I have been DIY’ing things for a looonnng time. When I was in elementary school I learned how to sew and started by making doll clothes. In middle school I made my own bead jewelry. In high school I learned woodworking and made my own foosball table. What’s the point? That over years and years of DIY projects, I have learned what to DIY and what to just BUY.
My DIY mistakes and project headaches can be your lesson learned, which is why I’m starting a new series called DIY vs. BUY. This week I am going to talk about DIY fabric home decor projects. You know what I mean, everything from pillows, to napkins to curtains. I have seen A LOT of DIY projects over the years and attempted many of my own, only to learn that some things are just better left to the stores.
Today I have 7 Fabric Home Decor projects that I have actually seen out in Pinterest, and I’m giving you my thoughts on whether you should DIY or BUY. For the BUY ones, I am not showing or linking to the actual project, but you get the idea. Here we go:
Pillow Covers
{french seam pillow cover tutorial via Delia Creates)
This is an easy one. DIY! This is one of the easiest fabric home decor projects out there and almost no matter how you create a pillow cover; with glue, sewing, stitching, zipper closure, fold closure… it will always be cheaper than the equivalent in a store. Bonus is that you get to say you made it and the lower cost means you can change them out more often and husband won’t have a fit. That’s what we call a win-win-win.
Other great pillow cover tutorials like this napkin fold one and 10 minute envelope fold pillow cover make it so easy!
Tablecloths and Runners
Another easy fabric home decor project, table cloths and runners are simply bound with easy folded edges that are sewn or glued. You can change your table with your mood, like I did with this african mudcloth table cloth I made! These projects only take a yard or 2 of fabric and less than an hour of work, and you can have something special to enjoy. Especially a great idea if you have some scrap fabric that you haven’t found a use for. Definitely DIY! For some additional inspo I love this awesome DIY no-sew mexican-inspired table runner from zazzle!
Fabric Napkins
{DIY watercolor napkins via Almost Makes Perfect}
This is a MASSIVE BUY. While I definitely condone embroidering, dying or embellishing your own napkins, sewing is a huge pain in the a** and a waste of resources. Sure, the fabric may be cheap, but all of the time folding those tiny edges under and mitering corners is extremely frustrating. Why DIY them when you can find beautiful stripe linen or pom pom ikat ones at World Market for less than $15 a set? Save yourself the headache!
Bench Cushion Reupholstery
{chair via Geronimo Chair}
A simple set-in bench style chair is an easy peasy DIY and should be in any homemaker’s wheelhouse. Anything from the vintage chair above or some cheap and cheerful Target dining chairs like these can be made to have a bit more flair with fabric and a staple gun. Check out this step by step tutorial to easily reupholster your own chairs.
Curtains
{Blackout pompom curtains available at Urban Outfitters}
Look, I know curtains are expensive, and it can be tempting to just buy the fabric and make your own. But depending on what type of rod pocket/grommet/hooks you want for your curtains, this can be a huge time suck. There is a deceiving amount of sewing in all of those, which makes it more than sewing a simple square. Curtains do require a LOT of fabric, which is why they are so expensive in the first place. Personally, I am not a huge fan of overly decorative curtains anyway, so I find it better to just get some simple white drapes at Pottery Barn or IKEA and save yourself from the humiliation of getting sick of them in a few months time.
Fabric Covered Headboard
I’m obviously partial to this fabric home decor project since I’ve done it myself! Yes, it takes 2 people, but covering your own headboard with fabric, foam and nailheads is a super easy way to change up the bedroom and much more cost effective than buying a new headboard. We did this in our bedroom and there has not been one regret or issue since we finished it! Check out the DIY here.
Lampshades and Light Fixtures
(embellished lamp shade via Anthropologie}
Similar to embellishing napkins, I’ve seen decent DIYs (and done myself!) with embellishing lampshades with ribbon or tassel trim. But I’ve gone down the road of using fabric to cover my own lampshade and let me tell you… it didn’t look so hot. Sure, it’s fine. But my goal when crafting is to make something as good if not better than buying the item, and at a better price. Lampshades are so inexpensive and you really shouldn’t be changing them all that often so just buy a beautiful one and leave it at that. Too much crafty hokey pokey on a lampshade and your light gets blocked and shoots in all sorts of strange directions which defeats the purpose!
For more Home DIY projects check out my full page here!
