Simple Home Decor Projects To Make With Kids

This blog is about finding fun home decor projects, that you can make with the kids. This is a peculiar time. For the first time probably ever, due to the Coronavirus, we are pretty much housebound. We are spending all our days in our homes, staring at the same walls and picking a part all its faults and flaws.

It therefore makes sense that a large proportion of the population began to tackle the well over due DIY to do list.

For the first few weeks of lock down I kept reading about all the DIY projects that people were happily ticking off their lists and the sense of achievement they were enjoying.

Not everyone has been able to enjoy this freedom, as there is also a large percentage of the population who are not able to achieve anything in their homes. I include myself in this category. Suddenly we actually have less time than we’ve ever had, for the first time most of us have become homeschool teachers.

I suppressed the frustration for the first few weeks of lockdown. Then I realised that if I wanted to feel some of that sense of achievement and enjoyment from completing home DIY projects, I would need to involve the kids. This is how I came up with the activities below that entertain the kids but also allow us adults to enjoy some sense of achievement and creativity.

If you would love to find other ways to make your home more unique and creative, then work with us to bring inspiration to your home.

Alcohol Art

This is such a brilliant project because it allows you all to create unique pieces of art (which I can guarantee will be wall worthy) and the kids find it brilliant fun. The premise is you drop spots of alcohol ink onto Yupo paper (all available on Amazon) and then add pure alcohol on top and an amazing transformation happens.

There is a wide variety of colours and different combinations obviously create different affects. Some safety needs to be considered; rubber gloves for everyone and I stay in charge of the alcohol (which sadly isn’t drinkable!).

Painting with Chalk Paint

I can hear the gasps at the idea of allowing your child to paint a precious item of furniture, but actually chalk paint is really kid friendly. Firstly chalk paint is non toxic so completely safe for our kids, secondly there is no prep; no sanding, priming and undercoating needed so the task is short and simple.

I’m not suggesting you choose an ambitious piece of furniture but a small bookshelf or storage chest is the perfect choice. You can see above, I chose a lovely basket storage unit which was a bargain off eBay. Actually the kids were brilliant at the painting and really enjoyed the sense of accomplishment.

The Geometric Cork Board

How many of us have a generic cork board covered with leaflets, takeaway menus and scraps of paper we were keeping some reason we can’t remember? The cork board in its original form, isn’t the most attractive household accessory, however there is a way to change this ugly ducking.

Use masking tape (preferably frog tape) to mark out any pattern you want. Then paint on top, covering the masking tape and the rest of the board (again colour choice is up to you). Whilst the paint is still wet, peel back the masking tape, revealing your interesting, geometric design and hugely improving your uninspiring notice board.

Gold Leafing

I was surprised how much the kids loved this one. I think they take after their mother and love anything shiny and sparkly. We chose a plant pot for our leafing experiment, but really you can do what you like. There is a trend for gold leafing sections of furniture, or previously I have covered picture frames, completely up to you.

I would advise covering your item firstly with paint. With the plant pot we were lucky as it came already coloured black, but you will see that the underneath colour does pop through in places.

This is pretty simple, you begin by painting the gold leaf glue, leaving it until it’s tacky and then as carefully as possible lifting the gold leaf sheets and pressing them onto the glue.

We didn’t actually use real gold leaf but the imitation was really affective and affordable. The delicate method was soon replaced with just pushing it on. Once you have covered as much as you want, brush it down with a paint brush to remove all the loose bits and seal it with some furniture wax. There is also an option of silver or copper leaf if gold isn’t you thing!

Resin Art

I will admit that this activity is rather messy and does need some supervising. The reason why it is so worth going through this pain, is because the vibrant affect is brilliant and the resin creates a smooth, shiny surface which is a real statement in your home.

We have created resin art, but you can if you’re feeling brave attemp coasters, placemats or even a resin table top.

For the art project you will need canvases (which need to be elevated off the table), resin pigments, Epoxy art resin, stiring sticks, gloves, straws and plastic cups to mix the different colours. The resin comes in 2 parts and needs to be mixed really well and then you just add colour pigments to the mixed resin. To move the resin around and swirl the colours together we used straws. Alternatively you could use a heat gun. If possible do this in the garden but if not cover your table and floor well!

The Painted lampshade

Covering a lampshade with fabric is nothing new, it has been a favourite DIY creation forever. The kids and I decided that we would take it one step further and create our own fabric. I ordered plain white cotton (recommended for heat resistance) and neon, glow in the dark fabric paints.

The kids had a great time decorating the fabric (the design wasn’t exactly clear but luckily the neon gives it a graffiti look!) Admittedly there was quite a lot of paint used, so we did have to leave it a few days to dry out!

For the actual lampshade I purchased a kit off amazon, which was very economical and the step by step instructions were pretty simple. The idea is that you cover your fabric with the plastic, fire resistant lining. Then wrap double sided tape around the lamp shade frames, slowly roll the fabric and lining around the frames and finish off the seems. Immense pride from the kids (and me) for creating our own lamp and now lots of arguments about which room it goes in!

The Inspiration board

You may be wondering why this is different to the cork board. The cork board is typically a storage/ reminder board and this board is for inspiration. It is a great addition in any room (I have one in my study for fabrics). It is also brilliant in a kids room or playroom because it can be their special place to hang their memories, achievements and inspirational items.

The idea is you use polystyrene for the base (as it is a great pin cushion). Then cover it in any fabric choice (I would recommend that the adult is in charge of the staple gun) and finish it off with string, elastic and even ribbons. 

There are seven projects to get you started. If you would like to continue to be inspired by DIY home creations then follow me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/sadiepizzeyinteriors/. Where I share many top tips and videos. If you do create any of the above then tag me in on instagram as I would love to see them!