20 insider style secrets Give your

Decorate for less with Dec or ate f or less with 20 20 insider style secrets insider style secrets

Discover how to give your home that professional finish with clever DIY trick s, easy décor updates and smart styling ideas from the people in the know

Refresh your home with these top tips and pro secrets to make your home’s décor stand out from the crowd, all without breaking the bank. From interiors influencers to creative directors, we’ve spoken to them all to share their tried and tested tricks that will save you money, without scrimping on style. From making your own artwork to faking a carpet runner with paint, we’ ll help you revive your home and get it ready for the year ahead in no time!

Metro Blush tile and Metro Deep Blue tile, £32.50 per sq m, both Topps Tiles

2GO BESPOKE GO BESPOK E

WITH MOSAIC

HARRIET GOODACRE, Brand Communications Manager and Tile Consultant a at Topps Tiles ‘If you’re looking to create a truly bespoke tile arrangement and are working to a tight budget, try

creating your own mosaic

using tile nippers. This handheld tool is affordable (we sell DEX tile nippers for £12.79) and is perfect for cutting ceramic and porcelain tiles that are no thicker than 8mm – simply mark out your cuts, use a handheld tile scribe to score your lines, then nip the tile. Play around with leftover tiles in varying patterns and colours for an eclectic, individual look for a fraction of the cost of commissioning an arrangement professionally.’

Wood panel in

soft grey, £22 per roll, I Love Wallpaper

1FAUX FAU X-REAL REA L FINISHES

CHELSEA CLARK, Head of Brand at I Love Wallpaper ‘Classic marble, decorative panelling, and real wood are adorning our Instagram feeds. However, the cost of these raw materials often stops people from being able to use them in their home. Instead, faux-effect paper can give the look of expensive materials without the cost. Just a few rolls of wood panel wallpaper can give the “I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-real” effect, without the price tag!’

Antique wood panel

in green, £18 per roll, I Love Wallpaper

3SIMPLE SIMPLE STEM STEM

ST YLING

LUKE ARTHUR WELLS, in nterior designer @lukearthurwells on Instagram ‘Styling vases with single branches is a big trend, however while you ’d think arranging a bunch of flowers might be trickier, a branch has its own problems. If it doesn’t sit right with the shape of your vase, you can spend ages fussing to no avail. Sticking in a block of floral foam may be a solution, but for vases with tight necks, I like to fill the vase with dried rice. This gives your branch some purchase, and allows you to style it perfectly, in an instant.

Find more amazing budget-friendly ways to refresh your kitchen on page 50

Valspar India Ink kitchen and bathroom

soft sheen emulsion, £38 per 2.5L; Rust-Oleum

Bright Gold-effect multi-purpose spray

paint, £14 per 400ml can, both B&Q

6GALLERY GA LLERY

GLOW UP

ANNICA WALLIN, Executive Creative Director at Desenio ‘It doesn’t matter what your budget is, with a gallery a wall, you can always create something brilliant. And you can take it with you if you move house! Select prints that are varied in style, that way you can create a

gallery wall that has a

range of art forms which are interesting to look at. You then need to consider the size and placing of the prints. Use plain paper cut to size and Blu Tack to temporarily attach them to the wall – this allows you to experiment with the composition to get it just right. I always space the pieces 5-10cm apart for an aesthetically pleasing arrangement.’

Art prints from

a selection, from £7.67 each, Desenio 4 COLOUR UP COLOUR UP YOUR KITCHEN ROCHELLE DALPHINIS, interior designer @rochelle_dalphinis and owner of @lunaspotdesign on Instagram ‘To refresh my kitchen at minimum cost I decided to repaint the cupboards. I took all the cupboard doors off, cleaned with sugar soap and lightly sanded them before loading the spray gun with my new colour. I chose a deep blue – Valspar’s India Ink from B&Q – giving each door four coats on both sides. I painted the frames and kick boards before replacing the doors. To add that touch of glamour, I spray painted the silver handles gold using Rust-

Oleum Multi-Purpose Aerosol Spray in Bright Metallic Gold. A fabulous champagne look with lemonade money!’ See the rest of Rochelle’s kitchen in the January issue of our sister magazine, HomeStyle, on sale now!

5THE RIGHT TOOLS THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB

MEL SHERWOOD, Editor of Your Home ‘One of the best DIY purchases I ever made was a £2 sealant smoother – it was almost infuriating how easily it ran around the edge of the bath. I realised then that I’d been expecting to be able to achieve a quality finish as efficiently a professional would – just with a wipe of the finger. But I’m no pro – I’m an amateur! Since then, I always look out for cheap tools that can make it quicker and easier to get the finish I want on any given project – good painter’s tape; nice sanding blocks (instead of sheets of paper awkwardly wrapped around blocks) and, of course, my trusty sealant smoother (which also works on caulk).’

