Crafty DIY for your home not only saves money, but also brings out the creative side you may have been hiding away. From handcrafted wreaths to no-sew homemade curtains, ideas need not be complicated or costly, and simply require a bit of time and imagination.
Take a look at the projects below, which are divided into different rooms, and see which one might be a good starting point in your home. Materials can be bought at a reasonable price at remnant shops in your local area, or on ebay.co.uk, where there is a wealth of choice for budding DIY-ers.
Living Room
Mantelpiece Bunting
Seasonal decorations for your mantelpiece need not just mean Christmas. Spring brings with it a fresh feel that can be replicated in your home with pretty bunting that hangs across the mantelpiece or across the chimney breast.
It just takes a little time to cut out five or six small triangles of fabric. These can be pretty pastel gingham or florals, or plain soft cotton material. Pin and then sew the edges of each triangle to prevent fraying, and finally sew or use fabric glue to attach them all along a piece of ribbon. You can even remove the need for sewing altogether by using pinking shears to cut out your material, which give a zig-zag edge.
If you would prefer to be bang on trend and knit your own bunting, take a look at this crafty project from Hobbycraft.
Kitchen
Kitsch Storage
Give your cupboards a fresh look by putting pretty kitsch wallpaper on the shelves and at the back of each cupboard. This works especially well with country-style kitchens, and looks great even with mis-matched pieces of wallpaper left over from other decorating projects.
Bedrooms
Crafty Headboard
Making a new headboard from an old panelled door is a cost-effective way to add interest, and give a rustic feel to your bedroom. There are lots of guides on the internet that take you step-by-step through this type of project, from places to source the door to accessorising the finished product.
On a similar theme, a light headboard can be used equally well in an adult or child’s bedroom. Children will particularly love coloured fairy lights, whereas clear lights might be more suitable for a master bedroom.
Outdoors
Planters
Tyres can be plain or painted, and once filled with soil, make an excellent container for various types of plants. Because tyres are so large, they give you plenty of scope for an interesting planting scheme that will catch the eye of visitors, and tyres can be placed one on top of another to provide depth for taller plants.
Wine Box Vegetable Planter
As more and more people reap the benefits of home-grown vegetables, you can join this growing trend and still be a little bit different by using unusual planters. Wooden wine boxes make the perfect container for all types of vegetables – you just need to drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage, and keep them off the floor, otherwise the wood may start to rot. An easy way to do this is to cut some wine corks in half, and use them to raise the boxes off the ground a little.
Wine boxes can be further weatherproofed each season using non-toxic oil, or simply replace them if necessary at the end of the growing season.
