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  3. 25 DIY Paint Projects That You Can Complete to Redecorate Your Entire Home

25 DIY Paint Projects That You Can Complete to Redecorate Your Entire Home

Katelyn Chef, a writer for Martha Stewart Living
By Katelyn Chef August 17, 2021
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how-to-paint-everything-opener- Paint-Cans-0220
Credit: Addie Juell

Add a pop of color to furniture, picture frames, decorative accessories, living room walls, and so much more.

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how-to-paint-everything-opener- Paint-Cans-0220
Credit: Addie Juell

Opening a fresh can of paint has endless potential for creativity. After all, a painted design is one of the easiest ways to breathe new life into an old set of dishes, a flea-market mirror, or even a glass-fronted cabinet. Taking on a painting project is a great way to make do-it-yourself improvements around the house and it could include something you already own. Whether it's a shabby bookcase in need of a coat of paint, adding a personalized touch to a simple plaque, or updating kitchen cabinets and chairs, there's always plenty of things to paint around the house.

It's worth choosing the right paint for your project. Furniture and household decor can be given a weathered antique look with chalk paint in matte finish. Acrylic craft paint, of course, can be used on practically any kind of surface including fanciful patterns on the bottom of serving trays and glassware. Ceramic and glass paint can be used on tableware, adding texture and visual interest. Fabric paint should, naturally, be applied to tablecloths, napkins, throw pillows, and clothes. Consider technique, too: Acrylic pouring and splatter painting both create a one-of-a-kind marbleized and polka-dotted effect, respectively. Stenciling will always result in a crisp, clean look to the most intricate of designs.

Ahead, all of our most creative ideas for DIY paint projects. Try one (or more!) and see for yourself just how transformative they can be. Best of all, if you don't like the end result, it's easy to scrape away the dried paint, and begin anew.

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Painted Wood Barrister Bookcase

painted wood barrister bookcase
Credit: ADDIE JUEL
Get the Painted Wood Barrister Bookcase How-To

As a stylish reader, here's an easy way to make the books on your shelf pop: Painting the exterior of your bookcase in one hue where these types of items are displayed and the interior another color will completely transform the way you see your favorite novelties.

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Spray-Painted Metal Lamp

spray-painted-metal-lamp-e8591049-0419_vert_0
Credit: ADDIE JUELL
Get the Spray-Painted Metal Lamp How-To

Whether you scored a great flea market find or inherited one, an antique lamp can be updated on its exterior with a spritz of paint.

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Painted Ceramics

Painted Ceramic Pottery
Credit: Addie Juell
Get the Painted Ceramics How-To

When painting ceramics, you have the ability to go all out with color or opt for a minimal splatter of paint.

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Painted Brick Fireplace

white brick fireplace with painted cover
Get the Painted Brick Fireplace How-To

If you're looking to give your living room a quick upgrade, a project you can easily do yourself is paint right over the brick. After washing the fireplace of ash and soot, coat the brick in the right primer and white wash.

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Painted Wicker Sofa

painted wicker sofa living room
Credit: Courtesy of Addie Juell
Get the Painted Wicker Sofa How-To

Wicker is having a major moment in home décor. Whether you found a well-loved wicker sofa at a tag sale or already own one, breathe new life into this classic using a paint sprayer to coat your piece in an even layer of paint.

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Painted Glass Vase

painted glass vases with flowers on gray stand
Credit: Addie Juell
Get the Painted Glass Vase How-To

Arranging a vignette of painted glass vases at various heights creates visual dimension and interest in any living space.

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Painted Cabinets

blue painted cabinets yellow stool
Credit: Addie Juell
Get the Painted Cabinets How-To

Want to update your kitchen without the demolition? Opting to paint your kitchen fixtures as well as cabinets can result in a whole new look.

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Splatter Painting

blue and white splatter painted decor
Credit: Linda Xiao
Get the Splatter Painting How-To

Here's a fun idea for updating your linens, table cloths, and kitchen towels: Take inspiration from abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock and splatter paint directly on fabrics. Before you know it, all of your linens will become your canvas.

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Ombré Painting

ombre wall
Credit: Chelsea Cavanaugh

Why settle for one paint color for your walls? Instead, opt for an eye-catching ombré effect to blend more than one.

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Chalkboard Painting

la102386c_0107_chalkboard_vert

Writing with chalk doesn't have to be old-fashioned tradition of your school years; today, chalkboard paint has multiple ways to use it. On a wall, you'll always have a place to write, wipe clean, and create anew.

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Hand-Painted Tile Backsplash

black-white-backsplash-kitchen-9156-d113008.jpg
Credit: Ryan Liebe
Get the Hand-Painted Tile Backsplash How-To

Painting tile backsplashes isn't anything new, but adding your own freehanded designs is a motif unique to your own.

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Office Supplies

stenciled notebooks on a shelf
Credit: Johnny Miller

Put your signature stamp on plain desk supplies. You can adorn a linen-covered notebook and accentuate the spines of plastic magazine files with skinny, leafy sprigs, fashioning fitting storage for gardening journals.

