DIY Project

Pro DIY ideas for your home

DIY Project

A bit like painting or learning to play a musical instrument, many people feel as if ‘do it yourself’ is a category that some people are simply born at being good or not good at. However, this is not always the case. By starting with small and simple projects, you can help to grow your confidence and move onto much more complex, demanding tasks. Here are a few DIY projects to try out, with varying levels of difficulty.

Reclaimed wood caddies

If you are eco-minded, then reclaimed wood could be a great resource for you. You can find it at scrap and lumber yards, or alternatively, you could even put something you already have to use. If you did woodwork at school, this will bring back memories, as this will require you to draw out shapes, saw out those pieces and bond them together either using wood glue or if you’re feeling confident, nails. Once you’ve done this once, you’ll find it easier to repeat time and time again.

Reupholster an old chair

This DIY trick is surprisingly easy; just have some self-belief! All this project entails is detaching the seat padding, removing staples and replacing both the fabric and padding. This may require you to buy new padding, new fabric, and a staple gun. Once you’ve purchased all of these components, it’s just a process of assembly – measuring out fabric and staple-gunning it really doesn’t require a tailor’s knowledge. Just be extremely careful when handling the staple gun – take your time.

A custom headboard

Custom bedroom headboard

Once you’ve got confident cutting out wood and bonding it, you may wish to move on to a more advanced project. A custom bed headboard is a great way to put your new skills to the test. This project will require you to cut out a piece of plywood to the right size and shape of your bed, and so you will need space to saw through the wood safely. A nifty little way to decorate your headboard is to use rubber foot mats to create a custom relief shape: paint them and nail them to the plywood and no one will ever know they were sold separately.

Cover an old frame with fabric

If you have a large, feature mirror hanging in one of your rooms, and feel as if the wood has seen better years, you actually have a few options to play with (and the same goes for artwork frames). You can sand and re-paint the wood, re-varnish it, or even upholster it with fabric. This will require you to carefully measure and glue the fabric onto the wood (doing this hastily will result in creases and air-bubbles) but otherwise, the skill need to do this is incredibly low.

If you’re planning on trying your hand at some DIY this year then don’t be intimidated. By starting on small-scale projects, you can build up your ability. For example, cutting out wood for a small accessory could give you the skills to build a bed frame or even pieces of furniture.