DIY High-End Looking Wall Decor On A Budget With TikTok's Pool Noodle Hack

Oversized pieces of art can be a great way to add a focal point to any room. They can also fill up otherwise large blank stretches of wall, adding important visual interest and texture. Often the wall space above large pieces of furniture like sofas, beds, and entertainment consoles need a large piece of artwork or decor to balance the dynamic. Unfortunately, the larger the piece of original art and store-bought home decor, the heftier the price tag. YouTube DIYer and TikTok user @nitta_.homeandstyle recently showed off how she created a stunning piece of very large art for above her sofa using only Dollar Tree pool noodles and a thrifted canvas. By cutting down and adhering the noodles to each other and the canvas and painting the entire piece a lustrous gold, the DIYer creates a distinctive and budget-friendly piece of Art Deco-inspired art. 

The piece looks amazing over her sofa, placed amid other accents like dangling crystal sconces and a stylish sunburst-design mirror. Even better, this DIY only costs under $20 for the materials and some easy gluing and cutting to make the piece. The material of the pool noodles when painted gold offers gorgeous texture and a luxe sense of glam to the room.

@nittas_homeandstyle begins by using a large rectangular canvas as her base, employing several foam pool noodles (available from Dollar Tree for $1) to form her design. She lays out her desired shape of the final piece, which involves several different lengths of foam in a wave pattern with longer and shorter lengths. After measuring out the length of each piece, she cuts down the pool noodles with a knife. Because the adhesive from any stickers may leave residue, @nittas_homeandstyle reminds users to make sure any remaining stickiness is on the unseen part of the foam, as it may affect the painted finish later in the project.  

Using Mod Pod, apply a liberal coat on the canvas with a larger brush, making sure to work fast before the glue dries. starting in the middle, lay out the foam pieces on either side, affixing them to the canvas with ModPodge and to each other with a stronger adhesive like E-6000. Apply the rest of the pieces of foam to finish the design. Once dry, the sculpture is ready for paint. @nittas_homeandstyle uses a posh gold spray paint to cover the entire piece, then uses gold washi tape to finish of off the end of each length of foam. 

While @nittas_homeandstyle places this piece of art above the sofa, a similar piece would look stunning hung over a fireplace mantle or in the open space along a stairwell. It also could make a luxurious and stylish headboard that you can attach to the wall. Because it can be created in any size, you can even use shorter lengths and a smaller canvas to make a piece of art for tighter wall spaces or expand the piece to be much larger using a bigger base and longer lengths of pool noodle. 

The gold paint in the tutorial maximizes the ruddy texture of the foam, but you can paint the piece any color that matches your decor. Lighter colors may require a couple more coats to hide the bright colors of the foam. For an even more expensive and textured look, consider wrapping the lengths in paper or fabric, which you can glue to the foam pieces with hot glue before applying to the canvas. While @nittas_homeandstyle's final product is definitely reading glam, a more rustic version can be created by using a stone finish paint or rich neutral.