5 DIY Tips to Decorate Your Home

The beauty of having your own home is that you can decorate it however you want. Your imagination is the limit!

We have spent more time at home over the past year, which has caused a DIY boom. There is a growing trend of upcycling reusable materials as home decorations. After all, it is one of the most sustainable ways to beautify your home.

We have picked five of our favourite DIY ideas that you might want to try:

1. Weatherproof lampshades with plastic bottles

In the UK, we use 7.7 billion plastic bottles every year, with just 45% being recycled. As 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in waterways and oceans every year. We pollute even the most remote places

More needs to be done to reduce the number of bottles being used. However, if you do buy plastic bottles, there are exciting alternatives to throwing them away when finished. Plastic is a versatile material with countless end-of-life alternatives if you’re ready to get creative!

Why not making a chandelier by shaping the plastic bottles into leaves:

1. Cut your used plastic bottles in the shape of leaves. You can try a range of shapes and sizes.
2. Shape a copper wire stem around a light source.
3. Arrange the leaves around the copper wire stem in whatever shape you like – this is your chance to get creative!

This makes an excellent porch or garden decoration, given its leafy theme.

Top Tip: For an autumnal hue, why not try mixing green, brown, and white bottles.

2. Photo wall with clothespins or paper clips

We all know the feeling when you brush past a picture knocking the frame off the wall. As it hits the floor you hear shattered glass, knowing you will need to buy a replacement. Usually, this frame would go in the bin. However, you can give the old frame a new lease of life, with a few household staples!

1. Take some wooden clothespins or paper clips and some clothesline.
2. Take your frame – with the glass and backing safely removed – run a zigzag line attaching the clothesline to the frame.
3. You can now secure your printed photos using your clothespins or paper clips.

It’s a cute and fun way to display beloved memories!

3. Turn dupattas into table runners

The fashion industry now accounts for a full 10% of humanity’s total carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping activities combined. Reusing fabric is fundamental in helping the fight against climate change. If you have leftover fabric – like an old dupatta – you can put it to use around the house.

Long fabric pieces can be transformed into gorgeous table runners based on your taste, easily transforming the tables around your home.

Top tip: Patterned fabrics, like dupattas, don’t need to be  decorated. You only need to cut them to the appropriate size for your table. Remember that a table runner has a little bit of fabric hanging over the table’s edges!

4. Organise wires and cords in a box

According to House Cleaning NYC, the right decorating arrangement can beautify your house without making it look cluttered. On the other hand, too much decoration can lead to a messy looking home. It’s a fine line you tread when it comes to home decor, especially with limited space.

Wires and cords can make a room look cluttered, even if everything else seems organised. Without proper cable management, wires not only look messy but can be dangerous, causing potential trip hazards.

As a sustainable solution to this problem, reuse an old shoebox to conceal the wires safely and discreetly. To tackle two issues at once, label each wire, so you never get wire confusion again.

5. Turn glass bottles into lamps

Do you have any glass bottles lying around, waiting to be recycled? There are thousands of sustainable ideas available for reuse before throwing the bottle away, upcycle it into flower vases or re-fill the empty bottles with liquids or sauces. However, if you wanted to get more creative, you can turn bottles into stunning lamps.

When working with glass and electronics, make sure to take every safety precaution to prevent cuts and burns. However, if you do feel up to the task the result can be attractive, rustic and chic.

Reuse to reduce

The more items are reused, the more waste is reduced. There are countless options available to reuse everyday items. Why not try one today?