DIY Projects That You Can Make After One Trip to the Hardware Store

Some of our editors’ favorite projects involve those where seemingly one-dimensional items or household favorites that have become worn, can be completely revolutionized with a simple approach. Updating items to help them reach their fullest potential in your home’s design scheme can be easy as a fresh coat of paint, and in most cases, requires just an hour or two of your time.

There are many ways to upcycle your everyday items into pieces that will last. And, best of all, everything you need can be found in one place.

To get a spacious desk for a song, lay a hollow-core door across two sawhorses. Coat them all with scuff-resistant high-gloss paint, and the sleek factor skyrockets. (We used Benjamin Moore’s, Trout Gray.) Then keep supplies in reach with a color-blocked pegboard, magnetic sheet metal, and a chalkboard that you can outfit with standard-issue hooks, magnets, and shelves. Spray-paint them gold to unify—and elevate—them. Organization? Achieved.

A towel ladder made of copper plumbing fittings gives your bathroom the charm of a fancy Parisian hotel suite for the cost of room-service petit déjeuner. (Get the how-to and all piping materials at the link here.) To cast a glow on your handiwork, bring a pair of no-frills light fixtures up from the basement, too. Leave them white, or paint them—either way, the bare bulbs will lend even more minimalist chic.

To give steel utility shelves a garage-to-gourmet makeover, coat them in cream-colored metal-specific spray paint. Then outfit every level for optimal storage with open-front crates; brass S hooks; and a half-inch-wide, 18-inch-long dowel or two—they’ll slip right into the rivet holes to dole out butcher paper or twine.

These two-buck brass connector rings belong on any dinner table.

BYO (braid your own) boutique-worthy keychain, using a cotton clothesline and a brass snap hook. Knot three pieces of line around the ring with a lanyard hitch, then braid and secure with another knot at the end.

Ace Venetian Natural Solid Braided Cord, 9/64″, $7 for 48′, acehardware.com. 

These canvas tool bags can lug lots of other stuff: Stash phone chargers or makeup in the clutch, or pack the handled style for a weekend away.

Mount a brass cleat to corral cords in nautical style.

A pair of sturdy bifold closet doors was the basis for this brilliant decorative screen. Join them with extra hinges, then cover the unfinished wood with wallpaper of your choice—you need only a few strips, so even a designer price will be right. (For a faster result, use the paste-free, peel-and-stick kind.) To finish the raw edges, hot glue on the ribbon in a contrasting color.

Make your dog a bed from a moving blanket, and he’ll be sitting as pretty as our dear friend here. The herringbone-stitched quilts are plush yet indestructible, and stylish to boot.