Awesome Custom Home Decor Art You Can Design Yourself

Are you maybe a little obsessed with finding custom home decor designs and ideas?

Did you know you could decorate your living space with your own custom home decor art in really professional and beautiful ways? In this post, we’ll go beyond handmade home decor projects and explore some professionally printed products that you can design yourself.

If you have a basic understanding of how to create your own art either digitally or traditionally, there are some super cool custom printed home decor ideas that will allow you to print your own patterns, illustrations, hand lettering placement pieces and anything else you may want to print and bring into your space.

First, let’s get into just a few home decor basics, so you can create a plan for some power pieces that command attention, along with a few pieces that are more neutral, and allow the eyes to rest.

Create a clear color palette to anchor your space

If you already have a color scheme tying your living space together, you can simply play on this palette if you love it. If you’re looking to spice up your color palette, a journey into Pinterest can give you a lot of cool inspiration, and help you land on a color theme that works with your space and your personality.

Before you start your inspiration journey, be sure to brush up on some general design basics around interior design, color theory and pattern matching – and then you’re all set to go make some Pinterest boards.

First, a quick and shallow splash into some general interior design rules…

One of the general rules in interior design is to use the 60 – 30 – 10 rule. This means that 60% of your color palette is one dominant color, (usually a neutral), 30% of your color scheme is a different secondary color, and 10% will be accent colors.

Common color schemes

A super common color scheme follows a complementary palette. Picture most of the palette as a neutral (white, beige, gray, greige) that brings together all of the other colorful elements. For the 30% of the room that is saturated in the secondary color, you might see shades of blue complementing shades of orange, peach or even tan. Or you might see a blushy rose color playing with varying shades of green. Imagine that the final accent color is black, and is about 10% of the color scheme.

Another common color scheme veers more neutral, and offers a super clean palette. In a neutral color scheme, you might see white as the dominant backdrop color, with black or tan as the secondary color, and the accent colors would only make up 10% of the space. This might be a particular color in varying analogous shades (turquoise, baby blue etc), or you might see lighter shades of beige and tan, or even black to provide contrast. Add in some plants and you’ve got a little splash of nature to bring this space to life.

This color wheel can provide a starting point for your design scheme. Which colors could you live with and feel really happy?

Decide whether you want to play in the complementary color scheme, pick a more analogous palette or get really unconventional and just go full maximalist.

But even for the maximalist look, there are usually some basics that tie together different patterns of different scales and color schemes.

How to Mix Bold Patterns and Create a Curated Maximalist Aesthetic

If you are pattern loving, color loving, texture loving maximalist, and are looking for a few pointers to bring together an energetic space that doesn’t feel like chaos, here’s a tip: try bringing together different patterns in different colors, while focusing on one main color that may show up in different ways. Maybe this shows up as varying shades of green in different elements: the pattern on a throw pillow; a candelabra or vase; or some pretty green bar stools.

A great rule of thumb when it comes to mixing patterns

Be sure you’re mixing patterns that have different scale (get patterns with small motifs, medium sized motifs and big bold motifs), different pattern styles (checkers, paisleys, arrows, etc) and try experimenting with different substrates (fabric, wood, glass). Pair something bold and stark with something bright and small-scale – whether you’re tying these pieces together with the same or similar color or not, find combinations that feel good to you and still “fit” in the space.

Now that we’ve covered some color and pattern basics, let’s jump into some custom home decor products that you can create from your own designs. This is actually such a great time to bring your art to life with some home decor print on demand merchandise that is high quality and affordable. There are so many print on demand partners who make some really great products.

We’ll explore a bunch of these products so you can go do the real work of narrowing down your ideas and choosing which art you’re going to adorn your home with.

Custom Home Decor Wall Art Ideas

I We all have some sort of wall art, and it gets really fun when we explore all of the personalized wall decor options there are. Whether your style steers you toward personalized wall art with names and special anniversaries, or you have some awesome photo wall art ideas, there are some creative ways to bring your art to life on your own walls. Here are a few favorites:

Framed prints are always a solid go-to. Though not a revolutionary new product, there will always be a welcome space for a framed print or custom framed poster. Depending on where you live, I really recommend finding a good local framer for your framed art prints. For large custom wall art, this is the best way to choose your frame, glass, mat, etc, and you will be able to see examples of their prints in person.

But if you do need to order framed prints online, there really are tons of options. You can find some fine art online printer/framers, or set up a print on demand account with Society6, Gooten Print on Demand, Printify or other online sellers.
Acrylic wall art panels: these acrylic wall art panels are super sleek and modern, and such a crisp way to display your own designs. Bring a “branded” look to your office or workspace with these panels. For sizes up to 16X20, you can create these acrylic wall art panels at Printify.

For large acrylic panels (up to 8 ft X 5 ft) Big Acrylics is a great way to go. You can even split up one art piece or photograph into several panels to create a really cohesive aesthetic.
Canvas wall art: custom canvas wall art is a great and traditional way to display your own designs on the wall. Whether you display the canvas stretched on a frame, or you actually frame the canvas under glass, OR whether you simply hang the canvas in a creative way, canvas isn’t going anywhere. Whether you choose to work with a local fine art canvas printer or find an online source, there are tons of places that work with and print on canvas.

Fabric, Textiles, Decorative Throw Pillows and Custom Blankets

Fabrics and textiles can give you the experience of color + texture + movement. This is where you can get really creative, knowing that it’s pretty easy to switch out decorative throw pillows and throw blankets when seasons change or when your aesthetic evolves. It’s really cool to see your own patterns and designs on professionally printed pillows and blankets too!

Here are a few custom home decor products that you can design yourself that will feel extra special once you get them back, printed with your own designs or photography.

Throw Pillows: Throw pillows are like soft little canvases that can be adorned in so many styles and textures. Pillows are a great way to explore patterns and bold aesthetics since they’re easy to swap out. Here’s an easy diy home decorating idea – layer in a couple of pillows with your designs, with different pillows that have a textured, adorned or fringy aesthetic. Swap out pillows as your home vibe changes, and enjoy how versatile they can be in setting a mood.

I know there are other print on demand sources for throw pillows, so you may want to do a little sampling and find the fabric you love. You can also choose from all of the Spoonflower fabric designers’ patterns and get throw pillows from Spoonflower.

You can even get outdoor pillows printed, so be sure to find the ones that work for your space and lifestyle!

If you’re interested in some of the pillows I sell with my own patterns, check out these custom printed pillows in my Etsy shop.

Throw Blankets: a cozy throw blanket with a great pattern is a lovely textural way make custom home decor personal. You can mix and match throw blankets, layering in your own patterned blankets with a lovely cable knit to complement both, and play with some pillows.

If you have an account with Printify, there are a few different custom printed blanket styles you can choose from. I recently printed one of my baby patterns on this infant sized sherpa blanket from gooten.com as a gift for a new baby in my family. It turned out really great – the colors are super saturated, the design printed crisp and the color palette stayed true to my design.

Framed fabric: framing a special piece of fabric is a great way to showcase a beautiful pattern on a textured surface. This may fall into the wall art category, but since it’s fabric, I wanted to keep it in the textiles group. Framing fabric can be done with a floating frame, or matted in a more traditional frame, or just simply framed.

For this kind of a project, you can actually print your design on your own fabric at Spoonflower, (you can also buy a different designer’s fabrics or products), or you can source some cool fabric at your local fabric or vintage shop. I love thrifting vintage frames for this, but I also love a good, clean, unassuming frame.

Fabric wall hangings: in the same camp as framing fabrics, there are some super cute fabric wall hangings from Spoonflower also. Again, you can order these adorned with your own fabric design that you upload directly to Spoonflower, or you can order another artist’s wall hanging.

For a slightly different style, you can also showcase your own design on a fabric wall hanging from Zazzle. You can do a little research to find if there are other fabric hangings that are aligned with your aesthetic.

Cloth table runner: custom cloth table runners bring color and pattern to vertical furniture pieces like tables, pianos, credenzas… If you’re dealing with compact spaces and smaller pieces of furniture, a bold or understated table runner with your design on it can be a really satisfying way to dress up a piece of furniture with your patterns and designs.

Custom Shower Curtains: I mean.. who doesn’t want to walk into a bathroom and see a gloriously huge piece of original artwork or pattern on a giant canvas? Custom shower curtains can be such a bold design element, especially for kids’ bathrooms and guest bathrooms. You can order your custom printed shower curtains at Printify.com.
Window Curtains: curtains can really soften a room and add an air of elegance or playfulness. You can go with a light, neutral pattern that brings a subtle design touch, or make a big bold statement with color and pattern. Seeing your designs lit up from a sunny window is really good medicine so if curtains make sense for your space, they’re an indulgence worth indulging.. If you want to get started, you can custom design and buy your window curtains from Printify or you can buy custom curtains from Spoonflower.
Wall Tapestries: let’s journey on back to our more youthful years, shall we? Okay, so hanging wall tapestries may not be the most sophisticated of looks, but they are an inexpensive way to create a large swath of fabric with your art on it. You can use these fabrics as table throws, to cover something unsightly (just wrap it up like a present, ya know?), as a pretty accent fabric swath hanging over a cute chair…
These tapestries from gooten.com are super affordable and print really great colors – without getting too wrinkly.

Other Custom Home Decor Products You can Print Yourself

Wallpaper: wallpaper is having such a moment, and I am here for it.. There are some lovely wallpapers out there, and if you’re thinking about making your own pattern into wallpaper, it’s a really good idea to make sure your design really stands the test of living its life as wallpaper.

Try taking a photo of the walls you want to wallpaper and doing a mockup in Photoshop or Canva. It’s a great way to envision your art on the walls before you commit to making your own wallpaper.

Once you’ve determined the art you want to use, you get to decide what kind of wallpaper to print. Spoonflower is a great place for wallpaper also, and they even have a renter-friendly removable wallpaper!

Custom Designed Clocks: clocks with your photography or art on them bring together form and function in a one-of-a-kind time-telling tool. This acrylic wall clock from Printify can be created in round or square shapes printed with photographs or graphics.
Rugs and Mats: in the world of custom home decor, rugs are probably one of the most creative and impactful way to influence a space. You can customize living room rugs, kitchen rugs, door mats, bath mats, even yoga mats through Printify… This is actually one of the most popular way to bring your art into your home decor.
Tripod Custom Printed Lamp: this tripod lamp from Printify brings a playful, fun and graphic illumination into bedrooms, bathrooms and even strategically placed in your living space. What an awesome way to utilize kids’ art by making something practical like a customized lamp from it. Be thoughtful about what designs will look best when illuminated from behind.

Surely your head is swimming with ideas and you’re wondering where you should start creating accounts to get started on your custom home decor printing projects. I do recommend setting up an account with Printify if you want to get a large variety of custom home products, but do check out the other print on demand partner suggested also. We really are so fortunate to be surrounded by so many options, and they just keep getting better and better.

I hope this post helped you to anchor into some ideas for intentionally setting up your living space with the designs you love most. And maybe that means getting brave and creating custom home decor pieces that are uniquely inspired and designed by you.

Happy designing and decorating!