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Home & DIY

  • Want practical tips for decorating your home?
  • Need inspiration for upcycling furniture and homewares?
  • Renovating on a budget?
  • Fancy creating custom pieces for a unique interior?
  • Want to save money when buying a property?

If you need inspiration for your making your house a home, but have a budget to stick to, you’ve come to the right place.

I too want to be as frugal as possible with the money I invest in my home. I’ve remodelled my own fixer-upper and have shared all the dos and don’ts along the way

Browse through my DIY posts and upcyling projects room-by-room to get advice on renovating your home, inspiration for revamping furniture, and discover thrifty ways to decorate on a budget…

RECENT POSTS
HOME DIY

Planning the right furniture layout for my living room (it’s taken years!)

Have you ever had a room where you just don’t know how to lay out the furniture? One with an unusual L-shape, or alcoves, or windows on two or more walls? In most rooms you can just ‘feel’ where the furniture should go and, in many modern homes, you can see exactly where the bed should go, because there are two plug sockets either side where your bedside lamps would plug in! But what if your room isn’t quote so ease to configure? Here’s what I learnt when tackling my own 1950s home…
HOME DIY

Three tips for taking care of wooden furniture & accessories

If you’ve had a hard time maintaining that “like new” condition of your wood furniture and accessories, the good news is that with these simple tips, you’ll be able to prolong the lifespan of your wooden treasures, and pass them on to future generations…
Home buying

4 Thrifty ways to pull off moving house (without spending a small fortune)

Moving to a new house can be an expensive and stressful time. If you have just bought a property, you will be tied up in actually paying for it, not to mention stamp duty and all the other fees you might have to pay. Even if you are renting, you’ll have parted with your deposit and money might be tight. It is time to save some money and the best place to do so is in the move itself. Here are some thrifty ways to move house…
DIY

3 Ways to cut the ongoing costs of your kitchen appliances

When planning a kitchen makeover, it’s surprisingly easy to make aesthetic decisions that might actually be less cost-effective in the long run. So, if you’re researching a renovation project and need to make decisions about your appliances, here are three things to consider to help you save money going forward…
DIY

How to upcycle a pallet & charity shop trunk into a storage coffee table

Another day, another DIY! This time, it’s a classy coffee table that doubles up as handy storage. And would it even be a Cassie Fairy DIY if it didn’t include pallets?? The rustic-yet-cool chevron effect top is all refinished pallet wood – making this a money-saving project too. Read on to find out how to DIY a coffee table for yourself this autumn…
Festive

3 Scandi-style Christmas decor projects to DIY with second-hand finds

Do you enjoy making things? Do you love to save money? Do you want unique decorations that no-one else has? Then it’s time to make your own! I’m getting a head start on my Christmas preparations this month and have made three scandi-style decor projects that you can easily replicate at home. Or you could use these ideas as a starting point for your own designs – it might be the inspiration you need to get you started on crafting your own festive decor…
Bedroom

6 Hacks for sleeping well (even when you’ve got little ones!)

How did you sleep last night? Do you feel rested? Are you enjoying your day today? Getting a good night’s sleep is so important for your mood, productivity and health, but it’s not just an issue to consider alone; it is a family issue. Here are 6 sleep hacks to help you sleep well as a family…
Cassiefairy's News

Life lately – My (international!) interiors articles & DIY projects

It’s been a busy couple of months and I’ve been lucky enough to write a couple of interiors feature for issue 42 and issue 43 of Reclaim magazine. Plus, I’ve also written some blog post elsewhere around the internet so here are the links if you want to check them out..!
Kitsch Kitchen

4 Simple steps to a greener and more environmentally-friendly kitchen

While more and more people every day are looking for new methods to go green at home, many start with their own kitchens. You may be surprised to learn that each kitchen is adding to the nation’s environmental damage every day and even the smallest of changes can make a significant difference. To give you a few ideas, here are four simple tips that can make your kitchen a greener and more environmentally friendly place…

