Minimalism may have ruled interior design in recent years, with its plain walls, muted palettes, and “less is more” philosophy. But sometimes, “more” is exactly what turns a house into a home.
So when Hannah Birss asked people on Threads to share the “wee bit of whimsy” they’ve added to their spaces, the responses were pure delight. From miniature rooms hidden in walls to themed corners and cozy, unexpected DIY projects, these ideas are full of charm. Take a look below and see which ones you might want to try yourself.
#1 I Collect Art Magnets From Museums And Put Them On The Bottom Of My Fridge So My Cat Can See Them😻🖼️
Image credits: notreallysuzy
#2 I’ve Added Little Door Hinge Toppers All Around The House – I’ve Got Teapots And Teacups, Dragons, Cats, Bats, Frogs, Snails, Mushrooms
Image credits: lindaarendsdottir
#3 I Hide Miniature Rooms In My Walls
Image credits: bethany_jane
#4 I Decant Body Lotion Into Fancy Lidded Jars Because I’m Fabulous
Image credits: fancy_pants_3729
#5 I Didn’t Want Our Pantry To Be Boring So I Made The Tile Myself In A Shape Complementary To The Leaves Of The Wallpaper
Image credits: beachum_clayworks
#6 Took A Bedsheet And Turned Into Stair Runners Using Liquid Starch
Image credits: kimlovey3
#7 I Ripped Out Our Carpet And Gave Us A Book Inspired Wooden Staircase, I Refurbished An Old Carousel Horse For The House, And I Turned Our Son’s Bathroom/Guest Bathroom Into Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion
Everything in the bathroom is hand painted or hand made : the walls, the portraits, the corridor door 🥰
Okay, it’s way more than a wee bit. But I’m an artist, and I can’t live any other way..
#8 My 4 Grandchildren Are Represented By Fairies In The Shower Room Mural
Image credits: fdctamu
#9 I Illustrate Little Hamster Characters Called Hammies – This Way My Daughter Can Pretend They Live In My House! 💞
Image credits: seeneescribbles
#10 My Bathtub. I’m 64 In An Adult Only Household
Image credits: kevinrapuano
#11 My Paintings 😊
Image credits: gulfcoastacrylics1
#12 My Raspberry Pink Ceiling In My Hallway. Because, Why The Heck Not, But Also Because There’s Nobody To Tell Me Not To
Image credits: karorockingit
#13 Painted The Edge Of My Office Door With Some Little Flowers, To Bring Me Some Extra Joy Since I Look At It All Day While I’m Working
Image credits: _danahardy
#14 I Sorted The Books By Color And Tucked In Lots Of Little Treasures, Like Crystals, Pottery, And Plants. Kitty Sleeping In The Window Ads Some Whimsy Too
Image credits: anna_elizabeth_reed
#15 Meet Mildred ☺️ She Needs Some Work But She’s A Dream Come True
Image credits: writer.s_meyer
#16 I Turned My Office Door Into A Hidden Room Bookcase (Put Contact Paper On The Door 😊)
Image credits: kira24_7
#17 Add A Disco Ball!
Image credits: brinagervais
#18 I Did A Butterfly Wall In My Living Room That Brings Me So Much Joy
Image credits: katykatt14
#19 3D Painted Books For My Flower Garden 💖
Image credits: nikkichadwickart
#20 From The Conservatory To The Living Room
Image credits: flowers_from_the_mountain
#21 Painted A Chalk Wall In The Water Closet 😅 We Play Tic Tac Toe And Leave Each Other Notes
Image credits: briaojordan
#22 Painted My Front Door Pink And It Never Fails To Make Me Smile
Image credits: pilgrim.laura
#23 I Add Florals To Everything And Get Custom Knobs For My Furnitures 🤍
Image credits: thedoodlearchitect
#24 Hand Stenciled Stars Onto My Guest Bathroom Ceiling
Image credits: lovely.lady_mae
#25 Instead Of Putting My Extra Art In Storage, I Hung It All In My Tiniest Bathroom
Image credits: courtenayr
#26 I Had This Stained Glass Made For Our House
Image credits: hindle.marie
#27 Made Myself A Weird Corner. Sea And Aerial Plants
Image credits: dushrece
#28 I Turned A Corner Cabinet Into A Wine Cabinet And Used Old Corks As The Base
Image credits: lgarner1230
#29 I Have Rainbow Stairs 🌈
Image credits: kellybilsland
#30 My Favorite Way To Add A Whimsical Touch To My House Is With Handpainted Furniture 🥰 I Love To Give Thrifted Pieces New Life!
