Top tips to decorate your home on a low budget

We all love to give our homes a makeover every now and then – it’s one of life’s great pleasures to relax in a favourite room admiring a fresh new look that you’re responsible for. However, changeovers can be a costly deterrent that completely kill that initial DIY buzz. But inspiration is at hand! Here we present some great DIY projects that are practical and decorative - including shutters, naturally - whilst remaining budget conscious.

Bathroom floor stencils 

How’s this for a bargain – an elegant panel wall for your bedroom or lounge that will only cost you (before purchasing paint and glue) a cool £15!

Buy a 9mm sheet of MDF from your local branch of B & Q, and taking advantage of their free wood-cutting service (they cut up to 15 sections of wood for free), get your strips cut into widths that suit the look you’d like to achieve. Measurements will vary depending on the size of the wall but a good guide is 70mm.

Then after measuring your vertical strips, attach with Gripfill and secure the top and bottom with screws. Measure the horizontal strips to form your squares and nail into place. Lightly sand, prime the wood and then paint in the colour of choice to create a truly luxurious look!

Here’s a neat home study Ikea hack that we absolutely love. If you need a large desk area in your office but don’t have the resources to splash out on a full-size desk, then how about this for a cheap, stylish and altogether less cumbersome idea?

Simply find 2 kitchen worktops, like those from Ikea’s Bergstena range, for £50 each. Cut them to size and mount across cupboards and drawer units from the Alex range, also from Ikea. These drawers average around £50 in price and make a stylish addition to any home office. With the worktop’s colours and shape perfectly complementing their appearance, the overall effect is one of practicality and elegance combined.

We love the depth of character that comes with mature wood but not necessarily the price! But you can sidestep inflated costs from reclaimed wood retailers by making new wood appear old. And it’s surprisingly easy to achieve! For instance:

Ageing with paint – When painted wood surfaces lose their colour, the results can often be attractive. A great technique to reproduce the look of weathered wood on paint is to use a couple of coats of different coloured paints. Make the bottom coat white or a different light colour. Then add a bolder top colour, which is then partially removed. Lightly sand the topcoat when the paint is completely dried, concentrating on edges and corners, allowing just enough of the white base to show through the colour. 

Ageing with liquids – You can replicate the look of time-ravaged wood with water and stain directly onto dry wood, misting first with water from a spray bottle. This will allow different areas of the wood to absorb stain at varying rates. To create a silvery hue, use white vinegar and steel wool. Drop the steel wool into the liquid and leave for a day in the sun before spraying onto the wood. Once dry, the wood will adopt a striking grey hue.

Ageing mechanically – to recreate the physical contact that wood is exposed to over the years, you can have fun roughing up the surfaces with both blunt and sharp objects. Practice on scrap wood first before you really cut loose! Sprinkle some nails onto the surface and hit them with a hammer - but not too hard. Don’t forget to round off hard edges and corners with your sander to help complete the look.

One of the most effective ways of transforming your home at a very reasonable price is by self-installing affordable shutters to your windows. Not only is it a cost-effective means of creating an elegant and timeless look to your property, but it’s also one of the most self-empowering feelings to sit in a newly regenerated room and say, “I did it!” And it's a feeling that stays with you. 

We can help you achieve that feeling. DIY Shutters has a beautiful range of energy-efficient wooden shutters to suit all your window decorating requirements. Contact our experts to find out how we can provide you with the shutters you deserve at the lowest possible prices.