How to decorate your small living space to look bigger

 

If you are living in a small house or cottage, apartment, lodge, or caravan, there is plenty you can do to make your living space look and feel bigger.

Ambitious plans include removing or altering the position of a wall or screen, adding larger windows, glass or panel doors instead of solid doors, or building a separate level or platform for a bedroom or office. Major changes such as these will need professional advice and planning, but some simple decorating and home furnishing tips can also help, without any major expense or upheaval.

Decorate in neutral colours and think about creating clean straight lines in plain designs. Heavy, dark or floral wallpaper will make a room feel smaller.

Wooden flooring creates a feeling of space and is more practical to clean than light coloured carpet. Then, add a few carefully selected items in a strong, bright or bold colour to accent the neutral decor, such as cushions, a throw, or a vase. This will add taste and personality to the room without overdoing it. Try to keep surfaces clear, with only the minimum amount of ornaments. Hang a couple of your favourite pictures or photos if you want to, but be ruthless or the result will be cluttered and will make the room look smaller.

Choose furniture for your home that doubles up as storage; for example, an ottoman or laundry basket that can be used as seating, a stool for a nightstand, a sofa bed, futon or loft bed that can be used during the day, a nightstand with drawers or a unit that can be used as a mini-desk or bureau.

If space beside the bed is tight, hang a shelf instead, and use ceiling lights, wall lights, or sconces instead of table lamps. Store clothes and shoes out of sight in floor-to-ceiling wardrobes or cupboards so as not to waste space. Use any space underneath beds for storage; storage baskets or cubes for smaller or less-used items are ideal to keep everything tidy and organised. Hang a floor to ceiling mirror. Open up windows by removing heavy curtains and install wooden shutters to maximise the light coming into the room.

In the living area, choose an extending or drop leaf table, a nest of tables and chairs or stools that can be stacked or stored away in a cupboard. If possible, choose bespoke furniture that uses every bit of available space effectively; opt for built-in book shelves that fit into an alcove or small space.

Hang a mirror opposite a window to reflect the light, and look for clever artwork that creates an illusion of space – for example a tunnel effect or a forest scene. A wall-mounted television and a laptop or tablet instead of a PC will help to free up space and reduce clutter.

In the kitchen, reflective, light or white surfaces and cupboard fronts, as well as under cupboard lighting, will help the area to feel larger.

Give some thought as to how you can maximise the space that you have. By decorating in light colours, removing clutter, and making good use of every bit of room that you have, you can maximise your living area extremely effectively.

Downsizing, home decor and small space living are all topics discussed at www.frugalforums.co.uk  Join us free to take part in our moneysaving and budget challenges.

Frugal Kitchen Makeover.

Photo blog of a frugal kitchen makeover.

We have had wind and rain almost every day since we started painting the barn, which was the same day my old bike almost met it's untimely end. Since then, it's been stay indoors and 'try to make the house a home' weather, so the kitchen is being decorated.

I'm sure you will all remember the painting of the barn - we got one side done before bike damage and bad weather scuppered the plans. As a result, we haven't been out there for over a fortnight, despite having invested in 'Blossom', my super-cheap, pretty in pink, pedal bike.

Instead of fieldwork, I have spent some time trying to organise the long-standing chaos that is my kitchen.

Kitchen makeover - Giving a room a simple makeover needn't cost the earth. In this case, it has cost me £50.23 plus the time it took to rummage for make-do-and-mend bits and pieces and put everything together. I haven't used everything bought, so the budget is actually under £50, but I'll work out the exact costs later.

Painting the walls - Anything goes and most of us can find some magnolia paint about the house at most times. If not, why not? It is my second default colour, after white, and can be used pretty much anywhere in the house without looking out of place. So, my kitchen is the default white ceiling and magnolia walls, spare paint is one of those 'always kept in stock' items in the same way as flour or sugar.

