There’s something intensely satisfying about taking on and successfully completing a DIY project. Being able to sit back and admire the fruits of your labour and a job well done is seriously rewarding, especially when you reflect on the before and after. DIY in general is a fantastic way to make improvements to your home without having to break the bank. Breaking out that tool box and diving headfirst into a project is a great way to spend your spare time, and a nice way to upgrade your property.
It doesn’t have to be a major DIY project, either. Simple transformations that only take a few hours can make a big impact on the appearance of a room and give you that glow of gratification.
One of the best examples of this comes when you’re redecorating the home. Rather than spending loads on new additions to your rooms, it can be cheaper and more rewarding to get the tools out of the shed and refurbish existing items of furniture and accessories to give them a new look. Inspired by Instagram, upcycling has become a popular trend in recent years, and that doesn’t look like it will be changing anytime soon, so why not get involved and give your home an exciting new look?
Create a room plan
As with all DIY projects, strong planning is the key to success. You might be eager to get cracking on your chosen project and dive right in, but take some time first to visualise what you want the results to look like to ensure success. If you’re decorating and changing an entire room, what do you want the finished room to look like? Use a mood board to help make decisions on colour scheme, potential themes and styles, and then consider what items of furniture, soft furnishings, and accessories will best complement the space and make it into a room you love.
Create your mood board at home, filled with design ideas and inspiration that will help bring your room to life. Browse home and decor magazines or Instagram – and pin images that catch your eye on Pinterest.
Choose your centrepiece sofa
Before you throw yourself into a project, popping open the tins of paint and browsing for statement wallpaper, you’ll want to choose the furniture that will be the focal point of your room. The sofa tends be the heart of the living room, so selecting the right one for yours is key to completing a project and brings the room together.
From the perfect leather focal point, the Galleria, to the ideal centrepiece, the Islington, we’ve got an abundance of sofas to complement an array of different themed living rooms, whatever your style goals are.
Upcycle your own items
Embarking on a DIY project doesn’t mean you need to discard all your items and replace them with something new – which is where the art of upcycling comes into its own. It’s pretty easy, not to mention a lot of fun, to refresh your existing pieces and give your room a new lease of life. Whether it’s a table, chair or a photo frame, you can upcycle almost anything, making little changes that bring it to life and help it shine in your new setup.
Sand down, re-paint and varnish tired items to give them a new look, or even just to change up the colour and reimagine them. Brighten up a large mirror by painting the frame white, or try the same with a picture frame. Cover a chair with a new fabric or, if it has a wooden frame, sand down the legs and paint it a different colour. Use a couple of wooden pallets to create an urban-style coffee table. There’s loads you can do, so use your imagination, be inspired and get creative.
Enjoy bargain hunting
You can often find people selling unwanted items online – it may not fit into their home plans anymore but it might be perfect for yours. There is an opportunity to pick up a genuine bargain for a fraction of what you’d expect to pay brand new. That tired old coffee table can quickly be rejuvenated by your sander and paint brush, or that table lamp could be cleaned, spruced up and topped off with a new shade.
Taking on a DIY project is a brilliant way of breathing fresh life and character into a room and into furniture – it’s also hugely rewarding. Excellent results can be achieved on a modest budget, so the next time you’re planning a DIY project, roll your sleeves up, get stuck in and have fun.
Taking on a DIY project is a brilliant way of breathing fresh life and character into a room and into furniture – it’s also hugely rewarding. Excellent results can be achieved on a modest budget, so the next time you’re planning a DIY project, roll your sleeves up, get stuck in and have fun.
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