Are you trying to decide what DIY projects to do this weekend? If the look of your living room puts you off, it’s time to do something about it. Do-it-yourself projects don’t cost thousands of dollars and look great when done well. They can transform your living room from dull to picture-perfect in an instant. If you’re wondering how to go about it, here are a few tips to help you along.

Image via: Houzz

DIY Projects: Update Your Ceiling

Dull ceilings can reflect badly on beautiful living rooms. If yours is one, paint it and change all that. Use colorful paint to highlight the ceiling and keep the trim white for a striking visual effect. You can also place a ceiling medallion around a light fixture or fan to add architectural flair overhead. Ceiling medallions come in all styles, shapes, and sizes.

Image by: Emily Harris

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Give Your Sofa a New Lease of Life

If your sofa looks a bit worse for wear but still has a couple of years left in it, you can breathe new life into it. Cover it with a pre-made slip cover and add some colorful pillows. Brightly patterned and colored throw pillows inject instant personality to a neutral sofa.

DIY Projects: Revamp the Fireplace

A new gas insert and surround can make an unsightly fireplace a focal point and functional heating source. A gas or wood-burning insert enhances your home’s energy efficiency without dismantling the mantel or hearth. If it’s within your budget, get a new mantel and choose one with sufficient depth so you can display your pictures and other decorations. Do not be afraid to add moldings or paint your new mantel.

Image by: Katie Smitchko

DIY Projects: Conceal Wall Blemishes

If you’re tired of looking at holes or blemishes on the walls of your living room, conceal them using a knife and surfacing compound. Nail holes and other minor imperfections are easy to repair. For larger holes, place a patch of adhesive over the area and use a trowel to spread an all-purpose drywall compound on top. If the hole is large, you may have to leave the compound overnight to dry. Afterwards, paint over the patch and apply wall art.

Image by: David Duncan Livingston

Renovating your living room doesn’t have to come with a huge price tag. With just a little creativity and time, you can make your living space the sanctuary you’ve always wanted.

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Today, even gender is less of a defining factor for home DIY projects.  Websites like Pinterest, Etsy, and personal blogs rule the web-surfing time of men and women alike. And for good reason: DIY projects can be a fantastic way to personalize your designs within your budget. The Internet makes any home project seem possible for less than the brand-new version, and completely attainable, too.  Though it may be obvious that some people really know how to get crafty on a dime, that doesn’t mean you can save big by ‘pinning’ a home full of design projects to your to-do list.  Do a quick reality check to make sure that DIY light fixture is really worth it.

Image via: Bead & Cord

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Big savings on your DIY project or not?

Before you rush to your craft store with a list as long as your favorite Pinterest board, take a second look at the costs involved.  Unless you already have a well-stocked craft room of spray paint, cordless power tools, and yards of fabric, the expenses can add up faster than you think.  Price out all of the items you need, including the cost of rarely-used tools you’ll have to purchase and then compare it to a new version.  The difference for new and professional versus your sweat and raw materials may be less than you think!  If the savings is significant, though, keep reading.

Image via Martha Stewart

Built to Last

Speaking of new and professional, sometimes an inexpensive DIY project just isn’t worth the sacrifice in quality. This is especially true of furniture, where high-quality pieces are like a simple trench coat in your closet: you’ll keep it forever.  In the long run, you may save money by buying something that will outlast a homemade version.

Image via Thinking Threads

Time Away

The step-by-step instructions are easy, right?  Read instructions carefully, all the way through, and honestly evaluate the time it would take for you to complete.  If you aren’t a seamstress, that ruffled apron isn’t going to happen in a day.  If you’ve considered the money, value, and time required and the project is still a savings, then you’ve got work to do!  Stay sane, and choose your DIY projects wisely.  Happy crafting!

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We’ve all been there; planning to upgrade some part of our homes with a spot of weekend DIY, knocking through a wall or sewing a new sofa cover in order to make our living space that little bit more pleasant to live in. And then we begin…

Home DIY projects, whether they’re of the power tool variety or the more dainty furniture up cycling type, have a reputation for taking significantly longer than they should.

Delays in the completion of a DIY project can occur for a number of reasons, most of which are easily preventable with a bit of forward planning and dedication.

Image via: Bright Nest

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This post will outline some of the most common causes of delays and provide a easy solution, all to help you get your DIY project finished on time!

Having The Right Tools Ahead Of Time

They say a bad workman blames his tools, but when his tools are completely wrong for the job, who can blame him?

In fact, it is still technically his fault for not reading into what the best tools for his particular task were ahead of time and buying and/or renting before getting started on a project. Now our hypothetical workman is behind on his project and his home’s a mess. D’oh!

The Solution: Research the best tools for your particular job before you get started; you should find the information you need online for most tasks unless it is particularly wacky. Once you’ve decided what you need, shop around for the best deal. If you aren’t going to be using your tools again after the project, consider renting rather than buying what will inevitably become some very expensive shed ornaments.

