Update your home for spring

Update your home for spring

Refresh your home this spring with these clever and great-value decorating ideas

Paper a wall

You\'ll only need a few rolls, so choose quality paper with a luxurious finish. Flocked patterns add texture, while pearlescent designs reflect light. Designs in soft greens and blues create a fresh look.

Cost around £80

Time taken a morning

Accessorise soft furnishings

Use iron-on adhesive to fix a band of velvet to the bottom of plain curtains for an instant update. Cushions can be given a new lease of life by adding fabric corsages.

Ribbon from a selection at Barnett Lawson. Silk cushions, £15 each; Wundaweb, £3.65 for 20 metres; both John Lewis. Flower brooches, from £4.95 each, VV Rouleaux.

Cost from £19

Time taken 1 hour

Conceal an ugly radiator

Use a made-to-measure decorative cover to transform this practical item into a piece of stylish furniture.

Radiator cover, £144.91, Jali. Jackson armchair, £530, Sofa.com. Cushion, £15, John Lewis. Green vase, £1.99, Ikea. Clear vase, £24, Brissi

Cost from £100

Time taken 4 hours

Trim a plain rug

Make an inexpensive cotton rug look luxurious by placing a ribbon border along all four sides. Use just one ribbon or layer up two designs, fixing in place with a hot-glue gun. Grosgrain ribbon is a good choice as it\'s hardwearing.

Rug, £19.99, Ikea. Ribbons from a selection at VV Rouleaux

Cost From £5

Time taken 1 hour

Embellish a lampshade

Give a table lamp a luxurious finish by fixing a length of beaded trim around the bottom edge using superglue. This looks great on both plain and patterned shades.

Gemma lampshade, £30, John Lewis. Beaded trim, £9.95 a metre, VV Rouleaux

Cost £10

Time taken half an hour

Display mis-matched plates

Collect together any odd plates you can\'t seem to throw out and display them on a wall. Group them in a coordinated set and fix in place with plate hangers from John Lewis.

Cost free

Time taken 1 hour

Add instant pattern

Stencils are an easy and effective way to bring pattern to walls. Use large-scale damask designs in pale paint shades for a classic look.

Wall painted in Duck Egg, £22 for 2.5 litres, Laura Ashley. Damask stencil, £16.95, The Stencil Library. Stencil painted in Shirting matt emulsion, £12.04 for 1 litre, The Little Greene Paint Company

Cost £29.25

Time taken 1 hour

Make a pretty bedhead

By hanging a simple fabric panel from a cafe curtain pole above your bed, you can turn a plain divan into something special. Make the panel yourself by backing a patterned fabric in plain heavyweight cotton and adding ribbon loops at the top to hang on the pole.

Walls painted in Portland Stone, £23 for 2.5 litres, The Little Greene Paint Company. Small boucle carpet in Steel Blue, £38 a sq metre, Crucial Trading. Bedhead made up in Tea Party, £48 a metre, No.9 Thompson. Extending cafe curtain pole, £35, Jago. Single row double duvet, £50; Oxford pillowcases, £12 each; grey cushions, £25 each; Provence bedside table, £175; glass lamps, £95 each; all The White Company. Ribbon, £4.95 for 10 metres, John Lewis

Cost £87.95

Time taken 2 hours

Play with colour

Break the usual rules and paint your skirting, architraves and doors in colour, leaving the walls a bright white. It will completely change the feel of the room. Avoid high-gloss paints and choose soft blues and greens in an eggshell finish.

Woodwork painted in Salix Oil Eggshell, £15 for 1 litre, The Little Greene Paint Company. Ribba picture frames, £3.99 each; vases, 39p each; all Ikea

Cost around £15

Time taken 4 hours plus drying time

Order made-to-measure blinds

The easiest way to order Roman blinds is online at specialist companies like The Natural Curtain Company. Simply click on the fabric you want and enter the size.

Hopscotch blind, £140 (for W90cm X L120cm), The Natural Curtain Company

Cost around £140

Time taken half an hour