  • How to Stencil Anything With Our Technique

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Painted Bed Frame

mld105556_0410_bedpillows28.jpg
Get the Painted Bed Frame How-To

Looking to refresh your bedroom? Start with your bed—or, more specifically, its frame. While a new quilt adds color and texture, painting your bed frame can bring the room's overall palette together.

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Painted Flower Tray

pressed flower tray
Credit: Ryan Liebe

Instantly renew a plain bamboo tray with a new coat of color. Our editors are always inspired by flowers and the decoupaged dried petals complement this pastel pink hue.

  • Get More of Our Floral Gift Ideas

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Painted Frames

mpa103292_0907_frames.jpg
Credit: Sang An

A mixed collection of frames always seem to be on hand. Brush off the dust, and modernize yours with leftover paint from old house projects.

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Painted Step Stool

kids painted step stool
Credit: Addie Juell

If little Johnny needs a leg-up to the sink for hand-washing and teeth-brushing, here's a trick: Have them help you transform a wood apple box into a colorful (and cool) painted step stool.

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Chalk-Painted Monogram Plaque

chalk painted white monogram plaque
Get the Chalk-Painted Monogram Plaque How-To

At the front door, swap your seasonal wreath for something that's personalized. Opting for a simple yet elegant monogram in matte-finish chalk paint completes this task.

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Painted Furniture

mscrafts-content-blossom-mrkt-0715.jpg

A bedside table, nightstand, or larger armoire that's starting to look weathered can be touched up with some distressed paint and stenciled designs. 

  • Learn How to Distress the Paint on Furniture

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Painted Drop-Off Shelf

entryway-with-painted-shape-433-d112539.jpg
Credit: Aaron Dyer

When it comes to home design, the entryway often gets short shrift, yet it's the first thing you see when you come home. Why not make it more welcoming—and functional? Simply paint a landing-strip shelf a shade you love, then mount it to the wall. With a level and a pencil, draw a line above (30 inches works well) and parallel to the shelf. Next, draw vertical lines up from each shelf end to form a rectangle. Fill it in with the same-color paint.

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Painted Kitchenware

etched-glass-044-d112159.jpg
Credit: Aaron Dyer

Colorful, kitschy, and eclectic kitchenware, flower pots, jars, and other home décor oddities are always trending. Easily update what you own at home with these etching, stenciling, and glass painting ideas.

  • Get More of Our Glass Crafts

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Painted Coasters

leather painted coasters
Credit: Aaron Dyer

The beauty in these blank leather coasters is in the mix-and-match possibilities. Use masking tape to create stripes, splattered spots, and geometric shapes. This brings out the playful side of inexpensive leather coasters.

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Batik-Stenciled Headboard

ms-content-stencil-batik
Credit: John Armitage

Lay your head to rest beneath a headboard that you personalized yourself. This Batik pattern's intricate design is printed across copies and coated in paint one at a time, stenciling as you go. 

  • Get More of Our Headboard Ideas

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Painted Tablecloth and Napkins

amish evening star napkins
Credit: Lennart Weibull
Get the Painted Tablecloth and Napkins How-To

Amish "Evening Star" quilts are made with a geometric pattern of 12 triangles surrounding a square. This pattern inspired the graphic print on these linens, which will look sharp when presented at the table.

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Block-Print Painting

02-clothesline-054-md108129.jpg
Credit: NGOC MINH NGO

This technique only needs household supplies. Think creatively: berry baskets, kitchen spatulas, dowels, and more items all can be repurposed into makeshift stencils for linens like those on the clothesline pictured here.

  • Learn More About Block-Print Painting

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Acrylic Pour Painting

Acrylic paint pouring process
Get the Acrylic Pouring How-To

If you're an artist at heart, try your hand at acrylic painting. The abstract effect reflects the fluidity of movement on the canvas and the painter's pour.

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    1 of 26
    2 of 26 Painted Wood Barrister Bookcase
    3 of 26 Spray-Painted Metal Lamp
    4 of 26 Painted Ceramics
    5 of 26 Painted Brick Fireplace
    6 of 26 Painted Wicker Sofa
    7 of 26 Painted Glass Vase
    8 of 26 Painted Cabinets
    9 of 26 Splatter Painting
    10 of 26 Ombré Painting
    11 of 26 Chalkboard Painting
    12 of 26 Hand-Painted Tile Backsplash
    13 of 26 Office Supplies
    14 of 26 Painted Bed Frame
    15 of 26 Painted Flower Tray
    16 of 26 Painted Frames
    17 of 26 Painted Step Stool
    18 of 26 Chalk-Painted Monogram Plaque
    19 of 26 Painted Furniture
    20 of 26 Painted Drop-Off Shelf
    21 of 26 Painted Kitchenware
    22 of 26 Painted Coasters
    23 of 26 Batik-Stenciled Headboard
    24 of 26 Painted Tablecloth and Napkins
    25 of 26 Block-Print Painting
    26 of 26 Acrylic Pour Painting

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    25 DIY Paint Projects That You Can Complete to Redecorate Your Entire Home
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