Work space - No fancy fitted kitchen here, just a few base units bought in an Argos sale a couple of years ago plus a salvaged unit and some old work top. In order to make the most of it all, I need to be able to see it and use it without it being covered in clutter. Herein lies the reason for my love of hooks! I've found that the best way of screwing them into the wall is to add a strap of wood, so the weight is spread across the framework behind the plasterboard, so that's what I did. The strips of wood are all from scrap.

Kitchen roll dispenser - A pair of hooks saved from an old over door hanger have been turned upside down and used to suspend a smooth branch from a tree, which is now supporting the kitchen roll. Works just fine and it can be easily replaced when the time comes to do so.

Window dressings - Who needs curtains or blinds when you are looking out onto your own back garden? This is some hemmed fabric that a friend gave me several years ago; it used to hang along the front of my kitchen units at the last house we were in, hiding the state of the old units there. Now, I have simply looped it over the extending rail in the window and tied it up using ribbons that I had among my crafting supplies. I believe they arrived as a gift during the love bomb dropped on me by Frugal Queen during our participation in a previous money challenge. The jars on the windowsill contain herb cuttings and my celery stalk that is now growing me more celery.

Interior design - The most expensive purchase for this makeover was the wallpaper border, as I needed three rolls of it to go all the way around the kitchen and the adjoining (soon to be) cloakroom. The wooden wall hangings are homemade, shaped from off-cuts of board and painted by resident artist. The corner kitchen stand is of unknown age or origin, as it was purchased several years ago from a charity shop.

Culinary delights - Like most frugal cooks, I do like my favourite pans, herbs and spices kept to hand, so here is what I did with mine. Yes, it's a piece of wood with even more hooks! Most of the wood used has been reclaimed from an old wooden bed frame we dismantled. It seemed too good to use as fuel in the fire, so I'm glad we kept it. The little spice racks were bought for £1 each several years ago in, you guessed it, a pound shop. The chalk board, just visible on the top left, was homemade around 2008 and has served us well through three addresses, to date.

Designer décor - Can anyone remember this? I bought it around 2004 and it has travelled with us during our past 3 house moves. It holds about a gallon of water and we used to keep tiny tropical fish in it. I'm not sure what will go in here next, as tropical fish keeping is a bit of an expense, what with heating, lighting, filtration and the cost of the fish, especially if there's a lengthy power cut, so it may end up with nothing more than some tiny shrimps or a couple of small cold water fish. Whatever, it has now been scrubbed and set up in what I am calling my 'cosy corner café.

Cosy corner - When I say cost, I really do mean it. With no heater of any description in the kitchen, I decided to hang the 250w infra red heater from the ceiling. (Costs under 4p per hour to run.) It is one I have had for several years, meant for brooding chicks after they come out the incubator. I haven't needed it for that purpose since moving here because I haven't been breeding many hens. I have to say, the cat greatly appreciates this corner and has claimed the seat directly beneath the heat lamp! No doubt she will be even more delighted to have fish to watch swimming around, once we get some!

Food preparation areas - Few people even notice that I don't have an actual cooker. I have a twin hot plate that fits nicely into a shelf on the corner kitchen stand for storage. Along with this, I have a microwave, slow cooker, steamer, toaster, bread-maker and the mini oven rescued from a charity fair back in 2008. I am no cordon bleu chef, so this lot does me just fine. The old work top has the stainless steel worktop saver bought via eBay on top, providing an excellent cutting and food prep surface that is easy to keep hygienically clean.

Cloakroom - Adjoining the kitchen is a small hallway, so this has now been painted and decorated to match the kitchen. The freezer has been moved in there and I am currently hanging shelves and coat hooks to make this into a walk through storage cloakroom. It isn't quite finished yet, but it should be soon. I've now found a suitable length of wood to attach to the wall for adding a load more hooks.

Here endeth my wet weather interior design exploits - for now!

Eco Arts - Meanwhile, out in the studio, resident artist completed the commissioned driftwood heron and it has now been delivered to its delighted new owner, with visiting rights agreed.