Maya Green Gloss structured plain ceramic

wall tile, £30 per sq m, B&Q

Volden sealant

smoothing tool, £2 for a set of 2, B&Q

TOP TIP

Mix up poster prints with wallpaper samples and greetings cards – or even make your own (see p43) for a truly thrifty gallery display

7HEX LEVEL HEX LEVEL DESIGN

JEREMY HARRIS, MD at Tile Mountain

‘I If you ’re looking to create a tiled feature wall, an off-the-shelf hexagonal tile is a smart option. By avoiding lots of cutting, these shaped tiles not only offer great design flexibility, they also avoid excess wastage and the need to purchase specialist tools. Try creating unusual pattern layouts, or mix and match colours to create a more formal geometric pattern. If you’re looking to mix things up, then select a contrasting grout. These clever tricks will all help to achieve a high-end look, without the price tag to match.’

Lithos white hexagon matt marble effect porcelain tile, £49.95 per sq m, Tile Mountain

8DETAILS DETAILS ON A DIME KIRSTIE DUHIG, Editor of our sister mag, HomeStyle ‘Give your living room a whole new look by adding affordable polystyrene coving. It’s available in lots of different styles and as it’s super lightweight it’s easy to cut to shape, then you just glue it onto the wall using a coving adhesive. Paint it with any water-based emulsion either to match your ceiling or as a standout feature. Prices start at just £5 for 2m from Homebase.’

Walls painted in flat matt paint in Persipan, ceiling and coving in flat matt paint in

Percy, £26 per 1L, COAT Paints

Wild Wonder, Woven Hemp

and Malted Caramel, from £20.14 per 2.5L, all Dulux

For similar try d-c-fix Ribbeck oak

self-adhesive vinyl, £9.50 per 90cm x 2.1m length; d-c-fix whitewood matt self-adhesive film, £35 per 67.5cm x 15m length, both Wilko

9REVIVE IT REVIVE IT

WITH VINYL

JENNY BARKER, interiors influencer @jenshomejournal ‘Vinyl is a cheap but effective way to upcycle furniture or transform a whole room. I’ve completed an entire kitchen

makeover for less than

£100 using vinyl to turn it from beech cupboards and black worktops to this! It’s a great way to keep things fresh and it can last years too.’

10 10SPLASH SPLASH ON ON TAPE, TAPE, SAVE ON PAINT!

MA ARIANNE

SHILLINGFORD, Creative Director at Dulux ‘Spending a little extra on

good quality g decorator’s masking tape

is the key to so many painted effects. You can create simple geometric shapes, bands and stripes or get really ambitious and have a go at checked effects. Visit Dulux YouTube for step-by-step guides to give you the confidence to have a go yourself, as well as saving you money by creating a stylish, bespoke feature for the cost of a tin of paint.’

1 11 11WOW-FACTOR WOW-FACTOR WALLS

JUST YNA KORCZYNSK A, Senior Designer at Crown ‘If you are looking to make a truly spectacular wall statement for less, paint your own mural. Murals generally work best in large, uncluttered spaces, so if the space is limited, go for one based on simple geometric or freehand shapes – it will still work well and provide a high impact. Save the pennies by using tester pots or leftover paint to create your very own bespoke statement wall.’

Breatheasy matt emulsion in Soft Shadow and walls and ceiling matt emulsion in

Spotlight, from £14 per 2.5L, Crown

2 3

Dean saved over £200 by making a chair that was inspired by a high-end design

12 12MAKE YOUR MAKE YOUR OWN LUXE

DEAN POWELL, interior designer and fashion stylist @darklordinterior on Instagram ‘I fell in love with ferm LIVING’s desert lounge chair, but not the £309 price tag! So, I decided to make my own version for less, using a £19 rug from H&M Home and a £76 lounger from Maisons Du Monde. I cut the rug down to size, using the old chair cover as a template, and got my sewing machine out. This project was really fun and it’s the first time I’ve used my sewing machine in ages, but it was well worth the wait! It cost me £98, so I saved £211 – that’s saving on style!’

TOP TIP

Follow our free step-by-step guide to painting wall murals – search ‘mural’ at yourhome style.uk

13BLEND OLD BLEND OLD AND NEW

LOUISA SUGDEN, content creator and stylist @elegantlyknackeredstyle on Instagram ‘Old things in modern homes can work in pleasingly perfect harmony. For the best visual impact, I source collections of similar vintage wares – find affordable pieces at car boots and in charity shops. Whether it’s a shelf filled with colourful preloved vases, a gallery wall of old artwork, or a kitchen table piled high with pressed glass cake stands, the more you have of varying shapes and sizes, the more impactful the display will be.’

