The Guardian
Tips and tweaks to update your interiors - as featured here in The Guardian
It was a total joy working with Scarlett Conlon on her article for The Guardian, which shows the best budget ways to give your home and garden a boost! Those tips from me below with lots more to come!
I think the key to transforming your home affordably is to think alternatively. The biggest reward you can give your creativity when it comes to changing your home decor is to challenge what you know and the way you’ve done things before.
Before you begin, you have to strip away what you’ve learned or been taught over the years about home products and the traditional ways they are bought and used. Wallpaper is only for walls. Cupboards have doors. Curtains are for windows. Paint shouldn’t be patchy. Or my personal favourite - you have to get a professional tradesperson in to do the job.
In fact none of this is true. We all have creative solutions and ideas within us for our homes, you just have to give them a try. What’s the worst that can happen?!
Mirror Distress
Mirrors are a great way to bring some extra light into your home and to make rooms appear bigger than they are. But sometimes your budget won't stretch to that gorgeous antique, over the fireplace beauty you saw at your local auction house. And brand new mirrors work in contemporary homes, but aren’t the answer for every space.
If it's an aged look you're going for, instead of buying the finished product, a solution I’ve used before is to buy a pack of cheap mirrors from a high street store or local charity shop and distress them myself to add an aged patina. There are lots of great YouTube videos out there to follow to create an antique look. Make sure you adhere to safety regulations and have some patience. A few extra mirrors for trial and error are invaluable.
Reclamation Yard
Reclamation yards can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to visiting, but they can be a magnificent place to pick up salvaged and upcycled garden materials. Scaffolding planks can be sanded down to create a unique table top or as shelving. All sorts of furniture, bath tubs, garden pots, fire dogs, sculptures or even telephone boxes can be repurposed and turned into that wow piece within your garden or home.
