11 Cardboard DIYs To Add Style And Decor To Any Room In Your Home

Between delivery boxes and toilet paper tubes, everyone seems to have a continuous supply of obsolete cardboard piling up in some corner or recycling bin. Transforming some of that material into DIY home decor isn't just a sustainable way to repurpose your cardboard. It can also be a way to add legitimately cool, one-of-a-kind art pieces to your home. And there are a bunch of ways to create cardboard decor that is free beyond the things you already have on hand. Stylish, fun to make, and budget-friendly? Sign us up! 

But where to begin? TikTok creators have shared a ton of brilliant and easy-to-follow tutorials for different cardboard-based ideas, so we'll start there. From five-minute crafts to actual, functional furniture, there are tons of ways to upcycle your cardboard, no matter your comfort level with DIY projects. (Some of them would even make great gifts!) These creators will have you looking at your empty Amazon boxes and paper towel tubes in a brand-new light. 

Painting and folding corrugated cardboard creates tons of visual texture in this genius DIY wall art idea. It should be relatively straightforward to make your own version using spray paint, a glue gun, and a sharp blade to cut circles from thick cardboard. Adjust the size of the circles up or down depending on the effect you want, and the size of your frame. The creator seemingly used a regular picture frame for this piece. But a deeper option like Califortree's Shadow Box Frame could be even better if you want the textured circles to stand out more.

Let there be light! At a glance, this DIY cardboard lampshade looks like something that could have come from a home decor store. Notice the way the light bouncing off the pale brown cardboard creates a warm, yellow glow? Seriously cozy vibes. This project doesn't require any serious DIY chops, and you can tailor the size of your cardboard circles to suit your available space. If you want to try it, you'll need a light source like B&P Lamp's Antique Brass Socket with Matching Cord Set. Pick one in a shade like brass or copper to match the warm brown of the cardboard. 

You don't need any natural drawing talent to make striking DIY wall art. This creator built an abstract face from pieces of cardboard and foil. Want to try it yourself? You could easily copy their tutorial, or craft your own design. This project is fun because it's totally scalable and you can go as abstract or graphic as you want. Make a giant canvas covered in random cardboard shapes or a miniature one adorned with perfectly spaced cardboard dots. Or, cut out cardboard letters to spell out a message. Cover the finished design with a layer of craft plaster, like the Bluebird Professional Thick Modeling Paste, and paint the dried masterpiece if you wish.  

Cardboard tubes, hot glue, straws, and paint that's good for cardboard are all you need to craft your own surprisingly chic DIY vases. This project is super customizable. You could use full paper towel tubes to make a tall vase. You could also cut them in half or use toilet paper tubes to make a shorter version. Paint the vase one color or experiment with painting every tube a different color for a rainbow or ombre effect. Your cardboard vases can last for years, with one caveat: Only use them to display dried or faux flowers and other greenery. Real flowers and water plus cardboard equals a soggy, mildewed mess. 

The next time you buy something that comes in one of those giant cardboard shipping tubes, consider a floor lamp upgrade. This creator brilliantly repurposed one of those tubes to disguise a cheap, basic floor lamp. They glued a piece of pole wrap like Art3d's Natural Bamboo Wall Panel to the tube, slid it over the lamp, and glued it to the base. Adding a big shade hides the open top of the tube, so no one would know you didn't pay hundreds for that lamp at a furniture store. 

You might want to bookmark this TikTok even if you have no intention of building your own cardboard furniture. It's incredibly soothing to watch the sped-up version of this creator's process. The finished product is pretty stunning, too. The creator does not share exactly what the coating is that's applied to the cardboard frame, but down in the comments they reveal it's their own special mix which also utilizes cardboard. Although it looks like cement, we'd hazard a strong guess that may be a beefed-up version of papier-mâché, perhaps even containing some plaster of Paris. If you don't feel like playing around creating a custom mix, you can also try using some spackle, similar to the DIY below. 

Transforming a TV box into a shelving unit is one of those projects that could be perfect for a rainy Sunday if you have enough patience and painter's tape. And you're going to need a lot of painter's tape. The tutorial makes this process look easier than it probably is, but you could simplify it by creating fewer shelves than this creator did. A coat of spackle gives the piece some extra stability. Still, if you do decide to make your own cardboard shelving unit, it's probably not the place to store your coin collection or hand weights. Use it to display lightweight decor only. 

Although this creator uses them as Christmas decor, these 3D cardboard stars are really seasonally evergreen. You could use them anytime for any holiday or as year-round decor. Picture them painted yellow and hanging in a child's room, for example! Or painted red, white, and blue to decorate for the Fourth of July. The key is cutting out perfect stars. Sure, sketching out cardboard stars seems like a pretty simple concept, but this tutorial gives the step-by-step detail you need to ace this DIY. And you'll learn a genius trick for sketching out a giant star on a big sheet of cardboard.

Elementary school art class projects never turned out looking this polished! This tutorial uses a basic papier mâché process to create a pretty chic-looking art piece. This creator uses a blender to get really well-pulped cardboard, which is then mixed with flour and glue to create the right consistency. Pick a platter or shallow bowl with an interesting shape to use as the form for your own cardboard creation. Be prepared to be patient: The drying process takes days, but you can't rush art. 

Fungi fans are going to want to get crafty after seeing this garland tutorial. Cardboard is the perfect medium for a DIY garland because it's both sturdy and lightweight. Using corrugated cardboard also makes it easy to string pieces together without having to attach hangers of any kind to the individual ornaments. This project would be super simple to replicate or customize. You can make as many or as few of the cardboard ornaments as you want, in whatever shapes you like. 

How cozy is this creator's cardboard Christmas village display? It's filled with sweet little touches like the toothpick window frames and the fairy lights taped along the back. Painting the whole thing white makes it super simple to finish. If you want to try a similar project yourself, think beyond Christmas. Make cityscape backdrops for kids to use for games of make-believe. Older kids can even help paint the buildings and landscapes. Or, try creating your miniature version of your favorite city's skyline to hang as wall art.