October Challenge Round-up - This has been a rather spendy month, even although our challenge was to have an austere October, buying only what we really needed and charting every single penny spent. Results for these challenges can all be found in www.frugalforums.co.uk, where you can also follow the November challenges. Hopefully, I may be able to entice a few more of you to start posting there and taking part, as we have some fabulous plans for future projects and, as always, these are all free to join.

NYK, Frugal Blog

Make Do and Mend in May

Make Do and Mend in May

Having attended the Home Renovation Show in Glasgow’s SSEC at the weekend, I returned to Frugaldom filled with ideas and impatient to get back to doing something constructive inside the house. The kitchen cannot be done until the bathroom (shower room) is in reasonable shape but impatience has got the better of me… I’m going to make do and mend what I can in the bathroom so I can plough on with the kitchen!

I have set myself a budget of just £30 to give the bathroom a quick makeover, making do with whatever I can find lying about the house and mending anything that can be salvaged as useable. Making the wall panelling by recycling old wooden window blinds was a plan I had been toying with for several weeks, so… read more here

Paving the Way for our Tiny House

Broom in bloom!

As you may know, I have been planning to totally refurbish the old chicken house at the bottom of the garden to turn it into a tiny house, suitably kitted out for wildlife watching. At the moment, it is used as storage for all sorts of useful junk and the hens are still living in the run but all of this is about to change. Here's where we're 'at', so far...

Our garden is long and narrow, pretty much split into four different zones. First we have the patio and kitchen garden and then the main garden (as seen above), which includes the greenhouse, polytunnel, vegetable plots, herb spirals and soft fruit. This is also where the rabbits and quail live… Red more here

Scottish Multimedia | What is Eco Art?

Scottish Multimedia | What is Eco Art?

Eco art can be many things but what does it mean to us, here in Frugaldom? Eco normally refers to ecology and the environment but it also relates to our economy, so the Thrift Cottage studio has settled on a combination of all of these things - environmental art, eco-friendly art and economical, or affordable, art.

Creating something that is visually attractive, thought-provoking or unique is what art is about here. It's not about investment pieces by the great Masters of Fine Art, it's about enhancing our own environment in ways that are appealing. Better still if those artistic creations can be hand crafted in Thrift Cottage Studio - the name we have given to the old out-building in the garden that has slowly but surely been showing signs of nearing refurbishment completion. It's not exactly a modern art gallery but it's big enough for what's needed.

Since moving here, we have been trying to … continue

Day 9 of Extremely Frugal February - Building a Bar!

Day 9 of 28 - Cleaning, Clutter, Cup Cakes and Kitchen Chaos

Porridge for breakfast, as usual, then lunch was a bowl of the home made spicy lentil soup. There's enough defrosted to do us tomorrow again - just as well we like it! I'll need to make another loaf in the morning as the last one is finished and I forgot today! I did, however, end up baking some cup cakes.

It's been a busy day of non-spending. I had fully intended getting more of the pink fluffy blanket knitted for grand daughter, but time evaporated! I did remember to take a carton of Bolognese sauce out of the freezer for dinner and then, after much procrastination (while sat in front of the computer) I got off my bum and made a new list on the kitchen chalk board.

First up was pulling out the kitchen trolley to empty and clean it, which I did. That's when I spotted the cartons of cup cake mix and sponge mix - bargain buys from Approved Food a while back - got distracted and ended up making up a pack of the cup cake mix. Meanwhile, the entire contents of the trolley are all over the kitchen units. But worse still, I had another money-saving 'brainwave' in the middle of cleaning said unit!

As you know, I am still very excited about my 'new' sofa and the fact that we now have a 'proper' living room. H has glossed around the window today plus he had made a couple of selves for the little window alcove using surplus flooring, so he painted those this afternoon, too. It makes such a huge difference, even although we need to keep the ancient single glazing for a while longer. Inside looks fresh and it is cosy with all the new insulation and the fire lit. It makes perfect space for entertaining guests. All these thoughts were going through my mind as I washed and dried the kitchen unit and then it occurred to me! I should create my home bar right now!

