Last year, B&Q found that over 66% of homeowners have unfinished jobs around the house, and the things that stop us doing these jobs are time, cost and know-how. Make 2010 the year that these jobs are completed, as the UK’s leading home improvement and garden centre retailer is on hand to help Britons spring into action. Even a small job can make a big difference to the home or garden, and the DIYer’s dream four-day-Easter-weekend is not far away, so start planning a 2010 home makeover now.
One day – Making a raised flower bed
Creating a raised flower bed should just take one day out of the weekend and gives a nice additional element to any garden. Once you have decided on the size of your patch, mark out an area and remove the turf. Creating a raised bed simply requires preparing a bracketed rectangular framework from four deck boards. The whole family can get involved adding the compost and then planting the chosen seeds or bulbs. Once completed, add a selection of B&Q’s garden stakes for instant colour and to add an individual touch to the bed.
Two days – Features of the Future
Inject some colour and design inspiration with a new generation of feature wall for 2010; hanging alternate drops of plain and patterned wallpaper in coordinated colours is a new take on this trend, or raise the roof and go for a bright coloured feature ceiling. Turquoise is set to be the hottest colour of 2010, so whether you go for a bold statement room, or more subtle touches of this hue, your room will be right on trend.
Three days – Spruce up your kitchen
Updating your kitchen doesn’t mean you have to go the whole hog. In just a few days a kitchen can be immediately revived by changing the floor, doors and handles.
Replacing the floor – Whether it’s tiles, laminate or lino, a new floor will change the atmosphere and look of a room immediately. Laminate flooring is an easy, cheaper and easier to maintain than real wood and is available from £3.98 per square metre.
Update your doors and handles – Pick up a pack of door or drawer fronts from just £9 at B&Q, where there are over 40 different styles and colours to choose from. Once you’ve measured the existing cupboards to get the correct size, hanging the doors is quick and simple and all doors are pre-drilled to make fitting easier. If the existing doors are in good condition, but look a little tired, a change of colour, finish and new handles will create a whole new feel to the room.
Four days – Get the garden ‘BBQ ready’
Clearing out winter’s dead leaves and taming overgrown plants will go a long way to getting the garden back to its best for summer. If the lawn has seen better days it may be time to lay a new one. Growing a lawn from seed is not difficult if the site is well prepared and you look after it, however, it does take a while. Turf will give you an instant lawn but must be kept well-watered until the turf has rooted.
A basic garden shed is straightforward to assemble, and will give you lots of extra storage space for tools, seeds and pots, garden furniture and your BBQ. If that’s not enough, more elaborate designs are available that can be fully wired up, insulated or even heated adding an extra room for entertaining or a den for the kids.
Outdoor lighting will add extra atmosphere to your summer socialising, and help you make the most of your garden all year round. Solar powered lights don’t need any wiring as they store sunlight energy in a battery, but they are not a powerful light source, if you want to light a large area then there are lots of different low-voltage options to look at.
After all that, make sure to leave enough time to enjoy your handiwork and get a few close friends over for the first BBQ of the year (weather permitting of course!)