How to Decorate Your Room When You Are Broke
Original image by Jasmin Schreiber on Unsplash.
MILK CRATE CHAIR
You will need a square, stackable milk crate; a cloth placemat or your favorite fabric in a similar size; an old magazine; 6 large car-wash sponges; heavy upholstery thread; an upholstery sewing needle; and scissors.
Turn the crate upside down.
Create the base of the cushion.
Place the magazine on top of the bottom of the crate. Use the scissors to trim the magazine pages so that the magazine rests about ¾ inch from the inside edge of the crate.
Arrange 4 sponges on top of the magazine.
Lay the sponges next to one another to form the cushion. You may have to use the scissors to trim them to fit squarely to the top of the crate.
Lay the remaining sponges on top of the existing row.
Create a second layer of cushion by centering 2 sponges on top of the first layer.
Anchor the placemat to the crate.
Position the placemat on top of the sponges. Using the needle and thread, secure both shorter sides of the placemat to the crate by hooking a single loop stitch through the edge and around a crate grid square.
Push down on the placemat.
Compress the sponges until the longer sides of the fabric reach the edges of the crate.
Sew the placemat to the crate.
Secure the placemat with a continuous loop stitch around the perimeter of the crate.
Sit.
You can also use the crate as an ottoman or low stool, or stack it on top of another crate for a desk-height chair.
Be Aware
If you’re using your own fabric rather than a place-mat, lay a strip of masking tape ¼ inch from the edges around the perimeter of the fabric to prevent fraying before securing the fabric to the crate.
T-SHIRT CURTAINS
To accommodate a window of approximately 4 feet × 4 feet, you will need 13 of your favorite old T-shirts; 1 spool of thread in any color; 1 to 2 spools of iron-on hem tape; 1 spool of picture-hanging wire; 2 medium-weight eyehole screws; 1 manila folder (or similarly stiff paper); a medium-tipped marking pen; a sharp pair of scissors; and a sewing machine.
Make a stencil.
Cut the manila folder into a rectangle (9 inches × 12 inches) or a square (10 inches × 10 inches) to make a stencil.
Cut the T-shirts into pieces.
Lay a T-shirt on a flat surface for cutting. Put the stencil on the center of the shirt body. Trace the outline of the stencil with the marker on the T-shirt. Lift the stencil off the shirt. With the scissors, cut through both layers of the T-shirt, following the drawn cut-line. Perform this step on all the shirts.
Arrange the pieces to make a curtain.
On the floor or your bed, arrange the pieces next to one another in a pattern you like. Use as many pieces as you need to create a covering a little bit longer and wider than your window.
Disassemble the curtain.
Collect your horizontal rows into piles and set them down next to your sewing machine.
Sew the pieces together.
Place the front faces of two pieces together and sew, using a medium straight stitch ¼ inch from the edge of the mated pieces.
Connect the rows.
Sew front face to front face. Make sure any design on the T-shirt pieces is right-side up.
Finish the edges.
Once you have sewn the window covering to the desired size, cut the hem tape to size for the perimeter of the covering. Iron on the hem tape along the sides so the tape wraps around the edge, covering the front and back of the edge.
Prepare the curtain for hanging.
Facing the front of your window piece, fold back 2 inches of the top edge to form the place to string the picture-hanging wire through. Secure the folded portion by sewing ¼ inch along the edge. Cut the wire 1 foot longer than the width of your window opening. Thread the wire through the pipeline you created.
Hang the curtain.
With your hand, screw in the eyehole screws at either edge of your window. Hang the window covering by wrapping 6 inches of excess wire through the eyehole hooks.
Be Aware
If you do not have a sewing machine, hem tape, or a needle and thread, use a stapler or duct tape to secure the T-shirt pieces together.
Alternate Method:
If you would rather keep your T-shirts intact, run a curtain rod straight through the armholes of as many T-shirts as it takes to cover the width of the window. Repeat this procedure, adding more rows until the window is covered. Smelly, worn T-shirts can be put on the rods to be aired out, thus saving you from having to wash them