A home bar always struck me as being the ultimate luxury 'must have' in the entertaining stakes. I had seen a few, mostly built-in and involving wall mounted optics, elaborate lighting, curves, polished bar tops and accompanying bar stools. Well, those things aren't strictly necessary, are they? All that's really needed is a flat surface and some storage space! I wheeled my kitchen trolley through to the living room... then remembered that I had stacked the other two big plastic cases full of paperwork in the corner to double as a makeshift lamp table! DISTRACTION ALERT!

Finishing emptying the boxes of paperwork was on my list! I had already done one of them and turned it into a footstool, so I set about emptying the next one. A second storage foot stool could be on its way soon but the third box isn't, yet emptied. There's a limit to how quickly you can check through several years' worth of paperwork before separating it for burning, shredding, composting or binning. The stove had been raging all afternoon!

Meanwhile, I slotted the kitchen trolley where the boxes had been and then raked out the dusty booze bottles from the cupboard below the stairs. It's probably just as well that alcohol doesn't go off, because most of mine has been accrued from gifts over the past few years, then set aside to open and share once we had a place to entertain friends. Well friends, this is it! I just need a few more glasses, as mine are made up from the free ones you used to get with 'Nutella', several years ago!

The trolley does not look out of place at all in the room, as I have covered it with curtains identical to the ones I have hanging in the window. Looking in the living room door (or window, if it's the neighbours walking past) you can't even tell it's a kitchen trolley. You can just see it in the back left hand corner of the photograph, disguised as a lamp table behind my precious frugal sofa.

Next up is making the second foot stool, raking in the out-buildings for the coffee tables we salvaged and, of course, sorting out the kitchen chaos. Dinner, as usual, was late and contrary to what I was expecting to make, the contents in the freezer tub turned out to be chunky roast red pepper and onion soup! I boiled up some penne pasta, poured the soup over the top, topped it all with grated cheese and popped it under the grill in the mini oven. After about 15 minutes, it came out looking slightly Mediterranean - I called it dinner!

That's it for today - kitchen is still chaotic, log burner has burned a stack more paper and cardboard sticks, I used about 10kg of coal to give the house a blast of warmth throughout and heat a tank of water and the shelves in the living room are all ready for a second coat of paint tomorrow. Oh! And I found my old chess set while emptying boxes, so that's something else that can go into the 'new' living room. I am no further forward with either grand daughter's fluffy blanket or my rag rug!

NYK, Frugaldom

Day 4 of Extremely Frugal February - Homemade Soup & a Teapot Warmer

Just Another Frugal Day in Penny Paradise

Apologies for a belated post but the day escaped from my grasp while I went off in search of some more furniture and attempted to catch up with all the frugal news.

Spending was at an all-time low after the normal porridge breakfast, a pasta lunch and then just soup and pudding for dinner tonight. At most, I reckon the food total amounted to under £1 including cooking it and I didn't light the fire, just kept the log burner going all day. I'll call it £4 in total so it covers the tea and coffee.

Today's Homemade Soup

I have made about 3.5 litres of the stuff and I'm calling it spicy ham and lentil with pasta bits. I started off with about 4 litres of stock made from stock cubes I'd bought on offer at only 10p per pack! They were past BBE date but that matters not a jot to me, it's cheap stock at twice the price. Added to that was about 300g of red lentils (30p-ish?) and 2 sachets of something called Spicy Tomato and Basil Orzo. When made up as per directions on the pack, it tastes a bit like mini pasta with a spicy sauce... I didn't make it up as directed, I poured the dried contents of both packs in with the lentils and stock and let it slow cook for a couple of hours. The Orzo cost, I think, 5 packs for £1 from Approved Food at some point and this box was found lurking at the back of my cupboard. (Orzo is tiny pasta shaped like grains of rice.) The soup tastes lovely, it's spicy hot and it's very filling. However, if you are anything like me, you'll have a stock of 10 packs for £1 strawberry whip, so soup and pudding is always an option.

