10 Upcycled and Thrifty Home Decor Projects

Are you looking for some easy, super budget-friendly home decor ideas? Well, I have a bunch of them for you today!

I love all the expensive catalog retailers as much as the next girl but even if I had a zillion dollars I think I would always prefer to try and make my own on the cheap!! There is a certain satisfaction with taking something from the thrift store and upcycling it into something amazing!!

Here are a variety of my favorite upcycled and thrifty home decor projects…

1. Thrifty Lamp Makeover

You don’t have to spend big bucks on a new table lamp! Two places that I always check are the clearance section and the thrift store! Don’t get distracted by the color of the lamp…look for a shape that you like and then paint it! I found a $5 lamp at Walmart and with a little chalk paint upcycled it into a Pottery Barn style lamp!!

2. Make Your Own Wall Art

Wall art can be pri-ceeeey!! Especially large pieces of art! I have a big wall in my living room and needed to find something large to hang. All the paintings I saw were all over 100 bucks…so what is a DIYer to do…make her own!!!

All you need for making your own abstract art is a large blank canvas (Walmart or the craft store), I spread joint compound on the blank canvas to create a textured look to mimic oil painting, a few different shades of acrylic paint that fit your decor, and if you want to make a simple frame you can find the wood at Lowes or the Home Depot.

3. Step 2 Plastic Playhouse Makeover

Do you have one of these plastic playhouses in your backyard?? I was going to replace my Step 2 playhouse with a new wood one but then thought…wait I bet I can paint it!!

I’m so glad that I tried using spray paint instead of opening my wallet for a new more updated-looking one!!

The most important part of painting a plastic playhouse is that you…have…to…be…patient and let each coat of paint dry for at least 24 hours for more durability!!!

4. Juice Bottle Upcycle

Next time you are ready to throw a juice bottle in the recycle bin why don’t you try and make a cute DIY vase out of it instead??!!

There are quite a few neat-shaped bottles for juice, lemonade, and iced coffee available at the market but I really like the shape of the Simply line of beverages (plus, aren’t they so good…especially love the Raspberry Lemonade in the Summer!!)

5. From Dumpster to French Country

So I found this table by a dumpster when the local University was moving out for the year.

Actually, I have to give props to my husband who was driving home from coaching a baseball game when he noticed all the stuff being piled up at the dumpsters…and mentioning to me when he got home!!

I had been on Facebook Marketplace for a couple of weeks looking for some kind of a table that I could use as a potting table in the garden with zero luck..this vanity table was the first thing I spotted by the dumpster!

My husband was just happy my dumpster diving trip was over in less than 5 minutes….

6. Pottery Barn Style Vase

If you know me then you know that I haven’t met a thrift store that I didn’t need to check out!! There’s a great Savers thrift store near me in Newington, NH that has been a goldmine for me over the past few years!

My mission was to find a vase to use to create a Pottery Barn knock off…one of those cool pottery vessels that cost alot of $$$.

So for a couple of bucks, my handy tub of joint compound, and a little paint I created the look that I was going for!!

7. Thrift Store Vases

Here is a super easy DIY to upcycle thrift store vases to create trendy two-tone vases! No special skills are required for this project…easy peasy!!

8. Upcycled Vintage Shutter

A $10 shutter from my local antique store turned into a cute coastal patriotic decoration. Using red, white, and blue paint and starfish for the stars.

9. Upcycle a Terra Cotta Pot

This started out with a $3 terra cotta bowl from a local discount store.

Then using paint and a spray glaze I upcycled it into faux pottery!! What a little paint can do is amazing..it’s like the superhero of so many DIY projects!!

10. DIY Bird Bath

Here’s one more idea using terra cotta planters!! Using 2 planter pots and a planter dish I made a mosaic birdbath. For this, I used my stash of sea glass but you could use glass beads or small mosaic tiles to create your own take!!

Well, those should keep you busy for a little while!! Remember, if you ever recreate any of my projects I would really love to see them so email a picture and I will feature it on my Weekly Rewind post!! It makes me so happy to see them!!