Gilding is super easy and cheap to start with very little stuff to store.
You can buy foils that look like gold, bronze or silver that aren't really, so they are cheap.
Practice on anything from plastic bottle caps to glass jars you used up and are going to throw out and it's pretty hard to mess up.
They also sell metallic finish foils in other colours or variegated patterns if you want something really different.
100 sheets will probably cover more things than you can think of to gild, so a beginner set will, for about £15- £20 keep you going for months.
You might want to upgrade your brush after a bit, but only if you get really into it.
Better brush will then last the rest of your life and they aren't that pricey.
You can buy more for around a fiver if you do manage to run out.
My kids have gilded gu pots, mouthwash bottle lids, snack boxes and way too many picture frames amongst many other random bits - they all look great.
I recently gilded a 3ft tall statue I had that was a bronze finish but I wanted it in silver to fit in with the rest of the room.
With not much practice you can gild pretty much anything, and everything you need will take up less space than a large packet of teabags.
It's also pretty much silent so you won't disturb anyone if you want to do it late at night or when kids are asleep.
Foils are really forgiving, so it doesn't matter if you are a bit clumsy and they break at first, they sort of melt together as you brush them until you can't see the joins at all.
You never need to move on to the real stuff so it never has to become expensive.
Looks pretty good too.
You can also use stencils to gild letters or shapes onto stuff if you like making cards or don't want to gild a whole area so you don't just have to turn everything one colour.
Just don't start with patterned foils as they do require a bit more practice in handling foils first.
It's not really my hobby, just one of the things I can do when I feel the need, but I've found everyone seems to love having a go so you might like it.