We’ve discussed it before.

You know.

All that free decorating.

I’ve shared ideas before, but today? Today I have the MEGA LIST.

Not just 20 ideas.

Not just 40 ideas.

BUT 101 FREE DECORATING IDEAS.

Yep.

Ideas and suggestions and plans and tips all without spending a single dime.

Are you ready?

Are you set?

Want to decorate your house for FREE?

Oh good.

Me, too. 🙂

1. Free mantel idea

Here’s a fun idea to create a free spring mantel.

I took empty mason jars and staggered them on the mantel.

The more the merrier.

I think I have about 10 jars.  And then?  I went out to the yard and cut a few branches off a tree.  I filled the mason jars with water and staggered the cut branches in them at different heights.  Make sure to fluff all that free.

2. Gather buttons or dice or game pieces and display them in a jar on a shelf.

3. Take a large basket and flip it upside down to create a side table (bonus points if you add a tray as a topper).

4. Shop your closet for a scarf and add it to the center of your table as a table topper.

5. Shop the yard and make a twig vase

Take a moment to step outside and look around for twigs.  Bring a basket and search the ground.  Look high and low for twigs. You are looking for twigs that are at least 8 inches long and have a little personality.  Find about 20-25 twigs and bring them inside.  If it’s wet where you are you may want to let the twigs dry out.

And then?

Here’s a fun project to create from all those twigs.  Clip the twigs to extend about 4 inches above the edge of the vase.  Start with one twig and glue in place.  Continue gluing until the vase is covered.  Fill with fresh flowers and decorate.

6. Take everything off your bookshelves. Then redecorate by grouping things by color. Look for collections and group like items together.

7. Take artwork off the wall (or out of your attic) and hang it on the front of the bookshelves to shake up the look.

8. Rearrange your pillows

Walk over to your couch or love seat or upholstered chair and take off all the pillows.

Take off all the pillows that you own and put them in a giant pile on the floor—kind of like a giant pillow family reunion.

And then?  I want you to look at them with a new eye.  Are there patterns?  Did the pillow from the living room go with the pillow from the chair in your guest room?  Did the pillow from that chair in the hallway want to be friends with the pillow from the dining room chair?

Put all the pillow families together. 🙂

9. Shop your outdoor furniture. Can you add some of your outdoor chairs inside? Maybe a fun side table could be added to your living room.

10. Do you have extra paint leftover from another paint project? Paint an accent wall (you could even paint stripes if you don’t have enough paint for the whole wall).

11. Redecorate the coffee table

Start by clearing everything you have off the coffee table.  Keep what you love and donate the rest.

Shop your house for items in these three categories:

1.  Something green—either faux (there’s no shame in that game) or you can shop your yard, too.
2.  Something metal
3.  Something tall (or some way to add height)
4.  Something with texture

12. Put together a gallery wall. You may have photos or artwork in closets or in a room where you don’t really love where you’ve placed it. Take all that orphaned artwork and reimagine a gallery wall for a blank wall in your home.

13. Wrap a plate wall around a corner. Plate walls are amazing. But do you know what’s even better? A plate wall that starts on one wall and wraps around the corner to another wall.

14. Have leftover wallpaper or wrapping paper? Use it as a mat for artwork or a photograph. (total aside: you could also use it to line drawers).

15. Decorate with towels

Shop your linen closet. Find two or three or four of the cutest towels you have. They don’t even have to match (just between us not-matching is sometimes even better).

Fold them in half. Then fold them in thirds one over the other.

Find a stool or basket or other small piece of furniture and place it against the wall of your bathroom. Then place the stack of towels on top.

16. Flip a rug over. I know this sounds so random, but did you know a lot of rugs have a pattern on the other side? In the farmhouse, I flipped a rug over with a check pattern on the bottom. It’s a fun option you may not have thought of.

17. If you have a wall that needs something? Think about adding a mirror. Move it from another space in your house to reflect light or even a doorway in a room. It will add extra sparkle.

18. Frame pages from books. I’m sitting here in my living room and I’m looking at book pages that I framed in floating frames. Free artwork in minutes.

19. Shop the fridge

Next time you take out a decorating magazine and flip through the pages and then close your eyes and sigh and wonder why your house doesn’t look like it vacations in the south of France.