We caved and had supper tonight - Herby naan bread lightly toasted with a sprinkle of cheese - which would be sheer, unadulterated luxury if I had paid full price for the Naans and cheese - but, of course, I didn't. It was, however, still a good 50p for the two of us and it wasn't strictly necessary. Now I need to eat double portions of veggies for the next few days to make up for today's wacky meals.

Hints and tips for use during power cuts

Does anyone know what this is?

Look closely and have a guess, if you haven't already read about it elsewhere on my blog, forums or other web pages.

Yes, you are correct! That is a light shining through the holes and it throws some pretty patterns on dark walls during power cuts.

Here comes the next clue...

This contraption is made from two of the parts that make up my three-tier steamer and I burn tea light candles inside it so I have some place to warm plates or keep the tea pot warm while the kettle is on the stove. I simply invert the top tier to give it a flat surface for the teapot or can leave it the correct way round for sitting plates over to keep them and their contents warm rather than switch on the mini oven. (Last time I included this in a post was when demonstrating how uneconomical it was to attempt to warm a room using candles in the wake of the resurgence of the 'candle heater' post on Facebook.)

And now the main reason for my belated post this evening - I have found myself an absolutely fabulous bargain sofa for the living room and have arranged for some help to collect it. (Neighbours are helping tomorrow night.) My only niggling worry is that there's yet another storm howling around us at the moment, bringing more torrential rain and hail, but the sofa will have to be moved over 20 miles in an open top trailer... I suspect we may need to reschedule if this awful weather continues unabated. I have until Saturday to collect my fantastic sofa that I've only seen in photos - it looks stunning to me! The current owner is giving this away and I feel so lucky at finding such a treasure in the free ads that it is ridiculously exciting! :)

Right now, I am like a kid awaiting Santa, desperate to see my new piece of furniture! It will provide a place to sit other than the futon bed settee that has served as a couch for the past 11 years and travelled around 5 houses with me. (That deserves a bit of rest and recuperation.) The 'new' sofa also has storage underneath it - oh the joys! Even more storage for my crafting goodies, magazines, books and whatever; I really cannot wait to see this! If it needs a cover throwing over it, I'll use one of my big knitted blankets.

Tomorrow also sees the expected delivery of my bargain carpet. If 'Lady Luck' smiles on me, there may be a 'proper' living room beginning to take shape in time for my next blog update.

Frugal Footstools and Crafty Storage Space

Upcycling, Recycling and Making Creative Storage Furniture

Get the kettle on, pour a cuppa and get comfy. I'll apologise now for doing two posts today (second one to follow) but this is, after all, extremely frugal February and blogging is free.

We are making some progress with the eco-renovations, albeit very slowly. The 'new' living room has now been painted using up what we had available to us: needless to say, it's magnolia walls, white ceiling and white woodwork. I have a few bits and pieces that can be reused, like a curtain rail, curtains, book shelves and a chair rescued before it found its way to the tip, plus I have the £4 mirror I bought from a charity shop last year and a little coffee table that got diverted here rather than being binned.

Ideally, I want a warm comfy room with plenty of storage space so I can sit by the fireside with my feet up, relaxing and reading, knitting, crocheting or rug making. A storage foot stool was definitely on the list of wants, even if it wasn't an absolute necessity.

I now have a storage footstool and I love it!

A few years ago, I invested in several large plastic storage containers. These have been used for dry goods in the kitchen pantry, breakables during house moves and paperwork that now no longer needs to be kept, so I am clearing them out. This afternoon, I managed to empty the first of three. Most of the contents were recycled into fuel for the fire, but I did find a few handy bits and pieces for future use.

The cat found a use for almost everything!

