By Lily Young, Houzz
Here’s a selection of great DIY hacks to inspire you.
Original photo on Houzz
1. Go custom on a budget. In this classic Victorian family home in London, interior designer Beth Dadswell created the dining table herself. “We bought the legs at Habitat and topped them with a piece of leftover plywood painted black,” she says.
Their builder then created a space-smart banquette, which also hides storage, and Dadswell made cushions from vintage fabric for the top. “I used my mum’s old curtains,” she says. It’s a perfect example of upcycling an item for a completely different use.
Original photo on Houzz
2. Give items a new lease on life. You can upcycle a huge range of items if you really think about it — even obscure pieces can often be turned into something new.
A case in point is this bedside pendant light in the home of blogger Alex Carberry of The Interior DIYer. “It’s made from the leftover cord from my parents’ vacuum cleaner after it broke,” she says. “The cord itself was in perfect working order, so with some electrical help from my dad, we changed it into a bedside light.”
As well as producing something beautiful from something broken, you’re also doing your bit for the environment by saving another item from being thrown into the landfill.
Original photo on Houzz
3. Upgrade your kitchen. Who wouldn’t want to make a budget kitchen look like a custom painted one — and for a fraction of the cost? That’s exactly what designer Lisette Voûte did in this kitchen. “I sourced plain, untreated wooden cabinets, then the builders painted them, so it’s a hand-painted kitchen. Suddenly, the quality leaps!”
Original photo on Houzz
4. Personalize your antiques.. On a budget? Recycling is your best friend, so take a look at what you already have in your home. This family apartment in the Hackney borough of northeast London is owned by two architects who wanted to transform their space without spending a huge amount of money. Reinventing materials using simple, clever ideas that work for them really helped them personalize their home.
Take this shoe rack, for example, which was created by recycling parts from a piece of Ikea furniture and adding long, industrial-strength bands. Recycling furniture that was falling apart created a slim, interesting and individual piece that works well in this home.
Original photo on Houzz
6. Personalize your antiques. Buying antiques can give your space a warm and special look. Sian Ross, who lives in this cottage in Kent, England, and runs a vintage furniture and homewares company, painted the antique bed a light gray and covered the screen — an online purchase — with the same fabric as the duvet cover.
“I found a pack of two toile duvet covers, so I put one on the bed and used the other to create panels for the screen,” she says. “If I can’t find the fabric I want for a project, I’ll use anything — a dress, a cushion, whatever I can find.”
Original photo on Houzz
6. Paint your pine. Pine is a popular material for furniture, being solid, sturdy and often affordable. However, its bright, varnished color and visible grain may not always work with the color scheme or look you’re trying to create.
You can update a piece of pine furniture, however, by painting it any color you choose. Photographer Veronica Rodriguez refreshed her pine wardrobe with Annie Sloan chalk paint. She even lined it with some Laura Ashley Birds of Paradise wallpaper for an extra upgrade.