Have you just moved into a new home or apartment and need to add a few decorations? Or are you tired of looking at the same old stuff that’s been hanging on the walls for the past 5 or 10 years? If one of these describes your situation, then we have some easy DIY wall decor ideas that any homeowner can use to spruce up their home.
You don’t need to be some kind of interior decorating expert to pull this off. You just need to be aware of the colors in your home and the style and color of furniture you have in the space. Then find some artwork and other unique items that will compliment them.
What kind of art and unique items are we talking about? That is what this article is all about. We’ll look at some of the ideas my wife has come up with for wall decor ideas and why we think they work for our spaces.
Yes, I said “my wife”! Let’s just say this topic is not one of my areas of expertise. I do know you shouldn’t hang a modern, abstract art piece in a rustic, knotty pine finished room. But outside of that, I’m like a fish out of water.
Now once the piece is picked and the hanging location is decided upon, just stand back. I’m a stud finding, fastener attaching fool. I believe it‘s the combination of our skills that allows Our Recipes For Success to have so much to offer to our readers.
Places That Need Wall Decor
Table of Contents
This may seem somewhat ridiculous to cover, but it’s more than just saying any empty wall space in your home. Sure, there are rooms where that is what you’ll be dealing with. Blank walls. However, there are areas in almost every home that could benefit from that little something extra.
Areas like entryways and hallways are some of the first spaces visitors see when they enter your home. I think your home decor says a lot about the people living within, so let the intrigue begin there. Does it have to be anything special? No, just something welcoming.
If you live in a home with cathedral or vaulted ceilings, don’t forget to set your sights a little higher. Humans are 3-dimensional beings and will definitely see and hopefully appreciate those elevated pieces you’re displaying.
Basically any area you have open to guests may be an area to consider applying some DIY wall decor ideas. For us, those areas include a basement family room finished in tongue and groove pine, which has a more rustic look. It definitely has a different feel than our main living area.
We also have a sunroom that opens up to our backyard patio. Despite having mainly windows on all sides, we were able to find a few items to display. Even a laundry room can benefit from a little decoration. There is generally always something you can incorporate into a room if you use a little imagination.
Our Favorite DIY Wall Decor Ideas
Let me start by saying there is no way anyone could list all the possible ideas for this section. You can literally display any item, in a number of different ways, to help decorate your home. What we’ll show you below are some of our favorites and why we may have chosen some of them. Hopefully, they are something you can use or inspire you to come up with some of your own ideas.
Pictures In Frames
Number one on the “no-brainer” list is framed pictures. Don’t skip ahead, hear me out! There’s a little more to this. It’s not just a matter of putting up some pictures of your family and calling it good. Although, we have done our fair share of that too. There are other options.
Pictures can be hung individually or hung in groups. And by varying the size of the pictures and frames, you can come up with different assorted layouts that can fit in any space. The group photos are great for infants, children and graduation pictures.
If you’ve read our “About Us” page, then you might know that my wife enjoys photography. This allows her to display pictures that she has taken. The other unique aspect of this is she can switch out photos on a seasonal or holiday basis. With a little imagination, you can make several changes throughout the year, which provides a nice change of pace.
Artwork In Frames
Pictures are not the only thing you can display in picture frames. Many types of artwork are perfect for frames. Needlepoint, embossed copper artwork, and any kind of sketches, drawings, or paintings.
We have a needlepoint piece that was made by my wife’s grandmother that is hung by a small antique table and chair. All three pieces complement each other and it has a very special meaning to us.
My wife Cindy also made these embossed copper Ford Model T’s for her father, who was a Model T owner and lover. These types of displays show a little of your personality and are great conversation pieces.
Do you still have a dried flower bouquet pressed between the pages of a book from a special event in your life? You can turn that into a beautiful wall hanging by placing it in a frame. The possibilities are endless.
We even have a wall space where we hung some empty picture frames. That may sound a little crazy, but by simply arranging a few picture frames together you can create a special effect. As you can see in the picture below, there are some unique ways to fill a space.
Mirrors
Mirrors are another item that comes in many different sizes and shapes, so you can fit them in almost anywhere. Not only are they functional, for checking your appearance, but they can also make a space seem a little bigger and can brighten it up. Hanging two or three smaller mirrors together is a great way of breaking up an empty space.