First box emptied and a rummage through my fabric and crafting stash soon netted me enough to complete the project that I have had in mind for some time.

About to tackle the lid

Hot glue guns are fabulous - I've had mine for several years now and still manage to either burn my fingers or stick stuff to my nails but I wouldn't be without it. So, hot glue gun at the ready, along with an old pillow, part of old fleece blanket and some velour/velvety fabric I inherited from my late aunt, who had obviously been curtain making at some point.

The box lid will become the top of my storage foot stool

First, I glues the pillow at each corner and attached it to the lid of my plastic storage container. The overall dimensions of the container are approximately 70cm x 40cm x 40cm, so these are by no means small. The padded lid was then covered in the fleece and glued around the inside rim to hold it all in place.

The only bit of sewing was for the main cover

Next, I measured and cut my brown fabric to fit all the way around the container and then machine stitched it together for quickness. I could easily have hand sewn it but the novelty of having access to my inherited sewing machine hasn't worn off me yet. :)

Adding a decorative finishing touch

After covering the container in the velour, I secured it underneath and inside using glue. Among my stash, I found some braid and stuck that across the top of the lid. I'd have liked it to have gone all the way around the lid, but didn't have enough of it. (Aunt must have made lampshades, as there is a box filled with off cuts of this sort of stuff - it was like a real treasure trove to me when cousin gave me it!)

My crafty storage footstool

The entire project took me less than 3 hours to complete, even allowing time to rummage for fabric, sew the cover and let the glue set before packing all my current crafting projects inside for easy access while sitting with my feet up in front of the fire. There is enough fabric left to make a second one almost identical to this one, barring having to use slightly different braid.

Extremely frugal February is already throwing up some fun activities to help protect the finances.

Moneysupermarket.com and the #HomeImprovementHero Competition

Is it possible to change the look, feel and even functionality of a room on a £50 budget? (Yes, it is!)

My decorated pin board.

 




The view that greets me.

DIY will always be the 'in thing' for those of us living on a tight budget so when I was asked by Moneysupermarket.com to take part in their Home Improvement Hero competition for bloggers, I was rather excited by the prospect, despite the fact that I didn't actually have a fully renovated room to decorate!

When someone asks, "Can you create something memorable in your home with a budget of £50?" and then gives you £50 to try it, the challenge is most definitely on, so here goes!

This is the room that I've chosen to give a frugal makeover. I'm almost certain that most folks already have a proper wall to decorate, so excuse us while we put that back together after having had a stove fitted a few months ago.
 

 

This is my room for transformation - it's a multi-functional room in as far as it's my sitting room, office, crafting room, dining room and spare room, plus it also serves as a dumping ground. If I can turn this room around on a budget of £50, I'll be over the moon!

 

I started by researching what was needed to complete the chimney wall, as employing a joiner was out of the question, then hit the online stores (Amazon) via my favourite cash-back site. My first purchase was fire cement, hopefully enough to complete the job that needed doing. Meanwhile, my long-suffering, often bemused house-share set to work raking out bits and pieces from the out-building and shed that could be used to help cut costs.
 

Because we are in the midst of a renovation, there are plenty of bits and pieces lying about the place, mainly salvaged leftovers from joinery or building work that has been done. I opted for the 'mosaic effect' with the plaster board when reinstating the chimney wall, rather than buying a full new sheet. It is insulated/foil backed plaster board that the joiner OK'd to fit on the chimney wall, as there's already a steel plate fitted in the area subject to the greatest heat. (Frugal choice - the metal radiates more heat when the stove is lit and it can't bend, crack or break.) Plasterboard, should you need any, is relatively inexpensive and can be bought from most builders' merchants from around £5 per 8' x 4' sheet.
 

There was still a hole in the wall around the stove flue pipe, so I needed strong wire mesh to bridge the gaps and give grip to the fire cement. This problem was solved by using the leftover grill mesh that had been saved from a disposable barbecue. (I hate throwing anything in the bin that could find a future use and this is a prime example of waste not, want not.)

