After renovating my Brighton cottage from top to bottom, I’ve become completely hooked on DIY Decor ideas for my home!
Not the stressful kind of DIY that leaves you questioning your life choices. LOL But I love the creative, confidence-building kind of home crafting and hacks that will transforms your space without breaking the bank.
Right now, the biggest home décor trends aren’t about buying more. They’re about doing more. Adding layers. Making tweaks. Creating personality. So if you want your home to feel fresher, braver and more YOU, here are 19 trending DIY decor ideas for you to try right now that are all brand new for 2026.
A bit more about interior stylist Maxine Brady
I’m Maxine Brady, an award-winning interior stylist based in Brighton, working across London, Sussex and beyond. Over the past 20 years, I’ve styled for magazines, brands, and TV shows. I love sharing my DIY home decor ideas to help you get a look that you’ll love in your home.
FOLLOW ME on instagram 92K! @maxinebradystyling and or on Pinterest here discover more about me here.
Why DIY decor Is Cool Again in 2026
After years of styling homes for magazines, brands and clients, I’ve seen every kind of DIY decor ideas and transformation there is out there. The perfectly curated rooms. The trend-led makeovers. The instant, delivery-day glow-ups. But the spaces that always stay with me are the ones where someone has rolled up their sleeves and created something themselves.
Renovating my Brighton cottage completely changed the way I think about decorating. When I bought it, it had been sitting empty for seven years. I took it back to brick and rebuilt it slowly, learning everything from paint techniques to practical problem-solving along the way. Some of my DIY skills came from my styling career, others I picked up out of necessity. All of them gave me confidence.
And just like fashion, DIY decor ideas also have trends too. Certain techniques come back around. Colours evolve. Finishes shift. What feels fresh this year isn’t what felt exciting five years ago.
Right now, most DIY decor home ideas in 2006 are bold, expressive and personality-packed.
Here are 18 trending ideas I genuinely think you’ll love trying in your own home.
1. Murals can be incredibly modern like this square painted one which makes this room look fresh and new for 2026. I think this has to be my favourite DIY decor idea of all! All items La Redoute
Paint a Statement MuralS
Murals have officially grown up in 2026. They’re no longer reserved for children’s bedrooms, they’re becoming one of the boldest ways to add personality to a home.
I’m seeing everything from punchy stripes and oversized arches to graphic blocks of colour and loose botanical shapes. The beauty is that you can go as subtle or as statement-making as you like. A soft arch behind a bed feels calm and architectural, while bold stripes or colour blocking can completely energise a room.
What I love most about a painted mural is how personal it feels. You don’t need expensive tools, just a tester pot, some masking tape or chalk and a bit of confidence. And the result? A wall that’s entirely yours. No one else will ever have the same one, and that’s exactly the point.
2. Get experimental with your DIY decor ideas and paint your artwork onto your walls. Side board, Mustard Made
3. Use a protractor to create layers of circles for a free flowing wall mural painted in tester pots. Side board, Oak Furnitureland.
4. When painting your walls be as bold as you dare with striking shades. Lamp and chest of drawers, Wayfair.
Upcycle What You Already Own
Before you replace something in your home in 2026….pause! Could it be better instead of new?
Upcycling is one of the smartest and most satisfying ways to refresh your DIY home decor right now. It’s creative, budget-friendly and far more interesting than ordering another flat-pack delivery.
Sometimes all it takes is a confident coat of paint to completely shift the mood of a cabinet or chest of drawers. Swapping out standard handles for brass, ceramic or leather pulls can instantly change the personality of a piece. Want to go further? Change the legs on a sofa or sideboard to tweak the proportions, or line drawers and cupboards with wallpaper for a hidden flash of colour.
I also love adding reeded window film to glass-fronted cabinets to give them that soft, designer edge. Even decorative sticky-back plastic can transform a fridge, worktop or tired door fronts.
With a bit of imagination, what you already own can become something far more exciting than anything you could buy.