Autumn

3 Ways to merge your summer living room decor style into autumn

Ahh it’s September. No sooner had the 1st of the month hit than my Pinterest and Instagram feeds became awash with autumnal colours and pumpkins. It’s like the whole online world was just waiting for summer to be over so that they could begin the wind-down into the cosy season. Here’s how to merge your decor from summer to autumn with the addition of just a few low cost accessories that’ll get your home ready for the changing season…
DIY

Step-by-step video to revamp a PVC door with a pop of summery colour

Old and stained double-glazed doors can make your entire home look tired, and no amount of cleaning can get them back to their box-fresh whiteness. PVC doors can be costly to replace so why not spruce them up with a coat of paint? Not possible? Here’s how I revamped my ugly kitchen door with a vibrant pop of colour to keep summery vibes in my home for longer..!
HOME DIY

Why timeless furniture choices can save you money time & again

Timeless decor items will be different for every person, but once you find them it can give a sense of comfort and permanence to your house. Plus, I’m a firm believer in ‘buy well, buy once’ so it’s a good idea not to follow interiors trends with your bigger investment pieces, such as the sofa, storage, tables etc. You can, of course change up your style over the years using soft furnishings and paint colours, but having those classic pieces as the basis for your future designs will save you money throughout your lifetime. Here’s how to figure out your style before you invest…
DIY

Step-by-step video to restore & reupholster vintage kitchen chairs

Last week I mentioned that I’m currently working on renovating my kitchen and that I’d already revamped a few retro kitchen chairs. I’ve since been asked how I restored these junk-shop finds to their former glory so I thought I’d put together a little video to show you how to upholster a kitchen chair and renovate the wooden frame…
DIY

5 Tips for selling your home easily (despite the messy kids!)

So your family is expanding (congratulations!) and you need to upsize from your current home. Moving house is an exciting time, but it can also be a complicated and stressful process. Adding this on top of your already-busy family life can create frustration for parents so I want to help make the process as easy as possible with these handy house-selling tips…

HOME DIY

How to find unique interior decor pieces from the Etsy Design Awards

Have you heard about the Etsy Design Awards? If not, I would urge you to check it out today. The list of finalists has been announced and the winners will be chosen in September. It’s a great way to discover new sellers, and here’s what I found when I browsed the shortlisted businesses in the ‘Inventive Decor’ category…

DIY

Step-by-step guide to turn an old hostess trolley into a colourful bar cart

I don’t know why hostess trolleys ever went out of fashion. They’re so handy for gathering everything you need together, and wheeling it right where you need it to be. So, when I spotted this old wooden trolley in a skip, I was keen to rescue it. Here’s how to upcycle a retro trolley into a vintage style bar cart for bank holiday parties…
HOME DIY

How to help children decorate their room with personality & colour

It’s back-to-school time again and, as such, my thoughts have turned to kids’ rooms and how to design the space so that it suits them and their studying needs. Research suggests that children and their development are affected positively when they are surrounded by soft and safe environments, which is why investing in making their room comfortable and homely is one of the most important things a parent can do…

Autumn

Add warmth to your interior with these thrifty wood decor ideas

It’s easy to add warmth & autumnal vibes to your home & today’s blog post is all about using more wood in your decor. Just imagine the rustic, cosy look you can achieve with just a few low-cost items – here are 4 ideas to help you get the look for less…
DIY

My thrifty 50s kitchen renovation: What’s next on the to-do list…

To be honest with you, the kitchen was one of the most disgusting rooms in our fixer-upper home. So it was kind-of the room we tackled first. It got a coat of fresh white paint (to cover up the oil-and-nicotine stained walls eww) on the day we got the keys. We’ve since painted the existing cabinets. which has freshened up the units. But there’s still plenty more to do…
DIY

How to DIY a sensory play ‘outdoor kitchen’ from pallet wood

When I found a few brick pallets in a building site skip (and asked if it would be okay to re-use them!) my mind starting whirring at the possible projects they could be used for. The result is this kids’ mud kitchen and I thought I’d share the step-by-step project with you today…

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