Summer DIY: How To Make A Gold And Grey Planter

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I'm currently re-vamping my tired looking balcony (full reveal coming in a few weeks!) Since the sun has been shining in the past week (even though it's now pouring as I write this) I decided to get out and get some Vitamin D and work on part of the project which was to build a tall planter trough ready for summer flowers. To build and paint the planter takes no longer than a day, so it is perfect for a sunny Sunday DIY project. First stop was to get some load-bearing wood. My top tip if you are going to build a planter like mine is first check if there is anyone in your area selling used scaffold boards. Building regulations state that builders scaffolding boards have to be changed regularly, so you often get scaffold and building companies selling off their old scaffold boards for cheap on Ebay and Gumtree.

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Before & After: How I Created This Wall Panelling Look For Under £35

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When we moved into our house last year there was a problem with some damp on the lower floor. We called in the damp proofing people but we had real trouble with one interior wall in the hallway. The damp guys came back 3 times to try and fix the issue, with the final result being that the damp was eradicated but the hallway wall was left a total mess. Most of the wall had been drilled away numerous times to inject anti-damp treatment and even though I used a range of plaster repair tools and fillers, when the wall got a new coat of paint it still looked shoddy. What made it worse was that this wall was by the back door so the light shined on it all day highlighting all its imperfections..

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How To Add A Bit of Spring In Your Home

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Spring is absolutely my favourite season. It's the sign that the miserable part of winter (all winter post xmas when there is nothing to look forward to) is over, and summer is well on it's way. Magnolia trees, cherry blossom, bluebells, daffodils, hyacinths, warmer temperatures, lighter evenings - spring is bloody amazing!

Because spring is so exciting, at this time of year I always want to reflect this season in my home. Bringing 'the outdoors indoors' is also a big interior trend for 2016..

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Review: Hemsley - The Own Brand Paint To Rival Farrow & Ball?

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A few months ago after having an internal door replaced, I went into Homebase to buy some eggshell paint to paint the new door with. Needing to buy an eggshell that matched my already existing heritage cream skirting, I begrudgingly headed over to the Farrow & Ball paint section. Even though I'm all about doing up your home on a tiny budget, I LOVE posh paint. I'm a die-hard Farrow & Ball fan. I have a box with about 60 sample tins of Farrow & Ball paint in under the stairs. There is no contest for me when it comes to choosing F&B over cheaper brands such as Dulux or Crown. F&B paint gives a beautiful depth of colour due to its high pigmentation and the chalky matt finish looks expensive and elegant. Cheaper paints do not have this depth of colour, they fade over time and glossy paint looks cheap. F&B do a wide range of interesting colours (132 to be exact - check out 'Charlotte's Locks', an intense orange, and 'Vardo', a 50's style teal). You can get any of these colours in different finishes such as eggshell and floor paint rather than just emulsion. The paint is thick, creamy and easy to apply. It is water based and has low VOC's, so it does not smell nor pollute your house with chemicals and it's simple to clean your brushes. It is made in England.

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How To DIY A Cheap As Chips Picture Ledge

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A favourite interiors trend of mine in recent years has been display shelving - shelves that are erected in the home not for functional use for storage (such as a book shelf) but for display. Often hashtagging online as a 'shelfie', shelves are used to support art, photos, magazine covers, ornamental objects etc, in a casual display.

Display shelves for photos and art cannot be your bog standard basic flat shelves - the shelves will need to be raised at the front to stop the propped-up artwork sliding down and falling off. You also do not want the shelves to protrude out too much, which would look peculiar when you are displaying thin items.

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Easter Weekend Special: How to DIY An Easter Wreath

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My front door is very visible from my street, so on holidays and occasions I like to DIY a wreath to hang out the front. It gives the house a lot more kerb appeal and they are always fun to make. Of course, you can buy seasonal wreaths in the shops, but they start from around £18 upwards for something 'decent', when you can purchase all the basic materials to put together an Easter wreath from haberdashery and craft shops for under a fiver...

 

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Lets Talk About: High Street Lighting

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For me, when styling a room the two most important base elements are the colour and the lighting. Statement lighting can transform a room and is the key focal point that often pulls the room together.

Interesting, contemporary lighting has been popular for a while now, and in recent years the high street has been absolutely killing it with their own ranges. Alongside their usual middle-of-the-road pieces have been collections inspired by current lighting trends and high end designers...

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DIY Bird Cage Lamp Shade

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If you are reading this post, chances are you've googled 'Graham & Green Bird Shade' after your jaw dropped seeing this quirky, brilliant shade in an interiors magazine or online.  Chances are that your jaw dropped even further when you saw the £375 price tag. For those of you who do not know about this shade feast your eyes on the original design here.

Obviously, as soon as I saw this shade, i wanted it BADLY! It's so original, a massive talking point and I'm a huge sucker for anything with birds on.  But £375 was just far too much for me to part with, especially for a 'shade' that doesn't actually have any functional use as it doesn't actually shade anything! I knew there must be a way to DIY this and so after some research I set about creating my own version. I have to say I have had this in my home now for a few years and visitors love it, more importantly, I love it, and it cost me around £40 in total to make...

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