Image credits: foxwillowart
#31 I Am All About Whimsy. I Painted My Ugly Laundry Room Cabinet Black And Wall Papered The Doors
Image credits: fraochmuir
#32 I Have This Picture Hanging In My Bathroom 💩
Image credits: katrinefiz_
#33 I Find Dead And Dying Butterflies, Etc And Give Them A New Life In Jars With Pretty Flowers And Stuff
#34 I Cross-Stitch
Image credits: debbywilson1214
#35 Bunch Of Random Frames All Spray Painted Black. Art Postcards Framed And Arranged
Image credits: intrepidsalamander
#36 When I Find Vintage Velvet Paintings Of My Dogs Ancestors
Image credits: hollys_amazing_journey
#37 This Is Up Year Round In Our Guest Bathroom. We Also Go Crazy With Halloween Decor Every Year
Image credits: engelmary
#38 A Press For Champagne Bell 🥂 🍾
Image credits: callalovescollecting
#39 Turning My Daughters’ Room Into A Cozy Beatrix Potter Style Cottage
Image credits: carolynsimpsonsmith
#40 I Painted A Mini-Mural Over My Front Door Including The Address
Image credits: ryan.miller.art
#41 Didn’t Paint My Oak Cabinets And Added A Wall Mural 🙂
Image credits: framedflorals
#42 I Love These Animal Lamps More Than I Can Say
Image credits: kellyrsheephotography
#43 We Made This Wisteria Tree In My Daughters Room That I Love Sitting Under (There Are Also Hanging Twinkly Lights At Night)
Image credits: maddss_km
#44 The Wallpaper In My Home Office
Image credits: baltimorebah
#45 My Wonderful Wife’s Idea
Image credits: peterversion56
#46 In My Kitchen
Image credits: blackbunnyfibers
#47 Googly Eyes
Image credits: artbycedar
#48 Floor To Ceiling Art – Makes Me Feel Like I’m In A Gallery On The Way Get Breakfast
Image credits: georginawestleyartdesign
#49 My Skull Collection; I Buy 1 Skull A Year During Halloween Season. Been Doing This For 15+ Years Now
Image credits: mortal.dread
#50 This Is Just The Bedroom/ PC Stream Room
Image credits: william.keener.5
#51 Bedroom Ceiling My Husband Painted. There Are Glow In The Dark Stars Too!
Image credits: ajonesot
#52 My Favourite Print ☺️
Image credits: claudetteyyt
#53 Our Book Nook Has A Staircase Of Old Maps
Image credits: booksandink
#54 Picture In My Kitchen Of My Grandmother And Great Aunt In Their ‘29 Plymouth
Image credits: kelljean1223
#55 I Love My Yarn Wall!
Image credits: cfmommee
#56 I Hung The Mcdonald’s Hercules Plates On My Wall
Image credits: the.bris.knees_
#57 I Added A Tiny Door/Fairy Door 🚪🧚🏾♀️🥰
Image credits: dyetta
#58 Pez Wall!!!
Image credits: tpryor
#59 The Shelves Behind Me In My Work Space Have All My Trinkets. They Are All Visible On Zoom
Image credits: calm
#60 My Dark Academia/Green Witch Inspired Half Bath
Image credits: ashbash2585
#61 Lamp Was A Gift Made By A Neighbour, Lives There All The Time
Image credits: thatetcgirl
#62 Added These Dinos To Our Lil Half Bath Lolol
Image credits: layyyne_n_m
#63 This Hides My Ugly Gas Meter
Image credits: kpbean
#64 My Husband Is A Plumber So We Hung Outhouse Pics In Our Wc
Image credits: kellu314
#65 Three Words: Glitter Front Door
Image credits: youhavetimetowaste
#66 Dinosaur And Peeps Pottery (I Also Have A Shark And Owl Not Pictured)!
Image credits: abbycatjacks
#67 I Wrapped An Ugly Chandelier With Colorful Yarn
Image credits: henandchickknits
#68 The Answer’s Orange. It’s Always Orange. And A Daft Floor
Image credits: osb_bore
#69 I Painted Soot Sprites A Few Places Here And There For My Kids. We Love Them
Image credits: madalynnruth
#70 My Orange Window Frame In The Kitchen
Image credits: staudt.diane
#71 Got Arches Painted On The Main Wall In Our Apartment
Image credits: getkrissed
#72 Our House Is Full Of Weird And Whimsy. This One Is In Our Guest Bathroom
Image credits: phoenixfireart
#73 Every Year I Do Some Big Halloween Build. During Covid I Built Things To Hand Out Candy From A Distance. This Is From 3 Years Ago
Image credits: arturio_emerys
#74 This Bad Boy That My Aunt Made In The Early 1970’s. It’s Not Officially Christmas Time Until He Makes His Appearance
Image credits: migadamacdaddy
#75 Porch Goose With Rotating Seasonal Outfits
Image credits: absedlock
#76 For My Bougie Birds 💓
Image credits: bobbyelynn
#77 Tardis Door
Image credits: andita.mosquita
#78 These Are Only Two Examples. Most Of My House Is Nothing But Whimsy And Whatever Makes Me Happy
Image credits: theandreak
#79 The Landlord Hired Me To Paint This Apartment Complex And I Think The Whole Block Got Whimsical
Image credits: the.crazy.tiger
#80 My Mural, My Daughter And I Put Up On The Stairway Wall
Image credits: cindylougb2
#81 All The Single Socks
Image credits: jenniferwhitefordwrites
#82 My Daughter’s Hand Painted Bathroom
Image credits: jillianmallen
#83 I Had Been Wanting To Paint A Design That Extended To The Ceiling And Our Front Entryway Was In Need Of A Little Fun. It’s Practically Neon Coral, But It’s A Good Mood Boost As You Head Out For The Day!
Image credits: taniahbergen
#84 I Have Party Animals In Various Cabinets
Image credits: deejaxon
#85 For Our Guests
Image credits: dirkberckvens
#86 Grade 5 School Auction Art Project
Image credits: kym_lorraine_porter
#87 Painted Wonky Doors
Image credits: jatrainey
#88 A Friend Of Mine Is A Mosaic Artist And She Created This With “Shiny Trinkets”. He Sits In My Entry Way
Image credits: fromboisewithlove
#89 This Is The Wall Where I Hang Drawings I Do Of My Husband
Image credits: benjaminlaynecookies
#90 Year Round Halloween Decor. My Husband Is A Halloween Fanatic And Horror Movie Lover
Image credits: thetastelesshome
#91 Not Hung Up Yet, But A Weevil On A Bicycle! Yes, It Is Real😭
Image credits: llexxingtonn
#92 Stuffed Grapes And Display Of Wine Stoppers
Image credits: shellb20902
#93 Added A Cute Little Curtain Over My Dishwasher! Made Things Look Cheerier
Image credits: atinyowl