Amateur DIY on a budget
Until recently, my bathroom left a lot to be desired. It had really poorly-fitted vinyl flooring, two different types of mis-matched tiles on the walls, a leaking bath, a cold tap that was poured hot water… basically more wrong with it than right. Over the space of two weekends and on a tight budget, I completely revamped the bathroom from top to bottom. Read on to see how.
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If you’ve read my blog before, you may recall the dresser that I upcycled for my dining room. Although I liked it, it didn’t seem quite right for my dining room for a number of reasons. Firstly, it looked quite small against such a big wall. Secondly, it was painted quite a bright colour, which meant I couldn’t really paint the wall behind it. It also had wallpaper pasted in the back of it, which meant I couldn’t wallpaper the wall behind it. Thirdly, it was quite detailed and I decided I’d prefer something with cleaner lines.
I decided to take the plunge and sell it on eBay and buy a replacement. I did think I must be mad – I have so much to do in the house and I spent a weekend upcycling that cabinet, just to sell it and start again. But I’m so glad I did!
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Please note: This post is about how to use paste-the-wall wallpaper. For instructions on how to use paste-the-paper wallpaper, see this post.
Last weekend I created a feature wall in my dining room. I went for a large leafy print for contrast behind the big pink cabinet I knew I was going to put against that wall. A feature wallpapered wall can really turn a room around.
There are two types of wallpaper: one is the traditional paste-the-paper type, where you set up a pasting table. The other, and the one I’m going to show you how to do, is the paste-the-wall type.
When you buy wallpaper, it will say on the roll whether it’s paste-the-wall or paste-the-paper. Paste the wall is generally considered the easier of the who and is becoming the more popular option nowadays.
Read on for my tips when using this type of wallpaper. It may be easier to do than you think!
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The doors in my house are crap. I mean, they’re perfectly fine structurally, mostly solid wood, but they’re all different shades of wood, each with a different cheap handle than the next.
I’ve recently started making my way around the house painting each and every one so I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert at this stage. I’ve picked up a few hints and tips along the way that should save you a lot of time and effort should you need to give some old doors a new lease of life.
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One of my favourite things about doing up the house is giving an old unloved piece of furniture a bit of TLC and rendering it unrecognisable. My dressing table came from a local seller on eBay. I bought it for £10. It was good and sturdy but nothing special to look at: just plain pine with pine knobs. Over the course of an afternoon I upcycled it to make it bright and pretty. Here’s how…
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Your front door is pretty much the first impression somebody has of your house. When I first moved in, my front door wasn’t exactly making the impression I wanted. It was ugly wood, had random dirt and paint splatters and mismatching attachments. I decided that I needed a new door and asked a well known company around to quote me up. After getting a quote of almost £2,500, I quickly decided that I didn’t really need a new front door!
I then decided that all my front door needed was a facelift. I bought outdoor wood paint and attachments and set to work. Read the steps I took below.
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