Tag: diy

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Interiors Addict

How to: make your own terrarium

Have you been looking for a way to add some greenery to your space? Check out this eye-catching terrarium I made in half an hour the other day!

terrarium finished

The terrarium trend is not slowing down any time soon and they are a great way to add some greenery to your interior. If don’t have a green thumb but love the idea of having hassle-free plants in your home, then terrariums were designed for you (and me, as I found out)! Seriously, anyone can make one. By the end of this post you’re going to wonder why you ever considered buying one already made!

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The Block

Applications open for The Block 2014. Go!

Are you glued to your TV every Sunday night for room reveal? Are you a Blockhead? Do you think you could do better than most of the contestants? Might be time to put your money where your mouth is and apply for next year’s show!

Applications are now open for The Block 2014. Teams of 2 must be aged 18 to 25 and available for 10 weeks of filming between November (2013) and January. The location is yet to be revealed but applications are being taken from across Australia.

Guidelines and requirements

  • Couples must be aged between 18-65, energetic and with a sense of humour.
  • First round couples will be reduced to final participants in the first week of filming.
  • Successful couples must be available for a 10-week shoot period November 2013 to January 2014. Exact dates to be confirmed closer to filming.
  • Location of The Block 2014 is to be confirmed.
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Interiors Addict

User-friendly fluro paints to make your DIY and upcycled furniture projects pop!

I know a lot of you crafty readers love an upcycling project, and even more of you love fluro, so these new small project paints could be just up your street!

Glo Colour-Stools

Guesswork and mess have been minimised with these 6 on-trend HandyCan Glo Paint colours. They’ll bring a pop of colour to DIY projects such as painted furniture.

handycan glo DE

The innovative packaging is really user-friendly. Clear plastic jars (in 100ml, 200ml and 350ml sizes) mean you can see the exact colour of the paint. No more guess work! And screw top lids mean no more messy drips and dribbles plus a perfectly sealed container between uses.

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Designers House Tours The Block

Have a look inside The Block’s Darren Palmer’s Bondi apartment

He just sold it, reportedly for around a million bucks after spending five months renovating himself (trust me, I know Darren and there was a lot of hard work!). Want to have a look for yourself and play judge the judge?! See the pictures and video at ninemsn here.

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Kitchens

A quick and easy mosaic update for your kitchen?

What are your thoughts on adding a bit of razzle dazzle to the kitchen? Cool or tacky? Do you like a few standout unique touches, or do you think a kitchen should be kept simple with clean lines and plain surfaces?

granite transformations mosaic kitchen splashback

Granite Transformations’ resident trends expert Jessie Harvey says bolder splashbacks and colourful kitchens are one of the most popular trends in kitchens this year. “We’re seeing a tendency towards vibrant colours in kitchens and an easy way to update your kitchen without opting for a full makeover is to add a colourful splashback over the existing surface.”

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Appliances Kitchens

Brita 3 Way Water Filter Dispenser makes water smell waterier

There is a serious side to this post where we tell you that Brita has released some pretty handy new appliances. Unsurprisingly in the filtered water category. There’s also a fun side, but we will get to that later.

Firstly, the serious part. Brita has launched its 3 Way Water Filter Dispenser which you can attach to a range of four European designed bench top taps. Your options are Square Neck, Swan Neck, Brita 90 Degree and Brita 45 Degree. Prices start at $379 and top out at $499. It’s a DIY and pretty affordable option. If you buy a lot of bottled water this should pay for itself quite quickly.

brita 3 way filter tap

The taps connect to the Brita filter below the sink and there is a separate lever for regular tap water and the Brita filtered water. The filter itself is apparently easy to install and requires no additional drill holes or anything messy like that.

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The Block

Last night’s room reveal and where to buy what you saw on The Block

Darren Palmer and Neale Whitaker loving the timber tiles in Johnno and Trixie's bedroom

Sunday night room reveals are the best bit about the The Block. No challenges, just renovating, room reveals, judging and results. Hoorah! The long and drawn out scoring process aside, what’s not to like?

Last night’s was a great episode, with Matt and Kim’s Pollock-inspired bedroom described as both “a crime scene” and the most controversial room in the show’s history. Kudos to them for getting such a reaction! I thought their design was wholly inappropriate but admired their bravery and they definitely executed their ideas really well and with enthusiasm. Easy for me to say as an armchair critic…

Darren Palmer and Neale Whitaker loving the timber tiles in Johnno and Trixie's bedroom
Darren Palmer and Neale Whitaker loving the timber tiles in Johnno and Trixie’s bedroom

I think Bec and George were probably the right couple to win, although I loved parts of Trixie and Johnno’s room too, in particular their Bonnie and Neil wall tiles. I can’t believe none of the judges had seen them before; I’ve been loving them for months and wishing I wasn’t renting so I could use them somewhere! I like the twins but I wasn’t a fan of last night’s bedroom. Next week will be interesting with two bathrooms each to complete. I do love a good bathroom reno so looking forward to those!

