We spend a lot of time picking home accents to show our individual style, and yet a living room, kitchen or bedroom can still end up feeling like a catalogue.
The popularity of do-it-yourself projects is now extending to home furnishings that shake that mass-produced feeling. Now you can make a mural, design your own cushions or create your own piece of functional art - all without a crafty bone in your body.
New York-based Freddy&Ma recently introduced plates that consumers can design on the company's website, and a line of customizable pillows that can be made in hundreds of prints with the click of a mouse.
Laura Kramer's chalkboard vases for LBK Studio allow anyone to create a personal design or special message.
"It was a reaction to the mass-produced, outsourced furnishings that I think create a cold environment," Kramer said.
Rust-Oleum has taken the chalkboard concept to larger surfaces with its Specialty Chalkboard Tint Base, a type of paint that turns surfaces into a chalkboard, while Whirlpool Corp. introduced another idea: a fridge that acts as a white board with a dry-erase finish.
Or if you prefer a kit, Chicago-based retailer Chiasso offers accessories that can be mixed and matched at home, such as the Blocks Clock that comes with a silver clock and 12 coloured blocks for adhering on the wall one-by-one.
Customizable home furnishings are not for everyone, says Freddy&Ma's Anthony Pigliacampo, but "there are a lot of people, like us, who aspire to have their living space be unique, different and inspiring."
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-Chalkboard vases, LBK Studio ($32 to $200) and ornaments ($34), http://www.lbkstudio.com/
-Time Square Clock, Urban Materials + Accessories ($78), http://www.iloveuma.com/
-Amana Jot refrigerator, Whirlpool Corp. ($549), http://amana.com/
-Customizable pillows and melamine plates, Freddy&Ma ($45 to $60 for pillows, $12 for plates), http://www.freddyandma.com/
-Blocks Clock and Mix Mirrors, Chiasso ($88 for clock, $78 for three mirrors), http://www.chiasso.com/
-Cardboard Safari, W Hotels Store ($14 to $48), http://whotelsthestore.com/
-Mix & Match Lighting, PBteen (starting at $29) http://www.pbteen.com/stylehouse/mmlight/content.cfm
-Make It Your Own System, PBteen (from $69) http://www.pbteen.com/products/p3242/index.cfm?pkey
