1. Inject life into your room with an elegant vase of fresh flowers. Choose blooms that complement your colour scheme, and place them in a prominent position. (5 mins)

2. Turn a boring divan into a luxurious bed with a chic headboard. Go for a padded version you can re-cover when you fancy a change. Try Sheerhome, who stock coordinated headboards and cushions, plus canvases that you can hang above the bed. (1 hour)

3. Add Sparkle with twinkling fairy lights around a bed head. Choose ones with decorative detail – Monsoon Home has a selection of coloured lights shaped like butterflies, and source has paper flowers that gently glimmer to add a touch of magic. (5 mins)

4. Try a new way to dress your bed for a freash look. Layer a mix of patterned and plain linens in toning colours, folding down the top covers to reveal the pretty sheets underneath. Or pile up a variety of cushions, and drape a throw across the bed to add colour. Mix textures, too, such as velvet, silk and cotton. (30 mins)

5. If your walls are too bumpy to paint or are wallpapered in hard-to-remove woodchip,do not replaster – cover them with wood panelling instead. EASIpanel have sheets of MDF with a tongue-and-groove design that can be cut to fit. Simply glue the wood to walls and then paint. (2 Days)

6. Give yellowing radiators a quick coat of fast-drying radiator enamel paintto make them look as good as new. Use an aerosol to save time, and mask off the wall behind. Choose a colour that complements your scheme. (3 hours)

7. Refresh tired floorboards with a coat of paint.Sand to create a smooth surface, then apply a quick-drying paint. If you feel creative, stencil patterns around the edge of the room. (2 Days)

8. Embellish a plain picture frame with buttons. Choose ornamental buttons in various shapes, colours and finishes. You can use shell buttons to suit a natural theme or you could sew on ribbon, lace or beads to achieve different effects. Try Woolworths for inexpensive frames. (30 mins)

9. Add interest to blank areaswith a display of vases or other interesting items on a shelf. Fix a slim shelf above head height to draw the eye upwards, and group objects together.

10. Introduce a new, vibrant colour using accessories. A carefully placed throw, some scatter cushions on a sofa, and a selection of pretty vases will refresh your room. And you needn’t spend a fortune – try Matalan for a selection of affordable accessories. (2 hours)

11. Redress your windows Buy basic cotton tab-top curtains (Next Home have a good range), then sew your own choice of fabric to them to create linen curtains. If you don’t have a talent for sewing, use iron-on webbing to secure it in place. (1 hour)

12. Use a carpet remnant and a canvas strip to create a rug.Cut the carpet to size, then use a large needle to sew on the canvas edging. If you want a specific colour to coordinate with your room scheme, dye the canvas to match – try Dylon fabric hand eye, £.2.95 for 10g, John Lewis. (2 hours)

13. Brighten up a window with a do-it-yourself fabric blind. Kits are easy to use and are an affordable alternative to buying ready-made blinds, so you can update your windows as often as you like. (3 hours)

14. Add a personal touch to a church pillar candleby winding decorative wire around it. Try The Pier for similar candles and HobbyCraft for wires, and be sure to remove the wire before lighting the candle. (5 mins)

15. Swap Furniture between rooms.It’s a amazing how different a bedside table looks when used as a side table in the lounge, and vice versa. Try using a kitchen table as a desk, or a hall cabinet in the bathroom. (5 mins)

16. Revive a boring bedroom with a striking wall-hanging.Pin a pretty fabric behind the bed to introduce colour and pattern without redecorating, or drape fabric from the ceiling for a luxurious look. Try hanging Ikea’s Minnen bed canopy set, £22.90 along with matching accessories. (2 hours)

17. Give an old chest of drawers a face-liftby covering it with chic wallpaper. Sand it down then wipe clean. When completely dry, attach the covering with wallpaper paste or PVA glue. Glaze with varnish to protect from knocks and scrapes. (1 Day)

18. Decorate storage boxes with wrapping paper.Cover shoe or file boxes with patterned paper, and put them on display above a wardrobe or on a shelf. Try Cargo Home Shop for pretty paper. (30 mins)

