3 DIY & Upcycling Projects To Enjoy This Summer ♥

Summer is the perfect time for updating your home. The days are long, light and warm and there seems to be so many more hours available for doing what you want. 

Painting and decorating are far easier when you have sunshine spilling in through the windows; the warmth and sunny days make outdoor jobs a thousand times more pleasant and all of these DIY activities and creations seem far more enjoyable. 

But where to begin? There are so many tasks that you could be doing and if you're anything like me, that you’d like to do (my upcycling and painting list grows by the day!), that some must take precedence over others. To help you prioritise them here’s a list of three great summer DIY projects that are bound to keep you busy and make a great improvement to your home too.

Repaint and Upcycle

One of the easiest DIY tasks to do is painting and summer is the ideal time to do it. With blue skies, endless fields of blooming wild flowers and brightly coloured blossoms hanging heavy in your garden, inspiration can be found all around you. Nature is one of the biggest inspirations for me in all I do and summer is a beautiful time of year for gaining inspiration from nature. 
During summer your home is full of light and this creates the perfect conditions for a spot of painting. The best way to start is by designing a mood board. Use this to come up with a stunning colour scheme and then collect a variety of paint swatches to help you find the perfect shades - I do this to choose the perfect colours when I upcycle old furniture. 
Cover your furniture (I use old bedding and sheets to cover large pieces and floor areas) don some overalls or old clothes and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, remember everything can be washed! Once you’re done, throw your windows and doors open wide to let in the summer heat and speed up the drying process. 

If you want to tie in your new DIY project with your soft furnishing or existing room decor, choosing a paint or fabric in similar colours is a great way to do this. Use the fabric to make cushion covers, to upholster furniture easily with a staple gun or to create simple details on furniture tops that you can then cover with glass. Terrys Fabrics have a wide range of curtain fabric available and they have the most beautiful floral prints! With so many designs and textures to choose from, they have lots of fabrics that are perfect for a whole host of upcycling projects as well as beautiful curtains, blinds, bedding and cushions if you want to create a cohesive look in your home.

 

Refine Your Garden

Another task that’s ideal for summer is a spot of gardening. Although plants flower all year round, bending down in the dirt has far less appeal in the pouring rain and harsh cold of winter than in the warmth of summer. 
So where should you start? It’s a great idea to travel around your local forests, gardening centres, and parks to spot some inspiration. Make note of the colour schemes you like and the plant species that most appeal to you, then use these to create your very own floral haven in your home. 
From neatly manicured flowerbeds to water features, hidden hideaways, and love seats, you can transform your garden into your perfect idyll. 
Even if you're like me and live in a rented property you can still enjoy a spot of gardening. In the past I used buckets and bought pastel coloured pots to plant seeds and show my son how to garden and as well as giving him great fun and learning a new skill, the beautiful flowers we grew really helped to brighten the place up.

Build a Tree House

For the more ambitious, building a tree house for the children can be the perfect summertime challenge - my eldest son keeps asking me to build him a tree house so this is on our DIY list! 
Although you have to be very careful that you know what you’re doing, with the right experience the possibilities are endless. Create a fairy grotto in your garden with some wood, solar fairy lights and pale, diaphanous gauze (how whimsical does this sound?!), or else create a hidden, multi-level den at the base of your biggest tree. 
I've seen a tree house in a local garden which has a bridge that goes between two trees, has a large tree house and then a big slide going down to the ground - amazing for the little ones!    

Unleash your creative side this summer with a seasonal makeover for your home, let your creativity flow and just enjoy your DIY efforts.  What's next on your DIY and upcycling list?