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Interiors Addict

Better Homes & Gardens LIVE this weekend

Better Homes & Gardens LIVE will be at Melbourne Showgrounds from today (Friday 3) until Sunday 5 May. Whether you are a renovator, foodie, DIY or craft lover, it’s the place to go for all the latest products, advice and tips for your home. Get inspired with live demonstrations and workshops from your favourite Better Homes and Gardens experts and shop for the latest gadgets and technology from more than 250 exhibitors at the one-stop home and garden product showcase.

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Interiors Addict

Impress Shaynna and win a course at the International Institute of Home Staging

Naomi Findlay

Are you a first-time first renovator, a flipper, a property developer or simply a would-be stylist who’d like to start their own business? The International Institute of Home Staging, which launched this week, could be just what you’re looking for! Luckily for one reader, we’re giving away a course worth $497 to whoever impresses our judge, Shaynna Blaze, the most.

The International Institute of Home Staging's Naomi Findlay
The International Institute of Home Staging’s Naomi Findlay

The International Institute of Home Staging (IIHS), which offers the first and only interactive online home staging and property styling courses in Australia, launched this week to help budding designers learn the art and business of making homes attractive to buyers. The demand for staging professionals has reached an all-time high in Australia, as real estate agents and vendors alike realise how much it can impact final sale prices.

Founder Naomi Findlay says: “The courses offered are put together by a fantastic array of Australian design, styling and business mentors that provide great insight into what is a growing industry. It’s designed to teach other people how they can make money on their own property sales or start their own property styling and home staging business.”

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Interiors Addict

Win paint and a professional painter to give your home a New Year facelift!

This post is sponsored by Haymes Paint

Christmas and New Year are over so you know what that means (as well as going back to work and the gym)? Countdown to Australia Day is on! To celebrate, I’m running a fab competition in association with Haymes Paints and the prize is to have a room in your home professionally painted in the colour palette of your choice. What a great way for two of you to kickstart any New Year renovation plans!

Haymes colour and concept manager Wendy Rennie has put together three Australian-inspired colour palettes. To enter, just tell us which scheme you think is most Aussie and why.

Here are your choices:

Palette one: The Outback

The Australian outback is rich with colour – deep oranges, reds and ochres coupled with contrasting charcoals and neutrals.

Haymes colours: Rapunzel, Night Moves, Black Pitch, Worn White, Moon and Stars.

Palette Two: Sun, Surf and Sand

The relaxed lifestyle of Australians is synonymous with the beach, particularly as we are lucky to have some of the best beaches and coastline in the world.

Haymes colours: Barely There, Basic Instinct, Blue Mosaic, Danube Sky, Valley of Stars.

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Interiors Addict

Shaynna’s own show. Want to be on it?

The fabulous Shaynna Blaze from Selling Houses Australia and The Block (does she ever stop?!) is getting her own show. Hoorah! And you could be on it!

Are you ready to update your tired kitchen or loungeroom but don’t know where to start? Let Shaynna help tap into your inner renovator. She’s looking for shabby kitchen and living areas in desperate need of help and owners willing to project manage under her guidance. So you actually get to learn too, not just have someone else do it all for you. Sounds great, no?

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The Block

The Block All Stars read Interiors Addict!

I wish I could tell you more about what I saw inside!

Well, Amity does anyway! Yesterday I was very excited to be invited to have a look around the partially renovated The Block All Star terraces in Bondi. What a treat! Four couples who didn’t win their series (but perhaps should have) are back for this special version of the show, which will be aired on Nine after Christmas.

I wish I could tell you more about what I saw inside!

I met all but one of the contestants yesterday, shook a lot of dusty hands and had a look inside their homes, four weeks in. They’ve completed two bedrooms and a bathroom and are onto their lounge rooms this week. Never have I seen such contrast between the untouched rooms in the run down heritage homes and the brand new restored and renovated. And I was really impressed with what I saw. The bathrooms in particular were really great and made me bemoan the fact I don’t have a bath even more than usual…

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Interiors Addict

5 easy ways to freshen up your living room

Happy Friday! It’s almost the weekend! Looking for a project? Here’s five easy ways to freshen up your living room.

1. Fresh flowers. No room is finished until it has some flowers in it and boy, do they make a difference. They don’t have to cost a lot either. I buy most of mine from Woolies or my local fruit shop. Mix it up and display them in different vessels: jam jars, chemistry flasks (helps having a future brother in law who is a scientist!), tins (if they’re waterproof), bottles, jugs, whatever. Open your cupboards and think about what might look cute with a few blooms in it (The Renovators host Robyn Holt agrees).

2. Style up your coffee table. No, not just for cups of tea and the odd mag, think of it as a mini display of things you love. Add a stack of books (you could go as far as colour coordinating your spines, you could just pick the prettiest looking ones or the ones you like flicking through he most). Add a candle, perhaps some fresh flowers (watch your vase isn’t too tall and could get knocked over) or a potted succulent and perhaps a tray. My own coffee table currently has a gorgeous hunk of amethyst on it but its contents change by the week (no, really). It’s a bit of fun and a nice focus for your space that says a bit about you.

