3 DIY Decor Hacks Using Household Items You Actually Have

You can refresh your home this weekend without buying anything new: clipboards become art frames, thrift-store baskets become painted storage, and a wax-based metallic product called Rub 'n Buff makes plain hardware look expensive. Below are three hacks matched to the three most common decorating problems — bare walls, tired tabletops, and dated accessories — plus a quick selector table so you can pick the project that fits your materials, skill, and schedule.

Transforming Everyday Items into Home Decor

Decorating with what's already in your house is a time-tested approach, not a trend. Diane Henkler, who writes the In My Own Style blog, says she spent years decorating and organizing with common household items used in unintended ways — a skill she traces back to her days as a department store visual merchandiser, where the team decorated entire displays using only what was in the store's prop room.

The same resourceful logic shows up across the decorating blogs surveyed here. KariAnne Wood of Thistlewood Farm boils the philosophy down to a simple reassurance: "Decorating doesn't have to be fancy. Decorating doesn't have to be expensive." Her formula for a beautiful home is little more than hacks, imagination, yard sale finds, paint sticks, cork, and paint. That's the standard for everything below.

DIY Decor Project Selector

Use this table to match a project to what's actually in your junk drawer. Skill levels reflect the techniques involved — a hanging planter requires tying a barrel-sling knot, so it demands more practice than clipping art to a board. Time estimates assume you have the item and basic supplies (paint, scissors, rope) already on hand.

The logic is straightforward: if you have rope and patience, the planter is the showiest option. If you want near-instant results, the clipboard frames need only a nail and hammer.

Hack 1: Creative Wall Art with Office Supplies

Bare walls are the most common decorating complaint, and office supplies solve them cheaply. Houzz's decorating editors note that clipboards — whether particleboard, lucite, or metal — make "great makeshift frames for art as well as spots to pin up work and inspiration." The hanging method couldn't be simpler: hammer a long nail right through the clipboard's built-in hole and into the wall.

Two upgrades make the look intentional. Slip a sheet of paper behind the art as a makeshift mat, the same editors suggest, and switch out the displayed prints whenever the mood strikes. Binder clips offer a second route: Houzz describes their "nostalgic feel" as a great way to clip up art, so a row of them along a nail or length of string turns a stack of prints into an instant gallery. If you have wooden rulers or yardsticks saved from old hardware-store freebies, those display beautifully on their own, too.

Hack 2: Upgrading Tabletop Accessories with Paint

For dated or mismatched tabletop items, paint is the whole strategy. Wood of Thistlewood Farm calls spray-painting thrift-store baskets "such an easy hack" — one coat refreshes worn baskets or gives inexpensive ones a unified color so a mismatched collection reads as a set. The same technique refurbishes vintage baskets to make them look new.

Glassware gets the same treatment. Apartment Therapy highlighted social-media makers painting empty bottles and jars during quarantine downtime and displaying them on mantels — an upcycling project that needs nothing beyond acrylic paint and a clean bottle. One caution from a reader of Henkler's post is worth keeping: if you use hot-glued metal pieces (like paper clips or pull tabs) as decor hangers, avoid placing them on the wall above an oven with a rear vent. These are decorative finishes, not durable coatings — plan on gentle handling.

Hack 3: Faux Metal Finish for Elevated Decor

This is the hack that makes cheap things look expensive. Rub 'n Buff, a paste made from carnauba waxes, fine metallic powders, and pigments, produces what its manufacturer AMACO describes as a finish no paint can duplicate. You rub it onto a clean surface with a gloved finger, cotton swab, or soft cloth, then buff — and, per the product instructions, "more buff, more shine."

Preparation is minimal: scuff-sand the surface with fine-grit sandpaper or steel wool first, or use a primer if sanding isn't possible. Layer coats until you reach the desired effect. Blogger Amanda of Come Stay Awhile, who calls the product beginner-friendly, advises using less product for an antique finish and more for a polished look; once dry, it needs no sealer and is waterproof. She's used it to elevate hardware, picture frames, light fixtures, and mirrors. The manufacturer adds one care note: avoid solvent-based cleaners on treated surfaces.

Start Your DIY Decor Journey

Choose one DIY decor project from the framework that aligns with your available household items, skill level, and time, and begin transforming your space. That's the whole decision: match the item you already own to the row that fits your confidence, and start there rather than stockpiling supplies for five projects at once.

You'll know it worked by the measurable indicator: a newly decorated area in your home using repurposed items. Clip up one print on a clipboard today, or set a painted bottle on the mantel this week — as Wood puts it, "You. Got. This."

Sources

• Repurpose Household Items Into "Wow-Worthy" Decor — In My Own Style
• 11 Simple Home Decor Hacks That Will Save You Money - Thistlewood Farm
• 17 Ways to Decorate With Everyday Things — Houzz
• 3 Easy Home Decor DIYs You Can Do with Supplies You Already Have — Apartment Therapy
• AMACO
• How to Use Rub 'n Buff | Beginner Friendly DIY - Come Stay Awhile by Amanda Vernaci — Come Stay Awhile by Amanda Vernaci | Modern Farmhouse DIY + Home Renovation