Easy tips to save money on redecorating your home

With summer now well and truly on its way, you might be thinking about breathing a little fresh air into your home. Whether you’re planning a major makeover or just freshening up one room, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. We’ve put together our favourite tips to help you achieve a million-dollar look for comparative pennies.

Paint it up

If you’re anything like us, you’ll have a garage shelf stuffed with dozens of tins of paint, all with an inch left at the bottom. There’s not enough there for a big project, but it might come in handy some day – until then, those tins just keep on accumulating. Take a look through your stash, and start by binning anything that’s dried up, separated or has the lid rusted solidly onto the tin.

Then, see what you have left. If you have lots of tiny amounts of different paints, how about painting the risers of all the stair treads in a different colour? Could you mix several colours together and create enough of a new shade to paint a feature wall? Could you paint several shelves in different colours, or even create a painted mosaic tiled effect on the floor?

Go to the wall

If you’ve got some scraps of old wallpaper, that also works really well on stair risers, to line inside cupboards or the back of shelves. To change the look of cupboards, cover the middle panel with wallpaper and then apply a few coats of clear varnish over the top. If you don’t have any leftover wallpaper, DIY shops often sell off single rolls and end of lines very cheaply. Striking wallpaper often looks great in a cheap clipboard frame as budget wallart, as well.

Hone those skills

The more you can do yourself, the less you’ll have to pay other people to do! The key to a professional paint job is really all in the preparation – fill and sand holes and tape dust sheets right to the edges of the room with masking tape. If you have a friend with a steady hand, bribe them over to help with tea and cake! You could also think about offering a skills exchange – if you have a friend who’s a professional decorator or a careful amateur, how about offering to dig their garden or stock their freezer in exchange for their skills?

Be bargain-savvy

Sign up for DIY shop emails and voucher discount sites such as VoucherCodes and Coupons. You’ll be the first to hear about sales and money-off promotions so you can beat the queue for bargains.

Make a statement

Adding just one great statement piece of furniture, such as a sofa or cupboard, can transform a room. You can get some great deals on end-of-line or discontinued famous brand furniture from retailers such as Trade Secret and The Interior Outlet.

Seek some (free) inspiration

The internet is crammed with free creative ideas, so take a look at Pinterest and the websites of interior magazines. There’s also a whole wealth of expertise out there for the searching, including video tutorials and online courses. If you fancy a particular paint effect and don’t know how to do it, chances are someone out there will – and they’ll have made a step-by-step guide, as well.

All images: Pixabay

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