Ever wanted to make your own DIY charger plates? It’s SO EASY. Here are the step-by-step instructions to make them for almost free.
DIY these chargers for Mother’s Day or summer entertaining or a get-together with friends. You can make them in minutes for almost nothing.
If you walked up to our front door and knocked.
Five things would happen.
- I’d throw the door WIDE OPEN.
- You’d smell the BEST candles ever (that are so inexpensive and dupes for a much more expensive candle).
- You’d realize IMMEDIATELY how much I love blue and white.
- Buddy (our golden) would show up to say hello with his tail wagging.
- You’d see that the dining room in our home is just across the way from the living room to the left of the front door.
The dining room is tucked away behind this set of vintage french doors.
They are oversized with the prettiest vintage handles and gold hinges.
And if you opened the doors?
You’d see this DIY that I made that’s ALMOST FREE.
It’s the dining room set for friends or Mother’s Day.
Whichever comes first.
There are blue and white striped chairs on a rug full of color with an amazing chandelier and the prettiest blue and white curtains and layers of patterns.
The flower arrangements? They are grocery store arrangements made with peonies and hydrangeas from Trader Joe’s.
Budget Decorating Tip 1:
If you are making an arrangement like that with a wide-mouth vase? Just make a grid on the top with scotch tape. This enables the flowers to stay in place. Start with the largest and heaviest flowers first in one of the sections of the grid. Then add the smallest flowers in other sections of the grid and then tuck the greenery around the edges in the outer sections of the grid.
One of the most asked questions I get asked about the dining room is the texture of the walls.
Everyone asks if it’s plaster.
Nope.
Just drywall mud and a comb.
Here’s a close-up of the walls in the dining room next to a flower arrangement and these lamps.
Budget Decorating Tip 2:
Create a faux finish on your walls with drywall mud and a comb. Yep. A comb. That’s what made the ridges and texture on the walls.
These chairs were so inexpensive and I LOVE the pop of pattern against the dark wood.
They came from Wayfair, but they needed a little something to make them stand out.
Budget Decorating Tip 3:
Add buttons to the back of your chairs. This is a NO-SEW project. Sometimes it’s so easy to make a piece of furniture unique with just a little DIY addition. You can see how I covered the buttons and attached them to the chairs.
See those peonies in the arrangement—my favorite flowers that show up for a hot minute before they close up shop for the season. You can find them at garden centers and florists and grocery stores this time of year.
Whenever I buy peonies they are always so closed up and take forever to open (sometimes they never open).
It’s easy to get them to open if you know this peony-opening tip.
Budget Decorating Tip 4:
And now?
Here’s my favorite budget summer decorating tip of all.
These chargers.
I made them for FREE.
And here’s the step-by-step how I DIY’d them.
DIY PLATE CHARGERS MADE FROM FABRIC
- Trace a circle onto cardboard with a pencil.
- Cut it out.
- Cut out a circle of fabric.
- Place the cardboard circle onto the wrong side of the fabric.
- Cut small notches around the edge of the fabric. Start folding over and pleating the fabric. Then glue individual pleats in place with hot glue.
- Your chargers are ready to use.
- You can also add Mod Podge to the top of the charger to make it easier to clean stains.
These chargers would be PERFECT for Mother’s Day.
You can design your very own table just for your mother.
It’s such an easy project that takes minutes to create and makes the table look SO CUTE.
I’m surprising my mother with my grandmother’s china and chargers to match.
Shhhhh.
Let’s just keep the surprise between you, me and the dining room. 🙂
disclosure: affiliates are used in this post
Aww, I want to be greeted by Buddy! Very pretty table setting.
I want a hug too when coming into your beautiful home.
💜✅Great & beautiful Charger Idea❣️ Now I know what to do with all my large canvas cardboard boxes !!! 👩🎨 Thanks
Beautiful room! I love all the tips. Quick question: the chair on the end--is that vintage? I love it and am looking for something similar for our breakfast nook. The chairs we have in there are big and heavy and take up a lot of visual space, which we don't have. I want something smaller and shorter, and a cushion would be a big plus.
Brilliant charger idea!
Your home is beautiful! What a fabulous idea!! Thank you so much. They are beautiful!!
Your home is beautiful and welcoming! Thank you for sharing your charger idea…Possibilities are endless!
Love your dining room. Have some wrapping paper almost identical to the charger fabric! It brings spring into the room😍
Love the charger idea...but even more I love that your are USING your mother's china. The memories that go with it are priceless. "Use the things you love on the people you love!" - Alda
You just amaze me Karianne, someday I will meet you. Hope you had fun at the wedding on Goat Island.
Love the fabric on the chargers. And, of course, LOVE the "easy" aspect of this project.
Very smart and so pretty!
KariAnne - you just have the best ideas! The charger is gorgeous and so easy to make. LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea.
Oh KariAnne! You had me at peonies!
I love this idea. I’ve been trying to think of an idea like this become can only store so many plate chargers! I sew therefore fabric is not an issue! You are so creative!
This is a great idea! I love it and is a must try for a future table setting. I also love the way you designed the table with two centerpieces. Your dining room is beautiful, KariAnne!
Very pretty!! Love, love!!! xoxo
Love your choices, all very nice. Blessings
I love the charger idea. Yesterday I bought 6 12-inch round cake boards for less than $3.00 at Hobby Lobby for this project. Easier than cutting.
Great idea about the handmade chargers! They can always match a theme perfectly then! Been on vacay and just catching up on my fav blogs reading. Glad you loved Breakers - it is an absolute must see - all of those "summer homes" of by-gone days of the wealthy are just WOW. Back then there was no such thing as income tax. Just saying if that were the case perhaps all of us would have a butler's pantry to live in, huh?
These chargers are just the cutest and I’m saying why didn’t I think of that! Lol. I’d love to share a link on my Sunday Dirt Road Adventures!
The DIY chargers are a great idea, and I will make some soon; perhaps blue and white striped!! Just a tip -- on the back side of the chargers, snip the edges of the material to get a smooth look. On Pinterest look up "notching seams,"