5. Choose an on trend colour to update old furniture, and swap out draw pulls for metal ones to revive old furniture. Bedding, Wayfair.
6. Transform vintage furniture with paint! This wardrobe has been turned into a unique piece that adds a statement in your room. Credit: Annie Sloan paints
7. Get crafty with stencils to breathe life into furniture, like these fun toy storage box. Credit: Earthborn Paints.
8. Even a simple lick of paint on built in furniture can add much needed personality to a coRner of your home. ‘Heilborn’ paint, Coat Paints
9. Update a mirror, picture frame or ceramic with stripes for a modern look that is very on trend. Furniture all by Habitat
Personalise Your Walls With Handmade Artwork
In 2026, perfectly matched print sets are officially out. What’s in? Art that feels layered, meaningful and unmistakably yours.
One of the biggest DIY home décor trends right now is creating gallery walls that tell a story rather than follow a formula. Instead of buying generic prints, start with one anchor piece you genuinely love and build around it slowly. Frame postcards from your travels, gig tickets, theatre programmes, fabric swatches you’ve fallen for, or mix charity shop finds with your own sketches and photographs. Even wallpaper samples or bold wrapping paper can look brilliant once framed.
To keep it feeling fresh and on-trend, paint the frames in playful colours or mix finishes for contrast. Think less symmetry, more personality.
The magic happens when you vary scale and texture so it feels collected over time rather than bought in one go. Leave gaps. Let it evolve. The most stylish walls in 2026 aren’t perfect. They’re personal.
10. Make your own art that screams ‘you’ with craft paper and acrylic paints. Frames, Desenio
11. Buy cheap artwork from charity shops, and half paint them to create a statement gallery wall. Paints, from a selection at Earthborn Paints.
12. If you’re feeling confident, invest in an oversized canvas that you can change up over time. This one has used texture to add visual interest to a living space, why not try the same? Furniture and accessories, La Redoute
13. Old storage boxes can be turned into display spaces,, Paint the inside in fun colours that complement your colour scheme. Paints, Earthborn paints
Get Handy With a Sewing Machine
If there’s one DIY trend quietly taking over in 2026, it’s handmade soft furnishings. After years of pared-back, minimal rooms, we’re craving texture, warmth and pieces that feel considered rather than mass-produced.
Learning a few basic sewing skills opens up so many possibilities. You could make your own curtains for a fraction of the cost, stitch cushion covers from vintage scarves, or piece together a throw from leftover fabric. It’s sustainable, creative and surprisingly achievable.
And if you’re ready to level up, upholstering a footstool or creating a fabric-panel headboard is far less intimidating than it sounds. Foam-backed fabric fixed to MDF panels can create a soft, boutique hotel feel that’s completely bespoke. Fabric remnants are often affordable, which means you can experiment with bolder patterns without committing to metres and metres of material.
There’s something incredibly satisfying about sitting back and knowing you made the detail that pulls the whole room together.
14. DIY a headboard is surprisingly easy to do and you can make something that looks visually stunning. Bedding, La Redoute.
15. Learning basic sewing skills will save you a fortune on curtains for your home. Rug, chair and sideboard, all La Redoute
16. Quilt yourself a bed throw in vintage fabrics which you can pick up for pennies from charity shops or car boot sales. Image La Redoute.
17. Upholstering vintage furniture in modern fabrics is a clever way to elongate the life of your furniture. Rug, mirror and all other items, La Redoute.
18. Cushion are so easy to make with simple sewing skills. Don’t forget to add little details like tassels or trimmings to make them look way more expensive. Image Wayfair.
18 Trending DIY Decor Ideas: New for 2026
What do you think of these 18 DIY decor ideas for your home? Do you feel inspired to pick up a paint brush and inject your home with some crafty personality? I do hope so.
Discover more with how to home podcast
If you want to discover more DIY update ideas, then make sure to listen to my podcast:
Listen here: How to Home Podcast
Learn more about Gemma & Maxine from How to Home podcast
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