About mid-year the feeling comes to me… I need to redecorate. About a split-second later, I realize that feeding an IKEA obsession isn’t exactly in my price range, so improvisation is necessary. Here are a few really easy ways to spruce up any room.

One easy, cheap trick to spice up boring walls is to create fabric wall panels. The best thing about this is that you can switch out the fabric whenever you want a change of scenery. What you’ll need is a staple gun, a 1.5 x 5’ wooden-framed painter’s canvas, two yards of fabric (feel free to have fun here with your choice), an iron, an ironing board and pushpins or thumbtacks.

What you’ll want to do is iron out your chosen fabric and center it on the canvas. When you have it centered the way you want, tack it down on the wood on the back of the board. After that, staple it to the wood and make sure that it’s centered properly. It’s as simple as that, and the good thing is that if you mess up, you can just keep trying again and again.

Lighting fixtures can be really expensive. This idea works well with round, flat lights (i.e. it’s not going to work with a ceiling fan). What you’ll need are tons of pages from old books, scissors, a tiny whole punch, ornament hooks, double-sided tape and access to a laminating machine.

What you’ll want to do is laminate the pages of the book, then cut them into squares and rectangles of varying sizes. Next, you’ll want to attach them together from the holes you poke on the top and bottom of each shape. Attach them with the ornament hooks. When you’re done making strips of these, tape the top of each strand to the top of the light. You’ll want short strands to go all the way around the lamp. Of course, at that point you can adjust the lengths of each strand to make sure they’re the length you want.

Then there are windows, which, especially in summertime, can be troublesome. The last thing you want is the scalding sun blazing through your windows without any blinds or curtains. Yes, most windows come with blinds but sometimes they’re just not enough. A simple solution to this problem is a scarf window curtain, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. All you have to do is gather a bunch of scarves and attach them all together at the top of the window frame with clip rings. Seriously, that’s it. Since you get to choose the scarves, you can control how heavy the fabric and/or what color you want the curtains to be.

This next idea is good for the whole family, and not only that, it’s a whole lot cheaper than buying fine artwork. Make your own and it will be even more special. What you’ll need is a canvas (or two or three) in any size you want, a couple of sturdy strips of cardboard and some rubber gloves. Just squirt some drops of paint on the top of the canvas, don your gloves and pull the paint down the page with the cardboard. Continue with different colors in different directions. Really, you can’t mess this one up.

Let the creativity begin!