while keeping your wallet happy. With uCribs’ three favorite DIYs, your apartment will get the attention it needs to make an impression on friends new and old, in addition to organizing the chaos that comes with your college lifestyle.

Double Duty Dry Erase Board

Do you always find that you’re misplacing those friendly, little reminders you write to yourself on post-it-notes or scraps of paper? The lecture hall where you have to take your American History final, the cute guy’s number in your chemistry class (Ironic? I think not.), or the date and time of your fall internship interview, for example. Organize your life with a DIY Double Duty Dry Erase Board.

Creating a Double Duty Dry Erase Board is not only cost efficient, but it’s also simple to put together. Plus, once you’re done, you’ll enjoy having a stylish, homemade dry erase board where you can write notes to yourself, or have your friends leave you fun, personalized notes to read when you’re stuck on that ever-so-boring online module of biology.

Materials:

Picture frame with glass insert

Fabric scraps

Heavy duty tape

Dry erase markers

Directions:

1. Remove everything from the frame except for the glass.
2. Cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than your frame backing—about an extra 2 inches all the way around.
3. Place the cut fabric over frame backing then flip over.
4. Fold over excess fabric then, using heavy duty tape, attach the fabric to your backing.
5. Place the now fabric-covered frame backing into the frame.

Washi Tape Mural

Have you ever caught yourself staring at the blank walls of your apartment, imagining all the possibilities for your space? Well, we all know the hassle when it comes to adding any sort of color since the options are so limited within your landlord’s lease parameters.

This is why a Washi Tape Mural—a mural created by making colorful geometric designs using tape— is the perfect way to decorate your apartment while remaining loyal to your lease terms. All your friends will be head over heels for your brilliant work of art—with absolutely no idea how easy it was to create! You can easily find materials for this projects at your nearby Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, or Walmart, so there’s really no reason to put it off any longer!

Materials:

Scotch Expressions Masking Tape

Scotch Expressions Magic Tape

Scotch Expressions Washi Tape

Scotch Titanium Utility knife

Scissors

Measuring tape

Pencil

Directions:

1. Measure the length of your wall finding the midpoint and determine how high you want your outermost triangle to be, then mark the point with a pencil. If you are leaving space on both sides of your design, mark the wall where the furthest edges of the triangle will be.
2. With a friend or roommate, tape the top point of the triangle holding it there while your friend pulls the tape down to the bottom corner. Cut the tape and lightly press it against the wall.
3. If your line is straight, press the tape to the wall firmly. Using the same method, add a second strip of tape to the other side creating a triangle shape.
4. Cut the overlapping part of the tape at the point with your utility knife to create a clean line.
5. Continue adding tape making sure the midline is straight and leaving about a 1/4 inch between triangles. It can be helpful to draw a line from the top of the triangle to the midpoint at the bottom of the wall to keep your concentric triangles straight. Once you’re satisfied with the way your new wall art looks, feel free to call it quits.

Note: You can create designs other than a triangle. It’s completely up to you! Don’t be afraid to get a little creative.

Hanging Jewelry Holder

We all know that out-the-door shuffle you do anytime you’re running late to a class, an extracurricular activity, or maybe even, a date. You can’t seem to find anything—your phone, your keys, or the perfect piece of jewelry to accentuate your current outfit…but where did you set it down after the last time you wore it?

It can be a bit frustrating while you’re searching high and low to find that one piece of jewelry, so save yourself a bit of grief with a Hanging Jewelry Holder! Whether you regularly sport bracelets, watches, earrings, rings, or necklaces, it comes in handy while creating yet another chic piece of wall art for your friends to admire. So, set some time aside this week to get crafty and show off all your favorite accessories!

Materials:

Wood Dowels

Gold paint marker

Washi tape (a color of your choice)

Paracord

D-Ring

Directions:

1. Paint the tips of your wood gold.
2. Cover a few inches of the end of the wood with washi tape. As you cover each piece of wood going down, cover the next piece a 1/2 inch less.
3. Double up the paracord and loop through the D-cord.
4. Tie knots where the washi tape and wood meet on each dowel to create a triangle shape.
5. Hang the jewelry holder on a nail and display your favorite pieces of jewelry.

Decorating can be costly and time-consuming, but once you eliminate the cost aspect, you’ll find that there’s no better feeling than walking into your apartment home knowing that it’s a true representation of who you are. With these three simple yet tasteful DIYs, you’ll be able to obtain bragging rights in not only how awesome your apartment looks, but also in how crafty and creative you truly are!

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