 

Here in Scotland we don't tend to finish off our new walls by plastering, we often opt for taping and filling the joints and then just sanding them. The tape costs less than £5 a roll and the jointing plaster costs about £1.30 per kilo of the mix-it-yourself variety and we had some of each already, so no need to buy.

While contemplating how to decorate the chimney wall, I decided that the old radiator, amongst other things, needed smartening up a bit, so I bought a little tin of radiator enamel (£2.99), a wall transfer/decal (£3.79), a roll of wallpaper (£10.85), packet of paste (£1.55), a pasting brush (£2.27) and a tube of gold-coloured artists' paint (99p). If anything seems expensive, it's because I don't have a car, so I need to order online and account for delivery costs.

 

 

My nest of tables have been with me since 1992 and have gone from house to house for many moves, so it's safe to say that they had seen better days. It's funny how some things have more sentimental value than others, isn't it?

 

This table is one I rehomed when a neighbour was planning on sending it to the tip. (We used it at last weekend's barbecue.) As you can see, it isn't all that different from my old nest of tables, so I set about preparing everything for painting.

 

Scraper, sandpaper, some primer/undercoat and the remains of a tin of gloss got rummaged from the shed - the table was first to be scraped and sanded to remove all the flaking, peeling varnish. The legs were then removed to sand them.

 

Once scraped and sanded, everything got wiped down with a damp cloth to remove any leftover flakes and dust before undercoating with primer. This should give a good base for the gloss paint so that it doesn't simply run off the wood.

 

 

The things many TV programmes or magazines may not tell you:

• Non drip, fast drying gloss isn't neither non drip nor fast enough drying when using it outside in the blazing sunshine!
• The least little breeze and you have newspaper and dust stuck to your lovely new paintwork
• Bugs, flies and midges seem to be attracted to paint and get stuck!
• Bathing said stuck bugs, flies and midges in white spirit does not revive them!
• Make sure your hair is firmly tied out of the way when kneeling down to paint the legs of a table, especially if there's a breeze!

My crafting stuff was taking up far too much space it cardboard boxes, so a chest of drawers was commandeered and given a quick coat of gloss. Surprisingly, it stuck to the white veneer. I bought these flat-packed from Argos as part of a set about 10 years ago, so they have been dismantled and carted around the past 4 or 5 house moves and were rather the worst for wear. It was surprising how well they came up after painting them!

All we could find in the shed was magnolia and brown emulsion - it was either that or a nougat-salmon pink (I don't think so)! Brown and cream won, so the chimney wall got done chocolate brown and the walls got a freshen up with magnolia. With only one roll of wallpaper, I opted to do only the top half of two walls at the sitting room end of this multi-functional room.

A change of curtains from patterned to plain, which I already had, helped the transformation. Raking through my crafting supplies uncovered several suitable ribbons to turn into tie-backs. To attach them to the wall, I used a couple of old curtain rings and simply tied the ribbons through the loops.

Colourful ribbons can brighten up anything in minutes, so never throw away any bows, ribbons, cord or string that comes your way. Guaranteed, if you decide to follow a frugal living path through life, you'll find a use for almost anything. Curtain hoops can be found in charity shops for 10p each, in my experience, but I already had a few in my 'stash'.


Cheap artwork is another easy way to quickly transform the look and feel of a room and I was lucky enough to get some cheap picture frames. With what was left of the roll of wallpaper, I managed to cut enough to fill the five frames, which got hung on the chimney wall. They really are quite effective and I couldn't ask for a better match for the walls, could I?

There are always people decluttering, so when a friend offered me a few bits and pieces, her £5 flat-packed shoe rack seemed like an absolute bargain. It was soon assembled and turned into storage for DVDs, CDs and board games.