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Interiors Addict

10 things people get wrong in their homes and how to fix them quickly & easily

1. Hanging artwork too high. I see it all the time and I’m afraid I will go to my friends’ homes and point this out (they thank me for it, most of the time). There must be something in human nature that says hang it up high, but think about it: art is there to look at, so it should be at eye level. Stick to this rule and you’ll find it all works much better. Go and have a look at where your art is. Is it too high? Does it make sense?

2. Buying rugs too small and placing furniture around them, not on them. My rule is this: buy rugs as big as you can afford. Put your furniture ON them, not around them. There are always exceptions to every rule but, in general, this approach looks and feels much better, grounds your furniture and defines spaces within multi-use open plan areas like living/dining rooms.

3. Forgetting about lighting. Lighting is key. It’s so important when it comes to creating a layered interior. It’s another layer all on its own. Overhead lighting, in most living areas, sucks. It might work in kitchens and bathrooms but it is often too harsh in living areas and does little to create ambience. Consider table and floor lamps at different heights and brightnesses to mix it up. Install dimmer switches where you can.

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The Block

The Block All Stars is filming in Bondi

Word on the street is that The Block All Stars has started filming the next series in Sydney’s Bondi. Have you spotted them yet? According to previous reports, heritage cottages in Tasman Street have been earmarked for renovation. This week, the Block All Stars lineup was announced.

I’m very excited to have the show on NSW ground again!

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Interiors Addict

Does ANYONE have a spare room they love?!

Love this built-in cleverly turned into an office!

It seems to me that nobody really loves their spare bedroom. Am I right? I’m about to embark on my spare room project. I have been putting it off since we moved here in October but I have to sort it out now. The reason is that this  October my dad is coming to stay from the UK for two weeks, followed by another friend in November and another couple in December (yes, all the Poms come in summer!).

Love this built-in cleverly turned into an office!

I am always apologising for my spare room. When people come round for the first time they always, on account of me being into interiors and all house proud, request “the tour”. Hell, sometimes I even suggest it myself… But when it comes to the spare room I’m always saying things like “I haven’t started on that yet” or it’s a bit of a dumping ground or a laundry. It strikes me I have never ever loved the spare room in any home I lived in. And when you think about the fact that you pay a lot more for a two-bed apartment than a one-bed apartment, especially in Sydney, it seems a real waste not to use this room.

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Interiors Addict

Masters launches Australia’s biggest online home improvement store

Masters is attempting to revolutionise home improvement with the launch of masters.com.au, offering a huge range of DIY products for home delivery at the click of a mouse.

With more than 10,000 products available to buy at the same low prices you find in store, it means customers right across the country can take advantage of Masters’ range.

“This is a great step forward for competition. Overnight, Masters will become a truly national brand, bringing choice and low prices to home renovators from Weipa to Wangaratta,” said CEO Don Stallings.


Masters.com.au will launch with a great selection of popular home improvement products, including lamps, wallpaper, rugs and outdoor furniture, to hardware items such as power tools, plumbing, building supplies and cement.

Products available online include: kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, tools, hardware, homewares, appliances, electrical, outdoor furniture and BBQs, plumbing, paint accessories and more. All are available at the same price as you’ll find in a store. Stallings added: “We know from other home improvement retailers around the world, including our partner Lowe’s in the US, that more and more customers are opting to buy home improvement products online or to use online sites to compare prices and product information. Customers have the power at their fingertips and Masters fully intends to cater to every customer, regardless of how, when and where they want to shop with us.”

The growth of the online store will complement the rollout of the physical store network, which is on track to launch 15-to-20 stores a year for the foreseeable future.  There are currently 13 Masters stores open across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia and 12 under construction.

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Interiors Addict

1 in 4 Aussies regret attempting renovations themselves

An independent consumer survey has revealed one in five wished they hadn’t bitten off more than they could chew when it came to house renovations.

“DIY home renovations have become highly accessible following the explosion of renovation reality shows, booming hardware market and popularity of online DIY forums where people can learn from each other’s experiences. However, 17% of survey respondents feel they jumped in at the deep end and wished they hadn’t taken the reins themselves,” said Rebecca Logan of Canstar Blue, who commissioned the survey.

“Males were more likely to regret attempting house renovations at 19% of respondents, however females weren’t far behind, with 14% feeling a pang over DIY renovations.

“Overall, the results show the vast majority of DIY consumer experiences are positive, as Australians take a greater interest in adding value to their properties instead of buying new homes given current cautious levels of consumer confidence.”

Business research firm IBIS World recently forecast Australia’s DIY market would grow by more than 22.5% in the next five years.

When it came to which brand in the competitive $40 billion Australian home improvement market has the happiest customers, it was market leader Bunnings that topped the Canstar Blue list. The recently launched home improvement chain Masters didn’t qualify for the survey because of low responses rates due to their brief time in the marketplace.