Popular Rooms in Your Home to Refresh By Yourself*

It’s a well known fact that as the season of Spring rolls in, people start looking at their house a little differently. The term Spring Clean isn’t a thing without reason good reason, but sometimes a clean, or a clear out just isn’t enough, sometimes something needs to change or be updated. For a lot of people, money is tight at the moment, we’re facing a bit of a cost of living crisis and we won’t really know the extent of it for a few months, which is probably why a lot more people are looking at DIY, and making home improvements more affordable. Many people had a taster of it during the COVID lockdowns as they tried to fill their days and maybe they even had a taste of it now. I know from experience it’s a great feeling to step back and look at your own handy work!

Brandon Hire Station have been crunching the numbers to determine which city here in the UK is the MOST do it yourself and I don’t think you’ll be too surprised at which city is sitting at the top. Although I have to admit, I was to see Edinburgh, Newcastle and Glasgow so far down the list, given it’s a known anecdote that we’re all incredibly tight when it comes to money up here (I can say this as I’m very northern, born and bred!)

And because I have lived up North most of my life, I’ve always watched my mother tackle the DIY, so I know exactly which rooms are the best for you to refresh yourself if you have that itch to scratch!

The Living Room

It’s often suggested by professionals that your living room be the one you decorated first. This is because it has the most foot traffic and is quite often the room that is used by all members of the family as well as any guests. Because it’s used the most, it often feels like it needs to be updated faster than other rooms in the house. While some people like to decorate to stay on trend, other people have no choice to decorate, perhaps they have small kids or animals that mean it ends up looking a little worse for wear. Thankfully, it’s one of the easier rooms to decorate without the need for hiring an outside contractor. You can refresh the whole room just by doing one of two things, such as painting the woodwork or walls, or even just replacing the light fixtures and soft furnishings. At most you may want to changing the flooring, but even these days you can do it yourself with the help of YouTube.

The Main Bedroom

If I’m completely honest, my room is pretty much a complete dumping ground. No one goes in it except for me and the cat so therefore anything that doesn’t get a home, it ends up there. However, if I was to move and had more storage, the master bedroom is one of the easiest to refresh with a little bit of DIY. Most furniture these days comes in flat packs, and you can even get mattresses that come in the mail all rolled up so that getting a new bed doesn’t even require the work it used to. Like with the lounge, a lick of paint, and a change of bedspread can really lift a room and won’t cost you the earth.

The Dining Room

While the kitchen is a big job, and one that would probably require you to hire in some outside work, the dining room doesn’t need to be. If you’re lucky enough to have a dining room that is used for that purpose reupholstering could be the way forward. Give your chairs and table a new lease of life with a coat of paint and some new fabric and you can completely change the feel of a room with what you hang on the wall. Maybe go for a DIY photo gallery and display all your favourite family photos?

The Multi-Purpose Room

You know that room in the house that doesn’t really have a purpose? It could be a;

• Spare bedroom
• An Office
• Storage room
• Play room

But in actual fact it just ends up being all of the above? Yes that room could be completely repurposed and still work for all these things and you would 100% be able to do it yourself. It’s easy to source great storage solutions these days and buy furniture that can work for multiple purposes such as a sofa bed, or a fold away desk. It doesn’t need to be a huge job, but a few small changes could help you feel so organised!

The Kids Room

Finally, the kids room. Now this is a project to get everyone involved in and would be great to start during the school holidays. When I was a kid I used to love when we were allowed the chance to change our room (I shared with my sister) and every time we did it we were allowed to help. It was the only room we were allowed to help in. I’ve helped strip walls and paint and build furniture. I’ve helped clear out. Sometimes just changing the way furniture is positioned in a huge deal to a kid and can make the world of difference to their personal space. Kids are easily pleased, it doesn’t have to cost the earth and it keeps everyone busy. Who says you need a holiday to get in some solid family bonding?!