Press pause.

Forget about France.  Look at the counters in the kitchen or the coffee table in the living room or the sideboard in the dining room.  Chances are that you will spot some type of fruit or vegetable.

Why?

Why do they do that?

Is it because every photographed house has hungry people ready to grab an apple at a moment’s notice?

No.

They add fruit or vegetables because it brings an element of freshness to the space—a freshness you can bring to your house for FREE.
All you have to do is shop the refrigerator.  You probably have oranges or apples or cumquats or artichokes or peaches or carrots or tangerines just waiting to decorate.  Take a bowl and put them in it.  Place it on your sideboard or counter or hutch or side table.

Just in case a magazine wants to stop by and photograph.

20. Cut branches from the yard and display them in a vase.

21. Stack books and create a side table. Turn them at angles to make the table look super interesting.

22. Do you have washi tape in your craft closet? Use it to hang pieces of art on the wall.

23. Decorate with branches

It’s summer.

Birds are singing.

Trees are full of leaves.

There are branches outside.  Here’s a simple idea I created using a few branches and jute twine.

Take a grate (like these) or an empty picture frame or even a piece of wood.

Cut some branches from the yard.  Wrap the ends of them with jute twine and then tie them onto the grate or frame.  If you are using a piece of wood, use a nail or hook to anchor them.

Then let the branches dry in place.

24. Layer two rugs on top of each other. I did this in the farmhouse. I started with a larger rug (8′ x 10′ ) and then layered a smaller rug on top at an angle.

25. Dust off your cake stands and use them as risers in a vignette. Add items in groups of three to keep things interesting.

26. Decorate with ribbon scraps. Tie a ribbon around a mason jar or vase and add fresh flowers or greenery from your summer yard.

27. Decorate with dishes

Open up your kitchen cabinets.  Don’t be shy.

All of them.

Don’t forget the ones on the top that have stuff in them that you totally forgot about. Take out those stacks of dishes that have been waiting around since 1976 for another centennial to come around. Take them out.

Rinse them off until they are super shiny. Let them dry. Then hang them on a wall, display them in a kitchen hutch, stack them up under a cloche, place them in the back of a bookcase or even set the dining room table for company.

28. Frame greeting cards as art. I have some with the best quotes. Cut off the front and frame.

29. Shop your fridge and fill a bowl with fresh fruit (like lemons) on your counter.

30. Have an extra curtain panel or vintage tea towels? Hang them on the wall as art with push pins.

31. Create a valance from a dishcloth

See that valence over the sink?

Guess what I made it from?

IKEA dishtowels.

I know, right?  Isn’t it so cute?  And it adds a little pattern to the kitchen.

I simply took pushpins and used them to hang up the dish towels in the window.

32. Decorate with a ladder. Use it to hang magazines or books, or even throws.

33. Frame a handwritten note that someone sent you as artwork.

34. Create a garland with twine and clips and photos or scrapbook paper with quotes.

35. Paint a piece of furniture with paint you already have

See that hutch?

It’s one of my favorite yard sale finds EVER in the history of ever.

I didn’t have enough paint to paint the entire piece, so I painted it with four different types of grays that I had leftover in my garage.

Look around the house.

Do you have something that needs a new look?

Why not paint it with the leftover paint you have?

36. Create an entire display with empty frames. You could also hang mini grapevine wreaths to the top of the frames with ribbon.

37. Put all your remote controls in a decorative bowl (organizing something in a cute way always makes me feel happier).

38. Make a table top with old belts. Glue them in place in rows to create a free tabletop idea.

39. Decorate with books

Have a table that needs a little accessory?

Take a few books and turn them this way and that.  Place something on top—a magnifying glass, a tiny picture frame, a bowl of fruit or any other small accessory.

Instant side table display.

Decorate a flat basket with them.  Add small boxes and other accessories to fill out the basket.

Use them in a creative coffee table display.  Books are a great way to add height to your display.  Just add or take away from the stack until they are the right height.

40. Frame anything. I’ve framed paint brushes and kitchen utensils and even plates. You can make anything special by framing it.

41. Cut a board to fit inside a frame and paint with leftover chalkboard paint for an instant chalkboard.

42. Use leftover tiles as coasters.

43. Make a book page garland

Start with a book that has a few pages to spare. Then start creating.