Time to polish my brass, but I have no brass cleaner. No problem, homemade will do for now:

 

Half a cup of vinegar

Teaspoon of salt

Flour to mix it all into a paste

 

The homemade version isn't nearly as good at cutting though the tarnish

as the commercially manufactured chemical version, but it does give a bit of a shine. There's also the fact that this was free to make, as I had the ingredients in the kitchen.

This gorgeous brass urn was one I rescued a few years ago, so it has now been brought indoors to sit by the stove. I'll add a pot plant as soon as I have repotted something suitable from the garden. (This was before it was polished.)

Now for a few 'before and after' photos to show the overall transformation as it was taking place.



The 'new' chimney wall

The stove got a good clean, as did the steel back plate. The brass items, at long last, have been hung alongside the (non) fireplace. The toasting fork is great for marshmallows when the stove's lit in winter!

Corner 1 - this has become my entertainments corner



The shelves were rearranged and then filled with my books. The shoe rack is now home to DVDs and board games, with a couple of boxes of crafting supplies tucked safely alongside. The rail along the middle of the papered wall is made up from two lengths of skirting board.

Corner 2 - the sitting room part of this multi-functional space



The one roll of wallpaper was enough to do both of these walls when only papering the top half of them and it helps that we have quite low ceilings. The couch is actually a double bed settee / futon, so this space also doubles as a guest room.

The nest of tables - sanded down, painted and decorated



Rejuvenating the tables was a very straightforward project - scrape the flaking varnish, sand everything down to give it a rough surface, undercoat and then gloss it. The difficult part was managing steady hand-eye co-ordination when picking out the bits to highlight with the gold paint.

The salvaged table - before and after.





This table has replaced the bench set, which was only being stored here temporarily. It has now been dismantled and stored elsewhere until such times as the other room gets refurbished.


Corner 3 - my work space has been transformed and I love it!



This is my office corner - a bit of tidying and decluttering has made all the difference, with the pin board now painted in gold and hung above the desk and the transfer on the wall really sets it off, in my opinion. I love the quote on the wall:

 

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass

It's about learning to dance in the rain"





Corner 4 - crafting and hobbies corner



I've left plenty of hanging space, as this room will also double as my guest room - but this challenge has prompted me to push on and get the cloakroom painted and put to proper use. The crafting materials have all been packed into the drawers and my 'McGonks' are stored in the baskets on the top shelf. Décor reflects my past by way of a few items relevant to long forgotten challenges from the late 90's. (A couple of personally identifiable items of significant, sentimental value have been omitted from the photo.)

How I spent my £50.00

• Fire Cement 3Kg - £8.14 (1 x 2kg & 1 x 1kg)
• Roll of wallpaper - £10.85
• Wallpaper paste - £1.55
• Pasting brush - £2.27  
• Radiator enamel - £2.99
• Transfer/decal - £3.79
• 2 lengths of skirting - £9.00
• 5 photo frames - £3.00 (Secondhand)
• Shoe rack - £5.00 (Secondhand)
• Small tube of gold acrylic paint - 99p

 

Total - £47.58  (Balance remaining - £2.42p)

This has been an absolutely fabulous challenge set by the guys at Moneysupermarket.com! There were a few times during the preliminary stages that I was almost pulling my hair out at the enormity of it. The room really was like a storm that wouldn't pass, so I learned to dance in the rain and did the best possible with what was available. The makeover has created an illusion -  almost like several rooms emerging from one, each corner becoming an easily defined space without looking out of place.

My visitors are now welcome anytime and I'm sure those who have sampled the delights of 'indoor camping' for an overnight stay here will be suitably impressed with these amazing changes. Frugaldom welcomes all comments relating to what has been achieved on this small budget and has to ask the question, did I make the grade as a 'Home Improvement Hero'? I think I did and am not ashamed to say so. :)

Find out what others achieved on similar budgets by checking out the hashtag #HomeImprovementHero on Twitter or Facebook and thank you for following my frugal entry into the competition.

Frugaldom.