19 Inexpensive Ways To Upgrade Things You Already Own

1. Upgrade a plain sweater or sturdy T-shirt with sew-on jewels that you can actually just glue.

You’ll need:
Sew-on acrylic jewels
Jewel glue
Optional needle and thread

Get the tutorial here.

2. Upgrade your plain white curtains with a simple paint job.

You’ll need:
Black fabric paint
Paintbrushes
Trash bag to line the floor

Get the tutorial here.

3. Add pom-pom trim to your favorite blanket.

You’ll need:
Pom-pom trim
Fabric glue
Scissors

Get the tutorial here.

4. Upgrade any color fabric chair with painted accents.

You’ll need:
Fabric paint
Foam pouncers
Foam brush
Optional gold spray paint for the legs

Get the tutorial here.

5. Upgrade solid magazine holders with a Sharpie and craft paint.

You’ll need:
A Sharpie and a pencil
Craft paint
A paintbrush
A ruler

Get the full tutorial here.

7. Upgrade plain glasses with gold adhesive vinyl.

You’ll need:
Gold adhesive vinyl

Get the tutorial here.

8. Upgrade plain shoes with flat-back pyramid studs.

You’ll need:
Strong craft glue
Gold flat-back studs

Find the tutorial here.

9. Upgrade your plain dresser drawers with leather pulls.

You’ll need:
Bronze nails
Leather scraps

Get the tutorial here.

10. Upgrade literally any piece of Ikea furniture (or even your walls) with O’verlays.

You just glue them on and voilà!

Get them here.

11. Upgrade your couch with tufting.

You’ll need:
A 10- to 12-inch tufting needle
Tufting twine
Fabric buttons (these ones match Ikea furniture)

Get the tutorial here.

12. Upgrade your heels with lace.

You’ll need:
Lace appliqués
E-6000 craft glue

14. Upgrade your dishwasher or refrigerator with stick-on steel contact sheets.

You can buy the steel contact sheets here and check out the tutorial here.

15. Upgrade plain chairs using fabric paint and paracord.

You don’t have to paint your chairs, but if you do, you’ll need:
1/8-inch Paracord
Fabric medium
White paint
Paintbrush
Sandpaper
Needle and thread (will depend on the color paracord you use)

Click here to get the tutorial.

16. Upgrade your kitchen utensils by painting or dip-dying them.

You’ll need:
Sandpaper
Craft paint
Painter’s tape
Shellac

Get the tutorial here. It’s a bit vague, but you basically just tape around the handle, sand it down a little, paint it, shellac it, and let it dry.

17. Upgrade your end tables, coffee tables, or even dining room tables with these decorative corner brackets.

They even come with nails, so all you’ll need is a hammer.

Get them here.

18. Upgrade your dressers with drawer pulls.

Get the tutorial for copper pipe drawer pulls here, or just shop drawer pulls and knobs here.

19. Upgrade any plain glass vase with enamel paint.

You’ll need:
PermEnamel paint
Foam brushes

Get the tutorial here. It calls for surface conditioner, which is really optional.