Abigail Ahern Wolfe

Smoulder curtains, from £176, Hillarys

To save time, Cinead advises: ‘organise books into coloured piles before filling the shelves’

15 COLOUR COLOUR CODE

CINEAD MCTERNAN, Senior Digital Editor, yourhomestyle.uk ‘Ever since I colour coded the bookshelf above my desk, I have become addicted to this quick-andeasy trick, which transforms an often-chaotic book collection into a vision of harmony and order. What’s not to love? It’s an effective way to revamp a room and introduce a bright, bold focal point, and it doesn’t cost a penny. Think about how you want to organise your books – colour matching them horizontally or vertically – and as black and white spines can dominate, I tend to keep them on the lower shelves and introduce other colours onto that shelf to break it up.’ 14 ELEVATE ELEVATE FOR LESS Y VONNE REAL, Senior Product Manager at Hillarys ‘A trick for creating a sense of height in any room is to hang your curtains several inches above the top of the window frame. You may need to consider what surrounds your window, for instance if there is a radiator nearby. Alternatively, if your curtains are fitted to a discreet track mounted to the ceiling, opt for long curtains that will fill the whole window wall, floor-to-ceiling, giving the illusion of height and elongating the room for that elegant, never-ending finish.’

16FAKE IT FAKE IT UNDERFOOT

ANNIE SLOAN, colour and paint expert and founder of Annie Sloan ‘I love the idea of an

eye-catching stair runner – consider

using Chalk Paint to get the look for a fraction of the cost of a stair carpet. Be considerate with which paints to use where; for example, flooring should be painted with Chalk Paint and protected with two coats of Chalk Paint Lacquer for maximum protection. Simply mark out the look you’re after and then fill in with a paint brush. It’s a striking look that can be done in a weekend.’ Chalk Paint in Honfleur and Emperor’s Silk, from £6.95 per 120ml, both Annie Sloan

Image @tobyshome

17DIAL UP DIAL UP YOUR DISPL AYS

TOBY PERRYMAN-PAYNE, interior designer @tobyshome on Instagram ‘Dress bookcases or cabinets for free! First, gather what you’d

like to display from favourite

pieces you already own – books, glassware, collected antiques or heirlooms, or anything you love. Use your largest pieces, like pots and vases, to anchor the look. Work in diagonals, so the visually heavier objects don’t look stacked and uniform. Group smaller items alongside the larger pieces, before filling the gaps with books and other functional pieces. Tweak as the seasons change for a fresh feel.’

Mezzaluna colour pop metal pull handle in

Miami Pink, £13.99, Dowsing & Reynolds

Polished Copper Taipei handle,

from £11.99, Dowsing & Reynolds 18 SMALL SMALL SWITCH ALLY DOWSING-REYNOLDS, CEO at Dowsing & Reynolds ‘To instantly refresh tired a bathroom, swap the handles on your cabinets – it’s inexpensive compared to changing a whole bathroom. When choosing a design, consider whether you want the handles to be an accent or match seamlessly with your units or fittings. It’s important to think practically too – metal handles are incredibly robust, suiting busy bathrooms. Whereas soft, leather handles will wear more easily, so best suited to en suites and WCs.’

20 20THINK INSIDE THINK INSIDE THE BOX JAMES GREENWOOD, Brand & Interior Expert, Graham & Brown ‘E Even DIY beginners can make a statement with wallpapered panels. By containing your wallpaper in sections, you will save money as fewer rolls are needed than covering the wall completely. It creates a beautiful effect, especially when the panelling is painted in a perfectly partnered shade. You’ll also avoid the difficulties of working around corners and windows.’

Fluid pouring art set, £28 for a 47-piece set, Hobbycraft

19 19MAKE MAKE YOUR OWN ART

AISHA CLUITT, Content Marketing Manager at Hobbycraft ‘Don’t spend hundreds on statement artwork when you can make your own! Fluid art

is a great way to create a

unique piece, all you need is a canvas, pre-mixed pouring paints and a tray. Pour one colour onto the canvas, then add a new colour by pouring this into the middle of the previous one, to enable the colours to layer on top of one another. Do this until the canvas is covered. Now it’s time to get messy – place the canvas onto a tray and move it around to create mesmerising patterns. Allow your canvas to dry then hang it on the wall in all its glory.’

Bohemia Alizarin wallpaper, £65 per roll; matt emulsion in Alizarin £48 per 2.5L, Graham & Brown