Time Management

Time management is crucial to the successful completion of any project, DIY or not. However, for many people, the extent of their time management stretches to ‘I’ll get it done by next weekend…maybe’ and that’s about it.

The Solution: Try and put a rough estimate on the amount of time your project is realistically going to take. Make this is a quantifiable figure (such as hours) rather than a rough estimate (such as a weekend).

To do this, split your project up into smaller chunks and put a time estimate on each sub-project. Add these times together for your overall time. Try and stick to a schedule for each time – if it helps, imagine each hour in terms of value (i.e. time to spend with the kids) and you’ll soon have the motivation to get the project completed.

Image via: Shelterness

Get Yourself Inspired

One of the biggest reasons behind the hold-up of a DIY project is a complete lack of inspiration. Lacking the vision to see a project through to its end is a project killer and usually results in half-finished projects.

The Solution: Quite easy, this one. Read blogs, look at pictures of similar projects, watch videos on YouTube and generally whatever it was that made you want to pursue the project in the first place. Also picture what the finished product is going to look at, and imagine all the joy it’ll bring you and your family. Again, you’ll soon find yourself motivated!

Procrastination

Without a boss to look over your shoulder and make sure that you’re getting on with things, staying focused over the course of a DIY project can be difficult. Especially as you’re at home, where temptation comes in the form of easily accessible TV, computers and games consoles.

The Solution: Ironically, the best solution may be to stop working so hard. Research has found that those who take regular breaks tend to focus more in the short bursts of work they undertake than those who try and slog it out without any sort of break.

One technique you can use is the Pomodoro Technique, which encourages 25 minutes of work, then a five minute break, until you’ve completed 4 bursts of 25 minutes. At this point, you can have a whole 15 minutes, giving you time for a nice cup of tea. Having breaks can also be extremely useful for arduous DIY tasks that drain energy quickly.

Christopher Smith is writing on behalf of Excel Compressors, specialists in used air compressors for DIY purposes.

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You must have heard horrific stories about people going bankrupt after they renovate their homes. It is but obvious in this fast and expensive world. The truth is yes renovation does require hefty amounts of money but you do not necessarily have to be dependent on high-end brands and house décor shops to bring class to your house. Some effort is also required on your end. List down everything that needs replacement in your house and out of this list; jot down the things that require no professional service and you can modify things yourself by only a little effort

Image via: Darbyshire Designs

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Paint it up yourself

Painting the walls, shelves, wood and all is not a rocket science affair. You just need the tools and the paint to get it all started. With the help of your family, painting shall be the first step, the n according to the theme of colours you can gradually decorate the house. There are many forms of paints available in the market and if you do not have your hands practiced on brushes, you can paint the walls using a form roller brush. It is very easy to operate. You will also need moveable ladder cases to be able to reach all the ends of the walls.
If you want to give a new look to your floor and wooden ornaments you can also think about getting them polished, rather than having them changed. For this, professional help will be required. However, if you are familiar with the technique, you can get it done yourself.

Refreshing your home decor:

Buying each and everything for a new start can get very expensive. You can alter the things at home instead. Following are some of the tricks of giving new look to your old décor items:

1. Pick up all the wood tables:

Now when you have all the wooden tables of different sizes. You can sew leather and other fabrics over to make them new sitting pieces. It is very easy and anyone can do it with his or her hands. To give them more catchy looks, you can always add different sizes of woof pieces at the back or anywhere you like. Paint them in different colours or cover them with foam and then sew them with your favourite fabric.

Image via: Frisson

2. Make your own lanterns:

Lanterns’ are a new style statement this year and you can make your own at home. You will need few metal hangers, scissor, a cutter, spray paint of your favorite colour, plastic bottle. Next cut these bottles with the help of a cutter making a shape of a flower, cut as many flowers as you can and now with three iron hangers of different sizes. Large, medium and small make a round shape. Start spraying the flowers in your favourite colour with spray paints. Next with the help of thread tie the flowers around the three rings, you prepared earlier. You can join these three rings with a ribbon and place a small bulb inside. Your colourful lanterns’ are ready. Not just the floral lanterns, but there many lanterns shapes you can make, simple spray a glass jar, place some glitter and a bulb inside and do a lot more.

3. Add mirrors in the house:

Mirrors will not cost you much. Buy simple looking mirrors of different shapes and tell your kids who is aware of carving and designing to modify it into a good-looking mirror. Place them at every corner and room. This will give a bigger illusion to your house.

Be creative, you do not always have to spend huge amount of money to renovate your house. If your couches and seats have gone out of order, do not throw them away. Get them fixed from an affordable worker and add fabric of your choice. This will make them appear new. You can also do a lot with the already available resources in your house. You can also work as a plumber yourself with the tool kit and place picture collages of your family on every wall. Think about and think about budget. Renovating under low budget is not only handy but it can be a good fun time with family, learning about your creative side.

For more DIY ideas on Stagetecture, & Stagetecture’s YouTube Channel, click here.