Top Five Decorating DIYs

photos via (clockwise from top left) A Storied Style / The Hunted Interior / A Mere Life / While They Snooze / Young House Love

Attempting to redecorate on a budget has led me deep into the world of DIYs, and what a world it is! From simple IKEA hacks to full-on upholstery projects, here are the five that have left me utterly inspired as I continue on with this delusion that I'm crafty.

1. DIY Shagreen: Console Transformation by A Mere Life 
It's the DIY dream that started it all. A search for a pair of new console tables left me with few well-priced options, especially once I fell in love with shagreen. The only solution? To make my own! Thanks to this helpful DIY from blogger Meredith McBride Kipp, I'll be undertaking the project this weekend with a roll of faux shagreen fabric, a couple of cheap Parsons tables and a very patient husband to assist.

2. Stenciled Curtains Tutorial by While They Snooze
There are a million and one stenciled curtain DIYs to be found on the Internet, but Sarah's tutorial was the one to convince me that this could be my answer to expensive custom curtains. You see, on my search for shagreen, I came across a beautiful fabric with just the tiniest splash of fuchsia that would have made for perfect curtain panels. Unfortunately, I can't sew, and between the cost of materials and labor, the fabric store wanted to charge me upwards of $800. Nuh uh! Not gonna happen. I turned to DIYs for painting my own curtains with stencils, but I was afraid of going overboard with a bright color. The simple genius of this tutorial is that Sarah only stencils the bottom of her curtains! Now, why didn't I think of that?

3. DIY Tutorial: Acrylic Drapery Rods by A Storied Style

Now that I have my curtains figured out, I'll obviously need some way to hang them, and nothing is prettier than this Lucite and brass curtain rod I found on Etsy. Unfortunately, it's also quite pricey. Thank goodness for blogger Grace Mitchell, who figured out a way to get the look on the cheap. I've already called the acrylic company that Grace used to find out how much the rod itself will cost me (under $50!). Now, I just have to make a trip to the hardware store for some brackets and end caps.

4. IKEA Coffee Table Makeover by The Hunted Interior
I don't need a new coffee table per se, but I have been lusting over this glam brass, marble and glass Etsy find for a while now. I'll be willing to shell out the cash for a quality piece of furniture like this once I'm decorating my forever home, but for now, Kristin Jackson's oh-so-pretty IKEA hack will do just fine. If I do undertake this project, I'll forgo the gold spray paint for gold leaf, which Kristin recommends in a later blog post. And, since I don't trust myself to paint that marble effect freehand, I'll go for some marble contact paper instead. Easy peasy!

5. How To Upholster A Chair by Young House Love
And, finally, I have to include this reupholstery tutorial even though I have nothing to reupholster. Ridiculously cute married couple Sherry and John are the masters of the DIY, and they've convinced me that even I can tackle something as daunting — no, as downright terrifying — as reupholstering a chair. I had no idea this was even in the realm of possibility.

I'll keep you posted as I tackle these projects one by one. And, as I've begged before, wish me luck!