WHERE TO SHOP
Wishbone Gifts
Address: 201 S. Walnut Street
For students looking to get in touch with their funkier side, Wishbone Gifts, owned by Rod Crossland, is the ideal place to find it.
“Everything in the store is geared toward college students,” Vanessa Dockrey, manager, said.
Wishbone Gifts has a wide variety of posters, tapestries, party accessories, disc-golf equipment, jewelry and more.
Dandelions Flowers & Gifts
Address: 120 S. Walnut Street
Incorporate a natural presence into a dorm room with real floral arrangements from Dandelions Flowers & Gifts, a store located in downtown Muncie.
Flowers and other plants are stocked year round at Dandelions.
Their website distinguishes themselves from generic catalogue floral arrangements, claiming to offer unique arrangements, gift baskets and other plants.
Refresh
Address: 107 N. High Street
Furniture options with a splash of color are available at Refresh, a home décor and furniture store owned by Lucas Hanna,
“If you get something from Refresh, it’ll be one of a kind,” said Hanna.
The store offers an older style of furniture painted by Hanna himself. Hiss paints are free from volatile organic compounds or VOCs.
Local thrift stores
Goodwill/Attic Window/Salvation Army
While residence halls and apartments make for a small living space, there are several simple ways to revamp a room, even if it’s the size of a walk-in closet.
The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) specializes in finding a connection between the reaction of humans and the man-made environment surrounding them, according to their website.
Studies conducted by ANFA research associates point to a relation between the way a room is set up and the stress levels of people living in these spaces.
Changing the design of the room could result in lower levels of stress.
Dale Potts, instructor of interior design, suggests looking to alternative sources for decoration. Potts suggests perusing campus art sales, which have custom pieces created by art students, such as: paintings, glass art and pottery.
“Student art tends to have more character than cookie cutter products sold in home décor stores,” Potts said.
Goodwill, tag sales or antique stores are also more likely to carry items that will last longer than the cheap, mass produced goods found in other stores, said Potts.
With three cheap do-it-yourself projects, the scoop on where to get one-of-a-kind finds and a color wheel, a home makeover doesn’t require a big budget or an interior designer.
CRAFTY PROJECTS
Trendy Tape: Washi Projects
Like duct tape, Washi tape is a quick fix, but it’s more useful in bringing color into a drab space than for home repair. Washi tape, an ornamental Japanese creation, can be found on Amazon or Hobby Lobby in a wide variety of patterns and colors. Designs range from solid hues to designs featuring vintage bicycles.
Create an impromptu frame for posters or sentimental photos with the tape, which easily peels off from walls—no damage done.
People have been known to create their own wallpaper by laying the tape from ceiling to floor in stripes, or brighten up a plain desk or bookcase by accenting the edges with Washi tape.
Source: http://www.designsponge.com/2012/10/dorm-diy-tape-picture-frames.html
Sweet Dreams: DIY Headboard
A bed can look pretty lonely without a headboard, so why not create your own?
Stacie, an Indiana blogger from StarsForStreetlights.com, devised her own way to add a pop to a poorly furnished apartment. All that’s required for the endeavor is some sturdy cardboard, box cutters, glue and fabric.
First, cut the cardboard to match the width of the bed.
Then, trace the shape of the headboard design onto the cardboard and cut it out with a box cutter. Afterwards, use a hot glue gun to glue the fabric onto the front-facing side of the cardboard for the final touch.
Make sure to glue along every edge of fabric to the back of the headboard to create a taught, clean look.
To place the headboard, use 3M adhesive strips to stick onto the wall, or poke holes into the back of the cardboard (without penetrating the fabric) for command hooks to hold the piece in place.
Source: http://www.starsforstreetlights.com/2012/09/how-to-make-simple-headboard.html
Read Between the Lights: Illuminated Sign
This goes beyond just hanging up old Christmas lights and calling it a day. Make an illuminated sign using cardboard and string lights.
The crafts calls for three-dimensional cardboard letters, scissors, a pencil, tracing paper, electrical tape, a box cutter and “twinkle lights.” Decide on a word, whether a friendly “h-e-l-l-o” to welcome guests or a name.
Cardboard letters can be bought on FactoryDirect.com for less than three dollars, but also can be made. If you choose to make them, leave one side of the letter open, so it resembles an open, letter-shaped box. If using an already-made cardboard letter, cut off the top of the letter and remove its insides.
Then, trace the letters onto the tracing paper with a pencil and cut it out, leaving a one-fourth to one-half inch margin for folding purposes. On the open side of the letter, tape the tracing paper into the inside with electrical tape, so it stretches over the gaps. Punch holes into the back of the letters to place the twinkle lights in.
After putting the lights in, secure them with more electrical tape. After all of the letters have lights secured into their back sides and the front of the letters are covered in tracing paper, tape all the letters together to strengthen the sign creation.
Place the finished letters on a desk or bedside table or even affix them to a wall. Then simply plug in the lights and enjoy.
Source: http://www.homeheartcraft.com/blog/diy-lighted-letters-sign
Bethannie Huffman contributed to this article
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