So you’ve got a new four walls to sleep within. Congratulations! The DIY ambitions are huge when moving into a new place, but sadly, that doesn’t mean you have the finances to complete them all. We get it. If, like me, you don’t want to bang up the fresh walls by hammering in nails for your cute-but-inexpensive Etsy prints (since you’ll definitely want to shuffle them around in a few weeks anyway), worry not.
We’ve rounded up a few genuinely handy ways that you can spiff up your place without ever harming your walls. Armed with a tin of fresh paint, you’ll have a few new-to-you pieces that will upgrade your space for years to come.
Freshen Up Your Front Door
Changing up the colour of the front door to one that really speaks to your soul is a quick, easy, and important way to make your house feel like, well, yours. I’m personally partial to the muted teal in the huge British Paints colour range called “Feeling Fresh”, but you do you boo. It’s also worth noting that you’ll need to prep your door before you go in with the new paint.
Turn A Cheap Wood Planter Pot Into A Terracotta Herb Garden
A handy DIY that’ll turn any old wooden planter into a faux terracotta herb garden that looks far more spenny than it actually is can be easily achieved in a single afternoon. All you have to do is buy a small pot of outdoor-appropriate paint (in a neutral colour if you’re truly chasing the terracotta look) and paint your pre-loved goods. The British Paints 4 Seasons range is perf for this since it’s tough enough for outdoor use and is self-priming on wood. The first coat of paint will take about 30 minutes to dry, but you can add a second coat after two hours. Once that’s done, fill it with whatever herbs you like, stand back, and marvel at your own brilliance.
Make Friends With Command Hooks
If our DIY queen and goddess of all things technicolour decor Flex Mami has taught us anything about home decorating, it’s the value of a good, strong command hook. Sure, you might not want to put a nail in the wall to hang your newest Etsy print, but you can command hook the hell out of your place to hang even the heaviest of artworks. Best of all, they don’t pull any paint off the wall when it’s time to remove them to redecorate.
Knock Up A Chic Bar Cart
Few things signal that you’ve officially entered adulthood quite like a chic bar cart taking pride of place in your living room. You can pick up a cheap wooden trolley on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace and with a little bit of sanding and a lick of fresh paint, it’ll spruce up any room in your home. Plus, it might just convince your parents that you do, in fact, have your life together. If you decide to use a metal cart instead for a more industrial vibe, the process is pretty similar. You might just need a base coat to prep the metal ahead of time.
Jazz Up The Outdoor Furniture You Picked Up At The Last Council Clean Up
It’s generally accepted that outdoor furniture is overpriced. And while we’ll never understand how a small and often uncomfortable outdoor set is triple the price of its indoor sibling, one way to avoid the extortionate cost is to overhaul a pre-loved set. Hop back on Gumtree or take a walk around your neighbourhood next time council clean up rolls around, and slap on a coat of paint to make it brand new all over again.
Just make sure the paint will withstand the test of time (aka, make sure you use the British Paints 4 Seasons outdoor paint). As an added bonus for your outdoor living area, you can give it an extra bit of TLC by using the leftover paint from your outdoor furniture project and doing odd jobs like painting the gutters or freshening up your door trims. It’ll brighten the whole area right up.
Aside from the fact that refurbing the house will make it feel new again, it can also be a decent bonding experience. Don’t believe me? Check out our latest ep of dating show Lasting Love below:
