Easy DIY Projects to Update a Room’s Design

The ability to change up a space, whether you just bought or are renting, can make it much easier to be happy in your home. Strive to customize your space with colors that energize you. If you love deep, saturated tones, try to use the most intense shades in small batches, such as an accent wall or the area above a DIY molding design.

Having more storage is always a good investment, especially if you have recently downsized or are working not to have to upsize. That storage wall in your living room can hold blankets and throws. It can also hold winter clothes, books or whatever else you need to stash.

To keep things simple, look for unfinished wood units, such as a chest of drawers and raw cabinets. As long as everything is the same height, you can customize it in a variety of ways. You could

• use a pantry cabinet to store DVDs and games
• put two bureaus side by side, trim the front to make them look like one unit, and tile the top to function as a sideboard or buffet
• mount two rows of short cabinets up high, add crown molding, and stash all your Christmas decorations up there
• stack cabinets from floor to ceiling, trim along the edges and get matching hardware for the whole unit

No matter what else you do, make sure you paint the whole storage wall one color so you have continuity. It doesn’t have to match to start. However, if you have pine next to poplar and maple next to oak, make sure you sand and prime everything to have a consistent surface for paint to grip.

Adding a storage wall of cabinets is a nice way to stash things that you need but not often. What the inside of the cabinet looks like is your business. However, a display wall will give you the chance to show off your favorite things.

A display wall can be as simple as a bookcase on a pedestal. Adding a pedestal means you can avoid cutting out the baseboard of your display wall. These walls can be put on walls with doorways and windows, or on a flat wall with no breaks.

If you have a decent sized window and would like more storage as well as display space, look for a trunk that will fit under the window to serve as a window seat. Once you have the right height, you can build basic boxes or look for shelf units that can be customized to fit beside the trunk to fill in the whole width of the wall. You can also build the pedestal in front of the baseboard and stack tall bookcases on top of the pedestals to reach to the ceiling. If you’re not the best painter but you know exactly what you want, they can help.

A word about the Ikea built in bookcase wall: If you are not comfortable with crown molding, consider hiring a carpenter to finish the top of the cases. If you don’t want crown molding at the top, leave at least a foot between the top of the bookcase and the ceiling, and put something decorative up there. A small gap will look unfinished. Consider bringing in house painters to help you seal any gaps between the shelving and the wall.

Battery operated lights can be added to the shelves that contain your treasures. Look for those with multiple color options just for fun. If you have some electrical skills, you can run wires through the shelf, but you will need shelves with a thicker profile to give you some room. Talk to someone with a painting company who can help you find the most durable coating if using particle board shelving units. Your Las Vegas painter can give you tips.

These shelves make it easy to customize the back of your unit. If you are showing off gems or something sparkly, put a mirror at the back. If you are showing off something austere, talk to your house painters about using a bold paint color. Unlike your built in storage, you don’t want everything on your display wall the same color. If you are so inclined, make everything different!

Consider hanging an electric fireplace on your accent wall. To avoid having that telltale cord hanging down, you may want to hire a carpenter to build the fireplace wall out just a bit so you can run a heavy duty extension cord to the unit.

A painting company can help you finish the bump up, or you can use it an excuse to buy a tile saw. Take a look at your visible tile from the intended fireplace wall and do your best to match the tone. If your kitchen (Get inspiring kitchen ideas here.) counter is visible from the fireplace wall, find a tile that suits those colors in a matte finish.

Make sure you open the wall and hang the fireplace before you start applying tile. Consider using a ledger board and tiling from the top down for the most tidy results. As long as the ledger board is level, the fireplace wall will look clean and accurate from anywhere in the space.

If you have a mudroom or a bench near the front door where everyone drops off shoes, backpacks and jackets, turn your mudroom wall into an accent wall. Put up paintable wallpaper with lots of texture and coat it in something bright. Put up masking tape and paint stripes to increase the linear look. Add school storage lockers for kids to keep their gear tidy.

When putting this space together, make sure you also use an accent floor. Go for something bold but durable. If your living room is carpeted, make the foyer floor something dark and easy to wash, like a deep toned vinyl or a bit of planking. You may have to take up trim to upgrade this area of the floor, so help from painting contractors and a carpenter may be necessary to put everything back together.

If you have a section of your apartment that is always cold, think about adding a fabric wall. This could be as simple as fabric wrapped squares taped to the wall, or hanging a curtain rod near the ceiling and hanging a large fabric panel over a plain thermal blanket.

Temporary accents can also help if you live in a hot area. Treat yourself to a mosquito canopy, mount it over the head of the bed, and drape it to the corners of the room when not in use. To add to the romance, talk to your Las Vegas painter about painting the wall behind the headboard a deep jewel tone, such as royal blue, hunter green, charcoal grey or a rich burgundy.

Accent walls don’t have to be permanent. If you are not big on DIY, your Henderson painter can certainly give you some pointers on finishing out your shelves or sanding your storage cabinets for a clean finish. The best advice you will ever get from the best painter in the field is that prep is 90% of the finish.