5 awesome DIY projects to give your home a lift

The weekends are all about 'projects' for us this time of year. Spring gives us that optimistic feeling that we might become people who spend their time doing 'big cleans', 'wardrobe overhauls' and 'gardening'. Then somewhere around aisle four of the hardware shop a row erupts over The Man's previous attempt at DIY which lead to a nail being hammered into the kitchen worktop (an ad hoc child-safety mechanism apparently) and the much anticipated weekend of Do It Yourself invariably turns into shouted profanities along the lines of 'Go Do Yourself'. For DIY inspiration we trawled the Pinternet for awesome ideas that won't turn your DIY into a domestic. 1 We love this mural wall which is surprisingly untaxing to execute. Head here to Apartment Therapy for the full tutorial. [caption id="attachment_212894" align="alignnone" width="546"] A zen mural, you don't need amazing drawing skills with this awesome technique[/caption]   2 Accommodating bikes is every fixie-ridin' hipster's nightmare. Luckily the good folk at the Mini Penny Blog have some great solutions to store the bicycles that even makes a feature of them. [caption id="attachment_212895" align="alignnone" width="494"] Bike storage solution for a small space[/caption]   3 Ever worried that your home has become too Ikeafied? Us too, we have the Billy bookcase, the Lonson carafe, the Ensidig vase and the Kallax storage solution. Still we'll never give up going there, the hotdogs are too good but we love the idea of re-purposing Ikea products for a bit of added interest, like these cute bekvam spice-racks used as shelves. [caption id="attachment_212896" align="alignnone" width="589"] Repurposing an Ikea spice rack[/caption]   4 The statement wall collage, it's personal and when done right can really make a room. [caption id="attachment_212897" align="alignnone" width="590"] We love a statement photo wall, best not include the drunken selfies though[/caption]   5 The up-cycled palette thing has been on our radar for ages but this Summer we are definitely going to explore this awesome, low-cost option to revamp the furniture in the yard. Palettes can be sourced from builders quite easily (some are so eager to shift them they'll even deliver to your house), so as far as investment goes: a lick of paint and seat covers should do the trick to give your garden or living room that pleasingly ramshackle vibe. [caption id="attachment_212898" align="alignnone" width="443"] Palette up-cycling: yard furniture for next-to-nothing[/caption]