Mirrors can be used in a variety of ways. By orienting the mirror below horizontally, and adding a few hooks, it makes a great place for visitors to hang their hat or coat. Keep in mind you might have to reinforce the frame if it is on the light side.
Old Window Frames
If you find an old window frame at a garage sale or flea market cheap, you may want to grab it. They can break up an open area nicely. Whether you leave them in their old, distressed state, or paint them to match your other room decor. They don’t even need the glass in them.
Old Window Frames With Pictures
If you have an old window frame with the glass panes in them then you have another option on how you can use them. Simply stick your favorite photos to each pane using a little two-sided tape. It’s a great way to display photos in another unique way.
Wreaths And Swags
When most folks think of hanging decorative wreaths, they normally think of doing this during the Christmas holiday season. However, the reality is wreaths and swags can be made from materials other than evergreen boughs. Below are just a few we have hanging throughout our home.
By using materials such as grapevines, thin tree branches, and dried flowers you can make wreaths and swags that can be hung throughout the entire year. The best part is these are easy to create DIY wall decor ideas.
Tapestries And Wall Hangings
Other great options are tapestries and other types of larger wall hangings. Even a smaller tapestry like the one below is nice when it helps tie in the theme of a room. It’s right at home in our knotty-pine family room.
There are many options when it comes to wall hangs, you just need to find something that fits in with the rest of the room’s decor. Below are a couple of different metal art pieces and a jute wall hanging that could easily be the centerpiece of a room.
Wall Paintings
If you want something a little more permanent, you can have a custom design painted directly on the wall or even the ceiling. This is great for kid’s rooms. Below are a couple of ideas my wife created in our daughter’s room several years ago and they still look great today.
Clouds Painted On Ceiling 
Flower Painted On Wall
Functional Wall Decor Ideas
Not all wall decor ideas have to be there just to look at. There are many options that not only look nice, but they can be functional as well. The mirrors mentioned above may fit into this category as well. Here are a few of our other top choices.
Clocks
A clock is a great way to fill an empty wall space. You can get them in many different styles, so you should be able to find one to fit almost any room theme.
Wine Rack
We had to include this one because we turned an ordinary slab of wood into a beautiful decorative wire rack. Actually the wood had some sentimental value and thought this was a great way to use and display it. If you have time, check out our wine rack article to see an example of what you can create with a little imagination.
Shelves
Do you have some of your favorite knick-knacks or any other items you’d like to display, but have nowhere to set them out? By putting up a shelf or two you can kill two birds with one stone.
Shelves are a great way to fill any empty wall space and also create a place to display some of your favorite pieces. We actually made the shelves below out of some of the same boards that our wine rack was made of above. The combination of the rustic “live edge”, the sentimental value, and filling the space with some unique items worked for us.
Here are a couple of other unique shelves we have that fill spaces nicely. Installing shelves is fairly easy to do and can offer you some decorative flexibility. Give it a try.
Coat Rack
The coat rack below belongs to my wife’s sister and is yet another example of what you can do with an ordinary piece of wood. It also came from the same source as our wine rack and shelves above. By adding a few decorative hooks of your choosing, you can create a beautiful, yet totally functional, item to fill any space.
If you’re struggling with ideas or want to more options that are available, check out websites like Etsy. They have tons of options you can purchase or to give you additional ideas that you can create yourself.
Conclusion
As you can see there are many different ways you can decorate the walls of your new home or apartment. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! By using your imagination the possibilities are endless.
My wife Cindy did a bathroom makeover at the local golf course we belong to. Check out some of the unique ways she used to spruce up the walls. It was quite remarkable and she received lots of positive feedback.
If you are anything like me and can’t create items like this yourself, many of them can be found at garage sales and flea markets as well. There’s no need to hire an interior designer to decorate your home. You can easily do it yourself with great success. So get started today and have fun with it.
If you have any comments or questions, you can leave them in the comments section below or you can email us at [email protected]. FYI, we do not collect or share email addresses. We will only use them to reply to your comments or provide answers to your questions. We are also required to let you know that some of our links are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase, we could make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps offset the cost of maintaining our website. So, if you like what you’ve seen, please be sure to give us a “Like” and “Share” on Facebook and Instagram too. Thank you for reading and good luck with all your home projects!
I love the pressed flower bouquet. Thanks for the inspiration Barry and Cindy