Bargain Hunters Share Scandi Makeover Tricks - From £1 Tiles To 89p Prints
- Scandi makeovers can easily cost £1000s
- DIYers on a budget share the best money-saving hacks
- Tips include £1 self-adhesive tiles, 89p canvas prints and finding 20% off sales
DIY enthusiasts have been inspired by the simple, relaxing Scandinavian decor style in recent months, and it’s easy to see why. With a minimal colour palette complemented with warm textures, woody tones and fresh green plants, the overall effect is one of calm and relaxation.
It’s easy to be put off by expensive furniture and accessories after looking up styled pieces online, but there are plenty of ways to transform a room into a Scandinavian haven whilst sticking to a strict budget. Five DIYers spoke to money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk to share the tricks and tips they used to decorate their homes with bargains - from minimalist bedrooms to relaxing bathrooms.
Use A Minimal Colour Palette - Pick Up £25 B&Q Paint
Any fan of Scandi decor will tell you that the key colours for a minimalist makeover are grays, whites, browns and blacks. Julie Pentelow, a 32 year old teaching assistant from Swindon and mum of two children aged 5 and 2, kept her Scandi bathroom makeover simple with a black and white colour scheme. She went to bargain stores for her supplies - including the paint. ‘My first stop was B&Q, where I picked up Dulux Rich Black for £17 and White Satin V33 Wall Tile and Panelling Paint for £25.
‘The next job was finding an under-sink console that wasn’t too big, as I only have a small space between the sink and the bath. I eventually found one that fit perfectly for £34.99 from The Range, and I painted the handles black to match the colour theme.’
Include Textures And Earthy Accessories - Save £150 On Panelling
A benchmark of the Scandinavian style is wood and earthy tones - a concept which Calsey Banks, 30, a PA from Birmingham, was keen to take on board. ‘My inspiration came from Instagram. I had seen a few accounts that had [Scandi-style] panelling and knew that's what I wanted. It was going to cost me around £300 if I had someone else to do it for me. I used MDF strips from B&Q and no-nail glue to attach them to the wall. The strips cost me £5 each and the glue was £6 from B&Q, so all together in total, it cost me around £150 including the paint and the shelf. I completed the panelling in one day and then it took me a few days to paint it.’
Meanwhile, Julie took on the Scandi theme for her bedroom next, taking a shine to the leather texture to mix it up. ‘I really liked the look of leather pull handles on furniture, I saw these used a lot in Scandinavian style makeovers. I made some myself by ordering a strip of brown leather from eBay for £3 and cut the handles to size myself. I used gold notice board pins to make it look like the fastening of the handle and stuck them into the drawers with a bit of extra glue for stability.’
Insert Geometric Prints - Shop For £1 Tiles
Julie was inspired by the geometric style for her bath. ‘I revamped my tired looking bath panel by using self-adhesive wall tiles. They cost £1 a sheet from One Below and it cost me £15 altogether. They were pretty easy to apply. I cut them to size with scissors and also used self-adhesive spray from B&M for extra adhesion! I then painted them using a mini foam roller, it went on really smoothly and made them look like new.’
Elsewhere, Jodie Berry, 28, an eyelash technician from Neston, took her geometric print a step further by applying it to her bathroom floor. ‘My bathroom was really dark and dull and there was no colour. It didn’t feel fresh at all. I love Scandinavian interiors so I searched things like ‘Scandinavian bathroom' or 'botanical bathroom' on Pinterest to get different tips and tricks. My partner Mike and I used self-adhesive floor tiles from Homebase for the floor. They were £12 each and we bought three boxes for the whole room.’
Decorate In Monochrome - Make Your Own 89p Prints
Using black and white in the right places can make a room feel bigger, giving it the illusion of space. Tracey Currie, 35, a mum of six aged from four months to 15 from Dumfries, Scotland, made good use of this trick when she kitted out a Scandi nursery for her twin boys. ‘I created white curtains on a budget by using a single bedsheet that I added header tape to, so they only cost £6. I added a black roller blind from B&M which only cost £12.50. Overall the room cost me just shy of £180 - and I had originally been looking at nursery furniture costing over £1000 on its own!’
Both Tracey and Julie got creative by making their own monochrome prints. Julie made her own prints for her bathroom makeover: ‘I was able to save money on the decorations as I do a bit of graphic design in my spare time and have an Etsy shop selling art prints and wedding stationery. I enjoyed creating simple designs to add to the Scandinavian picture wall.’ Meanwhile, Tracey made some Scandi nursery prints: ‘I picked up an 89p canvas and used a black marker to write script on it. The love canvas was done by laying the love sign on the canvas as I was spraying it black. It left a lovely outline on the canvas.’
Get Decorative With Plants- Shop The John Lewis Sales
As Scandinavians love nature and being outdoors, it makes sense that their decorative style would involve bringing some plants inside. Julie made use of this style in her bathroom. ‘I used artificial plants and accessories from IKEA, B&M, Tesco, Dunelm and Matalan to give a natural look to the room and add some colour. Altogether these didn’t cost more than £15.’ She did the same for her Scandi bedroom, picking up some artificial plants from B&M and IKEA to make the room feel more homely and spending no more than £20 on these overall. She purchased a small artificial potted plant for the headboard and a taller artificial plant to go next to the bed.
Elsewhere, Victoria Salisbury, 35, a mum-of-four and guidance worker from Chester, took the nature theme a step further while designing her Scandi nursery. ‘We decided on a safari theme as it can be done really well with Scandi style using natural woods and plants. To save money we would shop around and try and buy things when they were on sale. We got a cot bed from John Lewis when they had a 20% off sale for example and then used an online company who make made to measure mattresses which cost half the price of the branded ones so we saved quite a lot that way too.’
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