You could make a garland like this.

Or make a wreath.

Or make art from the book by folding it.

44. When you have an empty candle jar? Clean out all the wax and use it as a desk organizer.

45. Tie two scarves around a pillow to create a brand new look for the pillow. Tie it off with knots at the corners.

46. Decoupage a map of a special place (or trip) to a board or tray to create artwork.

47. Make art from book pages

48. Remove your cabinet doors on the top to create an open shelving look.

49. Paint the back of the cabinet wall with leftover paint (bonus points if you use a darker paint for extra contrast).

50. Paint rocks with inspirational quotes and display them in a bowl.

51. Rearrange your furniture

Remember this office before it went blue and white? I had the hardest time with this room.

I couldn’t get it right.  I moved the desk to one side and then the other.  I just couldn’t get perspective.

And then?

When we added this rug to the space, we pulled out all the furniture (except the desk because it’s too heavy).  Seeing the room empty helped give me new ideas on where things should go and now?

I love the new arrangement.

One of my best tips for decorating your house for FREE is to empty a room.

Let it breath.

And then shop the rest of your house.  You probably have the perfect table for a space just waiting in another room.

52. Loop a belt around the top of an empty frame to create an instant “leather” hanger.

53. Stack vintage board games on top of a stool for a fun vingette.

54. Place tons of photos into a tray and place on a coffee table for an instant conversation starter.

55. Make a wreath from scrapbook feathers

Find a piece of scrapbook paper in a pretty pattern that you love and let’s make feathers out of it.

Cut a feather shape out of the paper (you can find tons of templates online).

Next, cut the edges on a diagonal.

Crimp the edges to create the feather look and your feather is ready to decorate.

Make a wreath from the feathers.

Or a feather garland.

Or frame one or two feathers as art.

Or decorate your side table with a stack of books with a feather on top.

56. Place an empty drawer on it’s side and decorate the inside for a free shadow box frame.

57. Glue vintage silverware to an empty frame for easy kitchen artwork. (total aside: you can also stamp it if you have stamping supplies).

58. Print out vintage patents and frame them as art.

59. Twig wreath

Shop your yard.

Pick up sticks and twigs and branches.

Snap pieces of the branches into six-inch sections.

Cut out a thin circle out of cardboard and hot glue the twigs in a clockwise direction around the cardboard circle.

Keep applying the twigs in layers until you have the shape and size of a wreath that works with your decor.

I spray-painted mine white, but you can always leave it twig colored.

60. Cut larger branches from the yard and wrap them with twine to display on a bookcase.

61. Tape off a headboard on the wall and paint the silhouette of the headboard with leftover paint.

62. Remove the heads of croquet mallets and use them as hooks on the wall.

63. Pull your furniture away from the wall

I know, right?

This is the freest of the free tips.

So many times we start decorating our rooms with our couch and chairs and tables and ottomans all lined up against the wall.

Take a step back.

Look at the room from a new perspective.  Can you pull some of the furniture into the room a little more?  Can you rearrange the space to feel a little cozier?

Try it.

You might like it.

64. Hang a clipboard on the wall. Then, switch out the artwork every month for a free rotating art display.

65. Use vintage handkerchiefs or scarves as curtain tie-backs.

66. Print out and frame your favorite dictionary words and definitions.

67. Create a wall display with a basket

Look around the house.

Chances are, you have a flat basket or tray.

Chances are, you have an empty wall.

Think vertically.

Take the basket or tray and hang it on the wall.

Then tie a wreath onto the front of it.

68. Spray paint hardware and arrange it on a board as artwork.

69. Fill a glass jar with game pieces like dominos or Scrabble tiles or Monopoly money. Arrange glass jars in groups of three.

70. Attach a branch to the wall as a jewelry organizer.

71. Create a free table runner

Go to your fabric stash.

Cut a rectangle from your favorite piece of fabric.

Fray the edges.

Burlap works really well with this method.

Don’t have fabric?  Why not use wrapping paper instead?

72. Make your own mini wreaths with boxwood cuttings from the yard.

73. Create a gallery wall with game boards. Attach them to the walls with Command Strips.

74. Cut letters out of cards and punch holes in the sides of the letters. String them together to make a garland.

75. Decorate with wrapping paper

And speaking of wrapping paper?

