cabinet a design upgrade with timber

Small changes

Take these simple ideas from the Make It Happen makeover for a fab room reno at your place

The living room revamp from episode two of the Make It Happen series shows how small changes can have a big impact. These ideas can easily be adapted for your own home.

DIY a desk A work or study zone is a great asset to any home, but not everyone has the luxury of a separate room. As the MIH team showed, you can borrow space from a living zone to create a study nook – and even make a desk to suit your space! It’s a relatively simple project, especially if you have the timber panel trimmed in store to the size you want.

TOOLS & MATERIALS  Safety equipment (mask, eye and ear protection)  Tape measure and pencil  Drill with driver and 3mm drill bits  Masking tape  1200mm x 600mm x 18mm timber panel  Four 710mm-high table legs  180-grit abrasive paper with sanding block  Cloth 1With the best face of the panel facing down, at the corners, mark 15mm in from both edges. Use a leg as a template, positioning the plate between the marks to transfer the screw holes with a pencil. 2Set up the drill with a 3mm bit, wrap tape 15mm up from the tip to act as a depth gauge and predrill the holes. Smooth all over both sides of the panels with 180-grit abrasive paper, then wipe away dust with a damp cloth.

3Position a leg at each corner over the screw hole marks and secure with the supplied screws. }

Your DIY toolkit

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1 Adoored 700-1100mm x 50mm metal extension furniture leg in Black, $25, I/N: 0110794. 2 SpecRite 1200mm x 600mm x 18mm hevea finger jointed panel, $41, I/N: 8330181• . 3 Ryobi ‘ONE+’ 18V drill driver, $99.98/skin only (battery and charger sold separately), I/N: 0096074. Some products are not available at all Bunnings stores, but may be ordered.

Study and gaming area

This desktop has been left natural, but you can accentuate the grain using furniture oil applied with a cloth

Tips for creating a study nook  Find the right place Make sure you have plenty of room to spread out, that there’s at least one power point nearby and that there’s adequate (but not glaring) natural light.  Sort storage To help keep the desktop clear, install storage – perhaps wall shelving or a small cabinet under the desk.  Style it up Personalise the space with meaningful but practical touches, such as a lamp for task lighting, an ergonomic chair, a spot of potted greenery and a coaster for your coffee.

Before

Make a feature wall A painted wall is a quick and easy way to transform a space, adding life to a neutral scheme, or it can be used to define a separate zone, like this study nook within a larger living area.

TOOLS & MATERIALS Safety equipment (mask and eye protection) Spatula  50mm paintbrush  Sponge Roller with extension pole and tray Gap filler 180-grit abrasive paper with sanding block  Sugar soap wipes  Painter’s tape  Drop sheet  Wall paint 1Prepare the area by moving furniture away, taking down pictures and fixtures, and putting a drop sheet against the skirting board. Using a spatula, scrape away any flaking paint, and smooth over holes with gap filler, leaving to dry. 2Wear a mask to smooth over the filler and any bumps with 180-grit abrasive paper; use a dry paintbrush to remove dust from skirting boards and corners. Clean the entire wall with sugar soap wipes, leaving to dry thoroughly. 3Mask around the outside of the wall to be painted, positioning painter’s tape along the ceiling or cornice, over skirting boards, around window and door trim, power points, switches and other non-moveable fixtures.

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Your DIY toolkit

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1 Selleys ‘Spakfilla Rapid’ gap filler, $11.45/180g, I/N: 1231864. 2 Craftright 100mm joint knife, $3.95, I/N: 5760322. 3 Monarch 50mm cutting in and framing synthetic paintbrush, $12.78, I/N: 1660278. 4 Uni-Pro 230mm roller on a pole with 1.55m extendable handi-pole, $9.32, I/N: 1660509. 5 Porter’s Paints ‘Eggshell Finish’ paint in Aniseed, $130/4L, I/N: 0162933. Some products are not available at all Bunnings stores, but may be ordered. 4Using a 50mm brush, cut in along the edges with the wall paint (use masking tape for a neat line). Tip: Apply an even coat of paint by holding the brush vertically to cut in downwards and horizontally to paint sideways. 5Apply paint with a roller, starting at the top and moving down in a W pattern, in metre-wide sections, then leave to dry. Apply a second coat, remove tape and leave to dry. Tip: Seal the roller in plastic wrap between coats to stop it drying. ◆