DIY Decorating Tips

Giving your home a new look is exciting, but it can be expensive too. Sometimes, people hire interior designers and decorators to make everything look just the way they want it. If you have the budget for that, great. Many people don’t, so it’s down to them to carry out the decorating for themselves. 

You might think that putting on a coat of paint, or some wallpaper is super easy, but it’s also very easy to get wrong. Poor decorating can make your home look unfinished and will probably irritate you for years to come too unless you decide to try again or get the professionals in. 

Prep the area well

Many DIY and decorating tasks come down to preparation. For example, if you’re painting the walls of a room you need to make sure that the surfaces are ready. This includes any drywall repair and removal of any surface dust or grease. You need to make sure that the paint has the very best surface possible to go on. If you paint over a greasy or dusty wall, it will show in the finished result. 

The same goes for repainting doors and skirting, you should sand down the area first to get rid of any uneven paint and then clean down the area thoroughly from all of the sawdust. 

Buy good decorating materials

A lot of the time, you get what you pay for with decorating supplies. If you choose the cheapest paintbrushes you can find and the cheapest, thinnest paint, you’re probably not going to end up with the result you want and you’re going to need to work a lot harder too. A cheap paint may need three or four coats to look right whereas a better quality one might take only one or two. 

You don’t necessarily need to buy the most expensive decorating supplies you can find either, but aim for the sweet spot in the middle where you’ll find the balance between quality and value. 

Watch how-to videos

YouTube is filled with great how-to videos to help out newbie decorators. Watch as many of these as possible and you might find that you pick up some great tips that you hadn’t thought of before. You may even get some inspiration for design ideas for your new look. If you’re doing something a little more complicated, such as wallpapering, this is even more important. 

Take your time

Rushing a decorating job is a sure way to make mistakes that you either have to clean up or look at for years to come. It’s important to go at a speed that still allows you to pay attention to detail. It’s this finish that will make the difference between doing a great job and doing a sloppy one. You’ll be glad you took a little extra time when you look at how great your home is. 

Many people get nervous when it comes to decorating themselves, but there’s no need to be. Just follow these tips to get your home looking just the way you want it to.