I decorate with mine.

See that basket in the corner?

It’s full of rolls of wrapping paper.  I’m using faux wood paper and craft paper because it matches my decor.

But add your own.

Put your wrapping paper on display and decorate with it.

76. Cover a tabletop with paint sticks. Cut them to fit and glue them to the table top in a herringbone pattern.

77. Paint the edge of a door with leftover paint for a pop of color.

78. If you have a flat door, tape off panels on the door with painters’ tape and paint faux panels on the flat surface.

79. Spray paint your baskets

Have baskets sitting around your house in your donate pile?

Make them cute.

I spray-painted this basket gray.

And then?

I printed off numbers on the computer to use as stencils, cut out the center, taped them onto the baskets and spray painted them white.

80. Use ice trays or muffin tins as organizers for jewelry or office supplies.

81. Sew old t-shirts into a quilt. My mother has done this for each of the grandkids when they graduated from highschool.

82. Make a dropcloth wreath with tiny drop cloth leaves that you cut out. Glue them to a wreath form.

83. Decorate with wood scraps

These pieces of wood were left over from a molding project at our home.

Instead of tossing them, I decorated with them.

I painted them with acrylic paint and glued a chipboard letter on them.

Don’t have chipboard letters around the house?

Trace a letter onto the scrap of wood and fill in the outline with paint.

You can use these letters for different seasons to spell different words.

84. Make flowers out of coffee filters. Water down paint and soak the coffee filters. Let them dry and fold into flowers.

85. Make an herb garden on your kitchen counter with a tiered tray.

86. Press leaves between book pages and frame them as art.

87. Make your own wood twig sphere

This is another easy project made from shopping your yard.

Find twigs in your yard and cut pieces approximately 3-4″ each.

Glue twigs around a balloon to create the shape of a sphere.

When glue dries, pop out the balloon in the center and remove.

Decorate a mantel, a bookcase or a coffee table with your new twig sphere.

88. Fill a bowl with rocks from different places and locations you’ve visited. Write the coordinates on the rock with a paint pen.

89. Wrap a ball or sphere with twine. Glue in place and then repeat. Fill a bowl with your free decorative spheres.

90. Cut out birds or butterflies out of scrapbook paper and tape them to the wall with double stick tape as if they are flying.

91. Refresh your door

Hello front door.

Nice to meet you.

If you go in and out your back door like me, sometimes the front door gets a little neglected.

And it’s the first thing that people see.

Take a moment to wipe down your door.

Shine up your handle and your door knocker.

Refresh it with a wreath.

Your door will be so bright, your guests will have to wear shades.

92. Looking for a free coffee table idea? Cut down a larger table to the height of a coffee table.

93. Glue broken pieces of jewelry to a board in an intricate pattern to create a wreath.

94. Paint a quote directly on to a mirror with a metallic paint pen.

95. Cover your books

I cover my books in wrapping paper.

Or scrapbook paper.

Whatever makes them look cuter.

If you are looking for a new look for your bookcase, why not rethink your books?

Add a pop of color with left-over paper and then hand-write the title of the book on the spine, or print off a label on your computer.

(total decorating aside:  you could also place all the similar colors of books on your shelf together to create a color block look without covering the books).

96. Spray paint tiny trucks or cars and glue them to the lid of a jar for a clever organizing idea.

97. Line the back of a bookcase with wallpaper or pieces of scrapbook paper. Attach with double sided tape.

98. Frame a family quote

Print off something amazing you or someone in your family has said.

Then frame it.

Instant wall art for your space.

(total aside:  this is the cutest quote from my son when he lost his first tooth).

99. Tie a wreath from ribbons and hang it from a hook in the ceiling as an instant centerpiece.

100. Create a gallery wall of all the homes you’ve lived in. Turn a photo into an illustration with Canva or another app. Add the address at the bottom and frame.

101. Wake up your house

Every morning.

Walk around and fluff it and rearrange it and make it feel like it’s loved.

Just be careful.

Sometimes you wake it up.

And sometimes?

You step in it. 🙂

PS  You know I couldn’t let you leave without a story.

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