Giving your home a makeover is a great way to feel refreshed without the hassle of moving house! But how can you get the best DIY looks without breaking the bank?
Handy tips for savvy DIY
• Recreate posh paints yourself. Designer paint charts have a rainbow of inspirational shades but the products themselves can often be prohibitively expensive – especially if you are decorating a large room. You can avoid the hefty price tag and still get a similar result by choosing the colour you want from a designer tester pot and then getting a similar shade with a good paint colour match service. Many larger hardware and DIY shops offer this service and while it won’t be exactly the same shade and finish (designer paints use a high colour pigmentation), it will be pretty close – for a snip of the price. Leyland and Dulux are good brands to look out for.
• Focus on the hotspots. If your budget won’t stretch to redoing a whole room, concentrate on re-glossing skirting boards, window frames and touching up radiators. You’ll be amazed at how much you can brighten up a space with this economical measure.
• Go for the fitted look. Custom made built-in shelving can be expensive but you can make your own hardwearing ones from simple wooden or MDF planks cut to size (measure each individually before sanding to fit as even smooth looking walls can be uneven) and London brackets. Adjust the amount of brackets to accommodate the load the shelf is likely to bear. Paint them the same colour as the walls behind for a sophisticated seamless look.
• Dare to develop a new skill. Wallpaper can look stunning but it’s one of the trickiest DIY jobs to get right and luxury wallpaper can also be very expensive. If you want to test your skills, consider cutting your teeth on a single feature wall selecting one with as few nooks, crannies and difficult to negotiate objects like light switches, as possible. Starting the job with a lining paper will give you a chance to get to grips with basic pasting and hanging before you attack your precious roll and will also result in a perfect finish.
• Take a wallpaper shortcut. However for a look that’s cheaper and easier and achieve than wallpaper, decorate your walls with a series of transfers. Essentially giant stickers, these are simple to arrange across a wall and ideal for giving a room a new look without re-painting. Designs abound with everything from on-trend blossom and butterflies, to witty retro flying ducks with loads of pirate ships and monsters for kids. Try Wall Glamour or Spin Collective UK . If you’re handy with a paintbrush, you could also try stencils, which give you more freedom over choice of colours and is a great way to get the kids involved in the decorating too. Check out the Stencil Library for ideas.
• Restyle your tiles. Bathrooms can be expensive but if your basic suite is in working order then decorating the room itself can be cheaper than you think. Square white tiles might be the cheap option but can look fantastic if teamed with a decorative tile border and a bold paint colour. Many DIY superstores like B&Q or Wickes sell hardwearing and inexpensive black slate-look tiles which once laid look like they cost you three times the price.