Colorful Modern Door Hanger

Last winter my major home project was a makeover of our front hallway and stairwell. With February here once again, I’ve been having major flashbacks to all the hours I spent painting, mod podging the stairs, and adding new lights and decor. It was a major transformation, and I’m still really happy with the space.

BUT, as we’ve been adding more and more color to the living room and I’m starting to embrace a more vibrant and eclectic aesthetic (aka I’m turning into Naomi), the hallway has been feeling a little sparse and overly polished. The walls along the stairwell are still empty and that will be a great opportunity to add more color and personality with art over time, but with the kitchen renovation underway I really don’t have the time or budget to do too much right now.

I was in need of an easy, inexpensive, and quick win (much like Naomi and her dishwasher magnet last week), and decided that our bedroom door was a prime target. Up until recently we had a baby’s breath wreath on the door that I’d made a few years ago with some friends in our monthly craft group, but it was driving us crazy because it was really dry and every time we bumped into it some of the baby’s breath would fall on the ground.

We took it down in a fit of rage one day when we were moving in the DIY mid-century dresser I built, which left a very lonely hook on the door. Then it was either take out the hook and patch and paint, or make something new to hang there and add a little color in the process. Time to DIY!

I really had no idea what I wanted to do because crafty things aren’t really my speciality, but Sam got me an origami kit for the holidays and I thought I would try something with that. Then I came across this wedding decor photo, and I knew I’d found a perfect way to bring a colorful, modern look to the project:

I decided to make a three-string door hanger inspired by this scene. First I needed a pattern to create an octahedron, and found this great tutorial with a free octahedron printable.

Next I gathered my other supplies: colorful origami paper and adhesive dots. (I had the adhesive dots already from another project, but regular glue would work too.)

I also needed thread, a needle, and a wood dowel to hang the strands from. I had all of these on hand already.

To make each octahedron, I traced the pattern onto a piece of paper, cut it out, and folded it along the dotted lines. I was able to stack and cut several sheets at once, but the folding still took awhile.

The assembly took a little practice, but was fairly straightforward. I used an adhesive dot on the top corner of each flap.

I also realized that I couldn’t fully assemble each one before threading it on the strand, since the needle would get lost inside. Instead, I assembled all but two flaps, threaded it, and then finished putting it together. I tied a knot at the bottom of each octahedron to keep it in place.

Here are a bunch I assembled before figuring that out…I had to take two flaps apart again, but doesn’t it make a pretty photo? And isn’t that 75% of blogging?

And here’s the final result:

It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s fun, colorful, and was totally free. What more could I ask for?

Don’t worry, I’m getting back to work on the kitchen tomorrow, and will have more updates for you next week. It’s time to build some cabinets!