We’ve seen some really neat color-coded bookshelves in other design blogs lately. But what do you do if you don’t have a bunch of colorful spines to arrange? Or if most of your books have blah spines? You could put some great wallpaper on the back of the bookcase shelves.

It’s a great way to set off your books and add a little visual interest to an otherwise overlooked area. There are lots of ways to transform those necessary parts of your home into interesting little spots of creativity inexpensively. Here are some ideas we had just looking around the house.

• Does everyone usually sit in the same places at the table? Stencil their name of their favorite dishes – or least favorite nicknames – on the seat.
• Paint “chalk outlines” on the hall table around your keys, cell phone and spare change. And the charger, of course, or your cell phone really will be dead.
• Grab some fabric paint and create your own monogrammed sheets. Maybe create a set of “his and her” pillowcases, or write out your favorite poem on an inexpensive duvet.
• Put (removable) contact paper on your cabinets and list the contents – real or imagined. For the cost of a couple rolls of paper, you can update your kitchen cabinets every couple months with a list of seasonal ingredients or latest diet craze.

All right – all this talk about food is making us hungry, so we’re going to see what kind of ideas we can get looking around in the fridge. Let us know what kind of design ideas we’ve made you hungry for.