Here's how to nail your next DIY project during lockdown
Now is the time time to get round to doing that bit of DIY you’ve been putting off, whether’s it’s painting your bedroom walls, finding† the perfect corner sofa or adding the finishing touches to a room.
But you may be running low on inspiration. A trip to Ikea to see a ready-made room is out of the question, as is a browse around sophisticated Made showrooms or bargain hunting in Home Sense.
Instead, dive headfirst into Instagram. Forget the impossibly picture-perfect interior accounts often found on the app, while Insta-famous Mrs Hinch can teach us a thing or two about cleaning, having a house that well-kept isn’t easy.
Which is why we’re such big fans of Apartment Therapy. It’s no secret, what originally started as a lifestyle blog has since expanded onto our feeds, accruing 2.5 million followers and counting.
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You can spend hours being nosy into other people’s places, seeing how they’ve decorated, the art on their walls and pick up a few tips on the way. It's the perfect starting point to build a digital scrapbook for inspiration before you start a new project in your own space.
Topology Interiors is also particularly useful. Created by design duo Amy & Athina, it’s a hub of tips, information and advice on all things interiors, while keeping it affordable.
The pair show how to make a basic Ikea purchase look super luxe, the importance of making a work station for yourself and colour palettes that won’t clash.
They have also written helpful PDF guides on topics such as how to decorate on a budget or a design planner to keep you organised, available to download on their website for £3.95. It’s the simplest way to start planning.
If you did want to start shopping, the duo have curated a shopping section on their site, featuring furniture and accessories, from £15 vases to £300 beds.
Speaking of Ikea, if you’re after tips on how to make the most out of a piece of furniture, pay a visit to Ikeahackers, created and run by Jules Yap.
The blog isn’t affiliated to Ikea but is entirely focused on hacks and modifications to do to Ikea products to make them more efficient, particularly if you’re limited on space.
Many of the hacks are inexpensive and creative, meaning you won’t even need a trip to Ikea at all and will allow you to be more sustainable in your interiors decisions.
Before you throw anything away, scroll through the hacks to see if there’s more you can do with it to save waste.
These include tutorials such as making a games arcade cabinet out of a desk, how to personalise plain drawers to make it fit your style and repurposing a laundry hamper into a floating coffee table.
The Ikea Place app is also an effective tool when deciding on bigger items like an armchair or sofa.
The app, available for iPhone and Android, uses augmented reality to drop virtual furniture into a room and view it through a smartphone camera so you can make more informed decisions on the size and colour of investment pieces.
It’s free to download and gives you access to most of Ikea’s catalogue of homewares.
My Bedroom Is An Office And Other Interior Design Dilemmas by Joanna Thornhill is well worth a read. Not just a pretty coffee table book, the interior designer has collated practical references on how to update your humble abode.
From pages covering how to upholster a sofa if you can’t afford a new one, or how to make your space feel more homely when you’re a renter and can’t hang art up on the walls, what to spend and what to save on, it’s a must-read if you have a dilemma you need solving.
Elsewhere on Youtube, you’ll find a growing community of interiors vloggers such as DIY Danie, who shares her simple DIY projects, that are full of colourful decor in simple-to-follow tutorials.
From upcycling furniture to ombre painting tips to room makeovers, it's lighthearted and an easy watch that will help you think outside the box and stay on budget with plan you may have to redesign your home.
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