19. Disguise unattractive radiators with specially made decorative covers.Choose one with a built-in storage element, such as a bookcase, so that it serves a double purpose. Try B&Q for a good selection. (2 hours)

20. Makeover paint is a fantastic way to transform a chest of drawers.Coordinate items of furniture with other accessories in the room by painting them in the same colour, or tones of the same colour. And to make drawers really stand out, replace the handles. (1 Day)

21. Replace door handles on internal doors. Choose from coloured glass, metal or wood to add a designer touch to your room scheme. Bombay Duck has a good selection of glass handles. (30 mins)

22. Create an eye-catching collage of memories. Cover the back of a door with a roll of cork and stick a collection of your much-loved photographs, postcards and images cut from magazines to it for a unique display, Try Cork on a Roll, £31.38 for W1.2m x L2m from Siesta Cork. (1 hour)

23. Decorate a mirror with homemade graffiti.Write a favourite poem or piece of prose on the mirror using glass pens, or draw on a pattern. The pens aren’t permanent, so you can remove your designs with glass cleaner. Try Cowling & Wilcox for Glass Posca pens, £3.75. (30 mins)

24. Use lighting to transform a room.In dingy rooms use a strong and bright overhead bulb, and warm up cold rooms with peachy-coloured lighting. For social areas, think about replacing the ceiling pendant with lots of floorstanding and table lamps for a more informal setting. (1 hour)

25. Paper a feature wall for a hint of glamour.Choose a bold pattern or strong colour for impact. Or, for a more subtle effect, use a damask print in a similar shade to your walls. (1 Day)

26. A simple pinhole pattern lifts a bland lampshade- it’s easy to do and casts magical speckles of light around the room. Draw a pattern onto tracing paper, wrap it around your plain shade, and hold in place with masking tape. Then use a sharp needle or pin to prick out the design. (1 hour)

27. Change the layout of a room for a complete, cost-free transformation – you can always change it back if you don’t like it. Take the opportunity to clean dusty woodwork and paint over marks that had been hidden by furniture. (1 Day)

28. Banish boring plastic light switches and plug sockets, and replace them with modern designs in chrome, leather or plastic. Or fit a dimmer switch to give you flexible lighting that suits the occasion – from bright and airy to cosy and intimate. (1 hour)

29. Treat your bed to a feather and down mattress topper.Not only will it transform your bed into a haven for sleep – it will also create a plump shape, turning your bed into something special. (1 hour)

30. Remove a tired, old blindand replace it with a new design in metal or wood to make an elegant and smart window dressing. You could even paint wooden blinds to match your colour scheme. (2 hours)

31. Make an attractive headboard out of a carved panel of wood, or an old wooden door. Get a panel as close to your bed size as possible, or have it cut down to size at your lumber yard. Fasten it to the wall directly behind your bed and you have a stunning headboard. An old iron gate used the same way makes an equally stunning headboard.

32. Make a canopied bed easily and inexpensively with fabric that matches your bedspread and two long curtain poles with ornate finials. Place one curtain pole directly over the bed where the wall and ceiling meet; place the second pole on the ceiling approximately two or three feet from the first pole. Extend the fabric up the wall behind the headboard and let it drape between the two curtain poles.

33. Match your headboard to your bedspread. Make or buy a quilted floral spread and get extra fabric. Cut out a few quilted flowers from the extra fabric and paste them in a pleasing arrangement on the wall at the hed of the bed.

34. Make a portable dressing table out of an old tea wagon. Attach a fabric skirt around it; use the shelves for cosmetics, perfume, etc, and place a mirror on top. It wheels conveniently over to the window for daylight makeup.

35. Give your bed a decorator look with a swag at the headboard. Use three brass towel rings with an ornate design (a sunburst, dolphin, etc.) as the holders; make the swag with a fabric that blends or contrasts with your bedspread. (Note: Towel rings and fabric used in tis manner also make a decorative window treatment.)

Source: House Beautiful May 2006