Neutral Decor to DIY Instead of Buy
While browsing various home decor websites over the past month, I came across several pieces of neutral decor that caught my eye. Many of the items were out of my price range but I knew I could create similar pieces for a fraction of the price.
Wood Tabletop Drawer Cubby
The first Dollar Tree DIY was inspired by a tabletop drawer cubby I saw on the Michaels website that sold for $35.99. My budget-friendly version cost $12.00.
To create my version of the cubby, I glued together four wooden drawers from the Crafter’s Square section at Dollar Tree. I used to see them in stores all the time but lately, they’ve been harder to find.
To make the outside of the cubby more polished, I took four wood planks from a package I purchased at Dollar Tree and used a mitre saw to cut them to fit around the structure.
After smoothing the rough edges with a sanding sponge, I attached the planks to the cubby using more wood glue.
For the legs at the bottom of the cubby, I cut four Dollar Tree tumbling tower blocks in half and glued them to the bottom of the structure.
Once the glue dried, I applied antique wax to the entire cubby, including the drawers, and used a baby wipe to remove the excess wax.
In Cricut Design Space, I created triangle designs for the drawers that were similar to the designs on the inspiration piece. I cut the designs out of Cricut stencil vinyl and applied the vinyl to the drawers.
To prevent the paint from bleeding, I put a coat of Mod Podge over the stencils. Then I applied a coat of Plaster chalk paint over the Mod Podge. As soon as I finished painting, I removed the stencils to reveal the triangle designs.
For the drawer handles, I removed four small metal pieces from two Dollar Tree cell phone cases. I took the metal pieces outside and gave them a few light coats of flat black spray paint.
After the paint dried, I put a small dot of E6000 adhesive on the center of each drawer and set the handles on the adhesive. Then I placed the drawers back into the cubby and it was ready to be displayed in my home.
Textured Pot
This budget-friendly DIY was inspired by a collection of textured pots I saw on Anthropologie’s website. Their prices ranged from $34 all the way up to $458 and I created this piece for around $4.
I started by purchasing a set of small pots from Dollar Tree and removed one from the set.
To add texture, I used thick layers of Mod Lodge to apply strips of burlap to the plastic pot.
For the spheres on the sides of the pot, I purchased a package from Model Magic from the toy section at Dollar Tree. I tore off small pieces of the Model Magic and rolled them in my hands to form spheres. I used hot glue to attach them to the outside of the pot.
Next, I gave the pot and spheres a thick coat of Plaster chalk paint.
To make it look more like the inspiration piece, I realized that I should have used Ivory paint so to help darken the pot a bit, I dabbed on some antique wax and rubbed it around with a baby wipe.
I had fun with this high-end inspired pieces and I’d like to make a few more using pots of various sizes.
Wildflower Wall Art
The inspiration for this Anthropologie-inspired piece cost $218 but I was able to create a similar look for $9.
For my version, I started with a rectangular photo frame from Dollar Tree.
I removed the plastic packaging as well as the clothespins, twine, and backing of the frame.
To create the mat that borders the wildflowers, I purchased two sets of wooden rulers from Dollar Tree.
I peeled off the black plastic pieces where the numbers were printed, leaving me with four pieces of wood that resembled paint stir sticks.
I only needed the centers of the rulers for this project so I used my craft knife and a straight edge to cut off the thinner pieces on the sides of the rulers.
I trimmed the wood pieces to fit inside the frame and used my steel snips to cut all of the ends at a 45-degree angle so they would fit together nicely.
The mat on the inspiration piece was gold so I used an old paintbrush to apply a coat of antique gold Rub’n Buff to the front and sides of the wood pieces.
To create a beaded look similar to the inspiration piece, I purchased pop up stickers from Dollar Tree and gave them a coat of antique gold Rub’n Buff as well.
Next, I found a scrap piece of Dollar Tree foam board in my craft stash and traced around the black backing that I removed from the photo frame.
I used a straight edge and my craft knife to trim it to fit in the frame.
For the wildflower picture, I purchased an inexpensive SVG on Etsy and used my Cricut machine to cut it out of matte black vinyl.
I used paper transfer tape to attach the image to the foam board because the paper transfer tape isn’t as sticky as regular transfer tape and I didn’t want to damage the background.
After rubbing over it with my hand, I removed the transfer tape to reveal the wildflower design.
Next, I put the foam board and original black backing into the frame and secured it in place with the metal pieces on the back.
I used hot glue to attach the gold pieces of wood to the perimeter of the foam board.
I finished the piece by placing the painted stickers down on top of the wood in two rows.
Although my picture is less than half the size of the inspiration piece, I am pleased that I was able to achieve a similar look for a fraction of the price.
Moss Letter
This easy DIY was inspired by some beautiful moss letters that I found for $79 on Pottery Barn’s website.
For my budget-friendly version, I created a large letter on Canva, printed it on cardstock, and carefully cut it out.
I placed the letter on a piece of cardboard from my recycling bin and traced around it with a Sharpie. I used my craft knife and a straight edge to cut the straight sides of the letter. I cut the curved sides with my scissors.
To reinforce the cardboard, I trimmed a few scrap pieces of wood that I cut off the rulers earlier and used hot glue to attach them to the letter.
For the moss covering, I purchased a 16 by 18-inch moss mat at Hobby Lobby.
I spread the mat out on my craft table and placed the letter on top to determine where I wanted to cut it, making sure I left enough moss on the edges to wrap around the letter.
I applied hot glue to a small section of the letter and placed it on the moss mat. I continued to apply glue to the cardboard in small sections until it was covered in moss.
To make it easier to wrap the moss around the letter, I cut slits in the moss and glued the small sections to the back of the letter.
Although it wasn’t necessary to cover the back of the cardboard since it wouldn’t be seen, I used some of the scraps to fill in the gaps so that it would look more polished.
The great thing about this $4.50 craft is that you can change the size and font of the letter to fit your personal style.
Whitewash Tile Decor
The final DIY was inspired by a piece of wall decor that was on sale for $29.99 at Hobby Lobby. I was able to create a Dollar Tree version of the wall art for $4.
For my recreation, I started with a square hanging sign from Dollar Tree.
After using a heat tool to heat up the glue, I pulled the wood hanger off of the back.
Next, I set the sign on a piece of transparency film and traced around it with a Sharpie.
I used a paper trimmer to cut the transparency film down to size.
For the design on the sign, I purchased a wall tile from Dollar Tree.
I placed the transparency film on top of the tile so I could see exactly where I wanted to cut it. After tracing around the transparency film with a Sharpie, I cut the tile to fit inside the sign.
The sticky backing came off the tile when I cut it but that was okay because I was already planning on using hot glue to attach the tile to the sign.
Once the tile was secured to the sign, I gave the front, back, and sides two coats of Plaster chalk paint.
When the paint dried, I used Silver Leaf Rub’n Buff to highlight the high points of the tile. In hindsight, I could have simply given the high points a light sanding to achieve the same look so keep that in mind if you try to replicate this piece.
For the final step, I applied a bit of antique wax with a chip brush to give the piece a weathered look.
I love that I was able to create this high-end inspired piece for a fraction of the $29.99 retail store sale price.
Check out the video below to see a full tutorial for these high-end inspired neutral decor DIYs.
