Your Home February 2021

While Christmas and the January sales are a lot of fun, they can take quite the toll on your bank balance! That’s why we’re here with our money-saving special – we’ve crammed this issue full of creative ideas and bargain buys that prove you can still have a stylish home even when cash is tight. From 30 easy updates under £30 (p42) to cheap and cheerful meal ideas (p100), we’ve got loads of thrifty tricks to help your funds go further. This month I’ve cast an extra keen eye over our home office makeovers (from p24) – as I’m currently redoing my own! I’ve pinched lots of clever, cost-cutting hacks myself, and if you’re working from home, I hope you find them just as inspiring. Elsewhere we also take tours…

FRESH AND FABULOUS We are super excited about the contemporary homewares available at Vivense London, a brand-new furniture and homeware retailer that offers on-trend pieces at affordable prices. Update an outdated living room with a minimalist corner sofa in grey or ecru and add in a statement armchair such as the Eliza Armchair (pictured), £279. When it comes to accessories, think block colours and abstract shapes. The Joy planters, from £49, will look gorgeous with or without houseplants while the quirky Egg candleholders, from £19, are fun statement pieces for a window sill or book shelf. Visit the new London store in Borough or shop online at vivenselondon.com. Instagram inspiration Maximalism lovers, listen up! Lozzie’s home, which she shares over on@the.tiny.colourful.terraced, is a many-hued wonderland. A self-proclaimed vintage lover, Lozzie…

Club tropicana I thought I’d share what my daughter and granddaughter achieved during lockdown. Olivia, who’s nine, chose this vibrant tropical wallpaper and helped her mum to paper her bedroom wall. She decorated the lampshade with cut-out birds and painted the leaf picture with tester pots. The finishing touches were LED lights and faux plants and, to top it off, I painted the palm tree! Sue Wood, by email Your Home says This must have been such a fun family project over lockdown, Sue, and the results are incredible. The tropical theme was a fabulous choice! Painting perfect Home and lifestyle magazines were never my thing, but standing in longer supermarket queues these days, my eye was drawn to Your Home October. It’s been a really enjoyable read. I was…

DRESSING ROOM DREAMS My partner and I recently purchased our first home and we’re in the process of decorating the house to our taste. I’ve adopted one of the spare bedrooms and turned it into a dressing room for myself. We painted the walls white and replaced the old brown carpet with some oak-effect laminate to freshen up the room. I purchased the dressing table and chair from Amazon and the plant from B&Q. This is my new favourite space! Olivia Matthes-Buck, by email Your Home says What a gorgeous space you’ve created, Olivia. We love the minimalist feel and that pink chair is a great find!…

How to… save money on your weekly food shop We all know never to go food shopping when hungry because we’ll come out with double the amount we intended to buy. But what other clever hacks can you introduce to save a pretty penny? Follow these top tips and you’ll be a money-saving mogul in no time... If you’re an eagle-eyed bargain hunter, you’ll already know about the yellow sticker. Most supermarkets have dedicated times when they start to reduce prices on soon-to-go-out-of-date items. Discounts often start in the morning and they gradually get bigger throughout the day, with 7pm seeming to be the best time for big savings. We’re talking up to 75 per cent off items that are still in perfectly good condition! Forget big names and buy…

Paying a professional to redecorate can be a costly expense. But instead of getting someone in to hang your wallpaper or retile your bathroom, why not give it a go yourself? Read on to find out how much you can save on labour costs. Save money with DIY LAY VINYL FLOORING A big DIY job that you might be surprised you can do without the help of a professional is laying vinyl flooring. The paid labour for this usually takes between one to three days, costing about £100-£200 per day. FIT A NEW KITCHEN WORKTOP The labour cost for fitting a new worktop will depend on the material you choose, with laminate being the cheapest and quickest to install whereas quartz, granite, marble and ceramic will take longer and be…