When you want to revive a space or give a room a new personality, it can be very challenging if your budget does not extend to meet your ambition.
Luckily social media can come to your rescue, and over the years certain Instagram influencers, Tik Tok content makers and Facebook groups have been established and grown to provide constant inspiration.
One of the most popular Facebook groups to have emerged is DIY On A Budget, where members share savvy tips and tricks that have been tried and tested with the end results shown via photos and video.
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Some ideas are creative, some are incredible, some haven't worked too well and the intrepid DIYer explain their experience and what went wrong so you don't make the same mistake.
From upcycling to paint colours and from repair advice to making use of the stuff squirrelled away in your shed, garage or attic, the content is wide-ranging but uses the idea of money-saving and budget-friendly as the core.
The story of the group is just as inspiring as some of the DIY hacks shared by its members. Single mother Toni Trevillion was looking for ideas to improve her home one evening over a glass of wine, and happened to set up a private Facebook group asking for help and inspiration.
She called it DIY on a Budget and by the following morning, to her astonishment, it had 700 members. That number has now swelled to a highly engaged community of just over two million in five years and fans include Stacey Solomon and Mrs Hinch.
Toni has now just released a book based on the Facebook group, not surprisingly called DIY On A Budget, which is full of the very best tips and tricks everyone needs to make small tweaks or big changes to their home.
Toni takes you through tips on what you need before you start painting, tiling, laying floors or upcycling furniture, how to keep to budget and also what to do when things go wrong, drawing in useful advice from the group's community.
The book is also bursting with ideas and projects to inspire you in each room in your home, and here are a selection of Toni's top tips to maybe ponder about doing in your home.
Living Room
Toni has many tips to instantly give your main reception space a face lift. She says: "Dye your fabrics! The easiest fabrics for DIY dyeing are chenille, velvet, wool, polyester and cotton. When dyeing carpets and rugs, don’t use machine/submersion dyes as these are not colourfast, instead, use an all-in-one liquid fabric dye."
Another focal point to lavish with attention is the fireplace, with Toni suggesting that if you love a contemporary look, painting your fire surround in the colour of your choice can create a gorgeous focal point for your space.
Toni stays with the fireplace as a place to be creative by saying: "Love the look of a traditional hearth or woodburner but don’t have the space or cash to get one installed? The DIY On A Budget members have just the solution – fake it till you make it!
"You can buy very affordable electric stoves online, and freestanding fire surrounds at most DIY outlets. Add a brick wallpaper background and a faux hearth and you’ve got a gorgeous fireplace, without the hassle or expense of a large renovation."
Of course, art work is a multi-functional interior design addition to your living room - it can help to establish the style of the room, it can cohesively collect all the colours of the space into one focal point, and it is your chance to add your own personality. But why stop at one when a feast of wall art will create a feature wall but it takes some careful thought before banging those nails into the wall.
Toni says: "Make a picture wall. To see how a picture will look before you put it up, cut out a piece of paper or cardboard the size of your frame and stick it carefully to the wall with Blu Tack or tape.
"This is also a really useful trick to do with multiple pictures/pieces of paper to see how a grouping will look. Play around with different shapes and layouts before you commit, to find the style you love the most."
Bedroom
The bedroom needs to be a peaceful yet practical space that can accommodate the bed as the main interiors focal point and the storage as the essential furniture to keep it tidy.
Toni has ideas on how to refresh the space on a budget. She says: "You could add a headboard made from pallets. Get hold of two more identical panels to treat and attach them to the head end for a makeshift headboard.
"Cut these down to size if you think they are too big, but take care when cutting and fully sand them down to finish them. You could also do this just by hanging cushions on loops from a curtain pole fixed above the bed."
With lighting, Toni suggests choosing the right light bulbs can create a better ambience, with a warmer, yellow bulb promoting relaxation, while a white one will inhibit sleep.
And add more visually interesting lighting by using short strings of fairy lights can be wrapped around wire hangers twisted into shapes such as stars, the moon, balloons, to add a cheap and fun feature. Then hang them on the wall.
Toni has tips for children's spaces too. She says: "If your children share a room but are desperate for their own space, you can easily make a room divider with shelving units, freestanding or ceiling-hung partitions that can be bought from homeware stores, or even a curtain hung from the ceiling across the room."
Bathroom
In this room Toni says it's all in the details: "Your bathroom fixtures can help complete the look you’re going for or update your bathroom to your unique style or to give it a modern lift and feel.
"For example, when you choose your loo roll holder, have a look at what else is in the same design range – there might toothbrush holders, shelves or dispenser holders, too. Updating all these items in the bathroom will not only give it a lift but tie it all together in a cohesive design."
Halls, stairs and landing
Toni suggests focusing on doors within these connected areas can bring more cohesion. She says: "Combine a few of the DIY door projects listed above for a whole new style – try painting the door and mouldings a new colour, then swap out the handles too. You’ll be amazed at the difference a few changes can make.
"If you’re adding skirting board covers, it’s a great opportunity for some sneaky organisation and decluttering. You can hide wires and cables such as telephone or television cables between the existing skirting and the new covers.
Kitchen
Arguably the most expensive room in the house to refresh, Toni says little, cheaper changes can make a big differences.
She says: "An easy way to totally change the style of your kitchen is to replace cupboard handles. You can go from modern to traditional or vice-versa, use colours that contrast with the units, or make them all different for a truly original look."
And if the work surfaces or even unit doors need a makeover, Toni and the Facebook group members love having a go with vinyl.
Toni says: "For the best results, invest in an application kit and make full use of the grid on the backing paper. Heating the vinyl with a hair dryer will make it more flexible and easier to work with, and it’s particularly helpful when you’re trying to go around curved edges or into grooves to smooth them off."
The group has featured members who have made kitchen islands from second hand cupboard units, painted and crowned with a new worksurface, and this upcycled feature can be versatile as well as create practical storage and more work surface.
Toni says: "If you like, you can attach castors to the bottom of a unit and create a moveable island, so you can shift it to the side of the room when you need more space. Simply fix a wheel to each corner of the unit, and add central ones if it is a large unit.
Additional spaces, such as utility rooms, are also featured in the book as well as handy tips for mistakes and mishaps, such as the suggestion that strong coffee mixed to a paste or a dark brown shoe polish are great for covering scratches in wood – simply apply liberally with a cloth and wipe away any excess - then drink the rest accompanied by a yummy chocolate digestive biscuit.
The book is published by Bantam Press and is now for sale for £14.99, and if you try any of the tips in the book, don't forget to join the Facebook group and share your project pictures and story. And don't miss out on finding out about interior design and DIY to delightful dream homes, sign up to our twice weekly Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter and be kept up-to-date.
