Transform your home and garden in a flash, with these simple and stylish decorating ideas you can do in a long weekend. What’s more, they all come in at under £100!
Feature Anna-Lisa De’Ath
Transform your kitchen cupboards
There’s no need to break the bank in order to revive kitchen cabinets that are looking past their best. All you need is a can of paint and some elbow grease
STEP 1 Before you start painting, remove the handles from your cabinets and keep them in a safe place. If you’re planning to replace the handles, fill in the holes with wood filler and sand it smooth once dry.
STEP 2 Cover your working area with a dust sheet to protect it. Give the surface of the doors a good scrub with sugar soap to remove any dirt, grease and grime. If you can, remove the doors to paint them as it will make the job easier. If not, don’t worry, you can still paint them while they are attached – you just need to paint carefully to avoid drips and sagging.
STEP 3 Choose a hardwearing, scrubbable paint to give your cabinets a long-lasting finish. Satin, gloss, eggshell, multi-surface and specialist cupboard paints will all work well for this project. You could choose one colour for the whole kitchen, or be bold and opt for two shades for an on-trend look. We recommend painting your wall cabinets in a pale colour and your base units or island in a darker shade.
STEP 4 For a smooth finish, apply the paint using a mini foam roller. However, if your cabinet doors have intricate mouldings, a 1-inch fine-tipped synthetic paintbrush will get into all the nooks and crannies and reduce tramlines. Apply the paint in thin layers, rather than overloading the roller or brush, to avoid drips and sagging. Apply at least two coats of paint to your doors for a durable finish (three is even better), allowing each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next one.
STEP 5 If your surface finish is a little uneven or has drips, sand back the problem areas gently when dry, using fine-grit sandpaper, before adding another thin layer of paint.
STEP 6 Once the painted doors are thoroughly dry, reattach the door handles. If you’re adding new handles, mark and drill new holes for the handles before screwing them into position.
Create a wow-factor cloakroom
It’s easy to crea
