Can I get suggestions for cheap and easy DIY?

[penniesandpounds]

We can just about afford to buy in the area we want to live in but it will be several years before we can renovate. We won't be able to change things like the kitchens for a good 5 years at least.
The properties we are looking at aren't ancient but a bit dated and could do with a bit of a spruce up to brighten them up a bit and make them a bit nicer and more presentable.

We would be on a budget as we want to save as much as we can for the actual renovations. Could anyone give any tips, suggestions, ideas or even links to helpful websites where we could get some inspirations and tutorials from to do some DIYs?

Thankyou in advance.

There is a great facebook group called 'DIY on a budget - official'.

People from all walks of life (and with all kinds of tastes!) but some great ideas for transforming rooms on a budget.

fresh paint, nice curtains new bedding and accessories like bright rugs are good cheap ways of brightening up a house

We bought second hand kitchen doors from someone selling to upgrade to the latest and greatest. We added a newer laminate worktop, which we cut down by hand and our kitchen looked 100x better.

If that's too much, there's always the option to paint kitchens.

YouTube has everything you need!

Facebook Marketplace

Paint over wallpaper. Who wants to be stripping wallpaper if you're going to be knocking down walls in 2 years time?

Clean, paint and replace grotty seals in the bathroom. Replace floor coverings in small rooms using sale bargains.

Depending on your tiles, you might be able to make a quite dramatic change with a grout pen. We inherited cream brick-laid tiles with cream grout and looks much better with the grout dark grey. Cost about a fiver to do the whole kitchen.

Agree with a pp about FB Marketplace and any local selling groups you have locally, you'll be amazed at what people sell (in almost new condition and for a fraction of the price).

There's a group on FB called Frenchic forum which is about transforming kitchens and bathrooms (and lots of other stuff) with paint. I think only positive comments are allowed but it looks quite impressive.

Wallpapering / painting is cheap and very easy for a novice (although be wary of removing wallpaper if you're not sure what's underneath). Roman blinds are relatively easy if you have a sewing machine (if you use striped fabric or a pattern which makes it easy to see that you're sewing in straight lines, that's a real help to start with), as are things like cushions. Thousands of online places to get cheap fabric / roll ends.

Charity shops (once they're open) are good for curtains / bedspreads that you can make into curtains etc, or IKEA do basic stuff relatively cheaply. Things like rugs are inexpensive etc.

Get onto Amazon and buy the Collins Complete DIY manual. Best £20 you will ever spend. Videos etc are a good backup but it helps to see all the stages of a project and weigh up whether you are up to it.
A good drill and set of fixings for attaching things to walls will enable you to do lots yourself too.
Get to know your local Screwfix/Toolstation and decent decorator's trade shop.
Don't ever buy DIY store own brand paint. Occasionally OK but too risky (I'm looking at you B&Q). Money spent on Dulux is never wasted.

You can get your kitchen wrapped it's quite reasonable x

We replaced just the doors to out kitchen cabinets to a more modern style and differnet handles. The difference was remarkable and everyone thought we'd had a whole new kitchen. I can't recall the costs but 10yrs on, they still look good and easier to clean.