I really hope that you have all been enjoying Kirstie Allsopp and team, as they introduce a whole new audience to the wonders of Upcycling and Buying Nothing New in Fill Your House for Free!
Episode 3 was jam-packed, as usual, with some great ideas-some easily replicated by you and I, and others perhaps needing a bit more in the way of equipment and balls to pull them off!
Here’s my round-up of some of the projects in the show, and some links to tutorials if you fancy having a go yourself!
Homemade Window Shutters
In the show, Lee Baker came up with the idea of making some shutters to provide some ‘window dressing’. I’ve had a quick look on scoured Pinterest and found this tutorial on I Love that Junk:
Lampshade Makeover
Kirstie did a brilliant lampshade makeover-she stripped a traditional lampshade back down to the wire, and then wrapped ribbon around the frame. I think she must have been reading the blog, as it’s very similar to what we did to make our Lampshade Christmas Tree..!
Kirstie gave a great tip, which was to use thin double sided sticky tape to secure the ends before starting to wrap. And then it’s pretty easy-you can use ribbon, or tear fabric intro strips, either way it looks pretty cool!
Bannister Coat Rail
On the C4 website, they feature a tutorial by one of the designers each week, walking you through one of the projects from the show. This week, Lee Baker shows how to make a coat rack from a scaffold plank and some bannister fixings:
Fish Tank
Charis Williams came up with a very cute upcycle of an old computer monitor, by turning into a fish tank! If you want to do the same, there is a tutorial here on Intructables:
Upcycling or tarting up old furniture can often involve painting it, and there were several mentions of paint recycling schemes like Community Re-paint. I’ve had a quick look at their website, and it looks FAB! So fab, I think it deserves a whole blog post to itself, so keep your eyes peeled for that 🙂
I love that just with one little sentence, Kirstie can flag up and introduce schemes like Community Re-paint, that are doing such a brilliant job. She also attended a Give and Take in this episode-these are brilliant events, and again, warrant another blog post all of their own.
So a HUGE thankyou to Kirstie and the whole team behind Fill Your House for Free, for bringing the wonderful world of re-loving, upcycling, and Buying Nothing New out of the (secondhand) wardrobe, and shining a big fat (upcycled) light on it for all to see!
My Make Do and Mend Year 
I haven’t been watching this programme as I already have a house mainly filled for free – and although turning a computer monitor into a fish tank may be recycling, it would be easy enough to pick up an old tank via local Freecycle!
I’m sure you could Maryom, but it wouldn’t look half as cool..!
I’m loving Fill Your House For Free. It’s a shame it’s only five episodes. There definitely needs to be another (longer) series.
You’re right Charlotte-let’s hope there’s another series!
Reblogged this on Linda's wildlife garden and commented:
Awesome Jen thanks for sharing have a brill day
Hurrah for Kirstie! I’m sure they mentioned Worcester this week – if only I’d known she was down this way!
Oooh, you could have met her!
Hi there,
I’ve just found your blog through a Google search. I have just started watching Fill Your House For Free and love it! I didn’t think to take down notes though so I’m very glad you’ve down all the work (and research!) for me. I’m looking forward to having a wander around your blog. Until last month, my partner and I have only lived in a tiny one bedroom flat with no garden, but now we’re living back in the countryside (in the middle of nowhere) in an actual HOUSE with a garden, but not much money. We’re both keen upcycle-rs and thrift-ers so we’re trying to learn how we make our home special and expand our knowledge and skills in these areas. The only issue is we’re renting, so nothing can be too permanent. Anyway, enough ramble, just thought I’d introduce myself.
Love Katie xx
Hi Katie
Thanks so much for stopping by! And thankyou for such a lovely comment 🙂
Sounds like you have the perfect excuse to indulge in a spot of upcycling! I have been told there is a book that is all about how to re-decorate/tart up when you are in rented accommodation-I will try and find out the title for you, as it would be perfect for you!
Welcome to the blog, I hope you enjoy it and find plenty of inspiration. Come and join us on Twitter for #makedoandmendhour every Thursday 8-9pm for lots of great ideas!
Jen x