5 Creative and Economical Ideas for Home Improvement

Very often we only think of the essentials important to a home, which are: sofas, cabinets, tables and chairs, this and that and so on. What about the decoratives to give our lovely home a little artistic spark?

Some would buy paintings worth a few hundred or even thousands of ringgits just to give that home the artsy look the owner wants to portray to the guests, some would buy plants to make the house greener with the greens, and some would… DIY (Do-It-Yourself) the decorative themselves, thus saving money.

Here’s the deal, some creative ideas are available here to give your home a little make-up to make it look more interesting and presentable when the guests visit. Aside from just ideas for décor, there are some handy ideas that might be of help for daily chores, or simply to keep the house organized and save the housekeeping trouble when visitors come over.

Some ideas listed here are fairly simple to execute, even a child can do it! It’s time to give your home some tiny creative makeovers to make it look simply dashing. 

Idea No.1: The Bulletin Board

Yes, you read it right, the bulletin board. A plain, woody, simple bulletin board. How can this make a good décor for the home you ask? Oh worry not, the use of it is UNLIMITED, and the only limit is your imagination (doesn’t this phrase sound familiar? It would be if you watched BIG Hero 6!).

First, let me explain why a bulletin board, because it’s cheap to get and like what was suggested earlier, its usage as a house décor is unlimited. Here’s what you can do with a bulletin board:

Make it your ‘moments’ collector!

Instead of buying a painting that is priced at a few hundred ringgit, why not replace it with a cheaper bulletin board AND add your own beautiful moments to make up a more meaningful piece of art? Whenever you have photos with your loved-ones or family, pin it up there and showcase the blissful image of you and your family to the world. Paintings are, after all, just colours together. Why not make use of photos with meaningful moments to share? On the plus side, the varieties of colours in the photos are more than enough to make up a full painting. Fill up the bulletin board with photos and voila, an piece of art is born from your hands without a paintbrush.

Make it into a Calendar

Instead of buying a calendar, use the bulletin board to become one by adding on paper notes! With this you can decorate your calendar in however ways you wish it to be, and you can just scribble some reminders onto the notes pinned onto the board for easier reference too.

These are just some ways to make a bulletin board an economic décor for the home, brainstorm some ideas and give it a go! It may turn out to be better than you expected.

You can purchase similar bulletin boards similar to these at IKEA for RM19.90 and Daiso for RM5.

Idea No. 2: Photo Frame

Okay, now you’re probably wondering why I’m suggesting a photo frame when I just mentioned using the bulletin board as a platform to pin your photos up. Now, now, photo frames have other uses too. Say… what about a key holder? Stylish and simple, yet not bulky, and you can make use of your old photo frames that were chucked aside or kept away in the deepest corners of the cabinets.

Photo frames can make some decent key holders to house your keys to avoid them getting messy when they are being thrown together on a shelf or table. So, keep your house organized without spending extra money – or some money – by making use of your old photo frames! A creative yet useful idea for your home.

Have a look at this example:

You will need one photo frame and a few hangers attachable to the back cover of the photo frme, and once you’re done you can just place it on the table or hang it up against the wall and start using it to keep your keys organized. In case you don't have any old photo frames, you can purchase new ones at IKEA from RM2.50 and at Daiso for RM5.

Idea No.3: Magnetic Strip

The force is strong in this one! A magnetic strip can be useful in keeping away your things made of steel or metal, such as hair pins, fingernail clippers, kitchen knives, and the likes. There are many magnetic strips with different colours and designs available for sale on the Internet that can make a good décor for your home or kitchen too. Wondering if the things stuck onto the magnetic strip will fall off? It most probably won’t since IKEA is selling them as a knife rack too. So if you’re cautious of other brands perhaps you can go for the one IKEA sells.

Using this, you probably won’t need to worry about where your hair pins go anymore, they are most likely attracted to this cool piece of magnet here.

Here’s an example of its usage:

Idea No.4: Button Magnets

Button magnets…? Will this get any weirder…? What am I supposed to do with these tiny fellows? That’s probably what some of you are thinking when you get to this part of the post, but seriously there is a really cool hidden trick using this for one of the house chores! Although, not so much for the décor part, but it pretty much solves the problem that most people will face when washing glasses or bottles with narrow openings – how can my hands get to the bottom?

First, get 2 button magnets (or any other magnets of your choice, as long as it’s attracted to each other strongly enough) and a sponge (any sponge will mostly do), then follow the steps below:

1. Cut part of the sponge into a size just enough to get through the narrow openings
2. Open a slit in each sponge at one of the sides, make sure to cut in deep enough
3. Place button magnets inside the slit of each sponge
4. Seal the slits with some super glue, make sure it’s tightly sealed so that the magnet won’t fall out
5. Start washing your hard-to-reach-the-insides-or-bottom containers!
6. *If these procedures aren’t clear enough for you, then watch the video below  click the YouTube link to watch the video below by American Hacker

Idea No. 5: Toilet Roll Tubes

Yep, rub your eyes if you need to, but this is indeed a toilet roll tube, the middle cardboard part of your daily toilet roll. Don’t be surprised to find this seemingly useless tube capable of being made into an art craft, because again only your imagination is the limit. It can be made into some pretty decent decors for your home, into some toys, or into some useful organizer tool.

Perhaps some of you here don’t exactly fancy at the sight of it because it came out from the toilet, and its colour reminds you of the washroom.  A way to counter this is thinking is by wrapping it up in leftover wrapping papers to repackage it.

Here are some examples what you can do with this:

Make it into a decorative

Green plants are good, but if you’re bad at taking care of plants or they constantly wither, maybe you can try this as an alternative.

Make it into a toy for your kids

These tubes can be made into many interesting toys for your kids. Not only does it save you some money, you can also educate your children on the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling! The environment is a growing concern for every one of us, be it in Malaysia or in other countries, so start being a role model yourself and educate the next generation to help in preserving the environment.

Make it into an organizer tool

There’s no need to get some ready-made stationery organizers when you can make this easily to keep your pens, pencils, and other items neatly on your study desk. Decorate it just like above, or design it with your creativity!

In this high technology era, surely more than half of us own at least a smart phone, or with tablets and many other gadgets. Well it’s pretty cool to have all these gadgets in your possession, but then the troublesome part comes: the charging cables or wires that comes with it. It would be unsightly to see all those cables tangled up in a mess, agree? So here’s a cost-effective way to keep them organized. You can either slide those cables into the tube after you’re done using it, or just curl your cables around the rube to prevent it from dangling loosely.

Make it into a seed starter

For a gardener, this may come in handy. Instead of needing to buy a seed starter pot from the outside, why not make use of the free and reusable materials available in your homes? This is an inexpensive and a greener way to plant more greens at home.

That’s it! Here’s hoping that these ideas can add a touch of creativity to your home, and perhaps help in solving some house chore problems too. Do share it with your family and friends for good information!

By Denise Goh
September 22, 2015 | Home & Lifestyle