WATCHING miraculousTV style makeoversand seeing the experts

work their magic can maketransforming your home seem likea walk in the park.

However, every DIY-er knowsthat the true reality of painting,stripping, drilling, and hammering isvery much different to the glossyresults TV shows usually present.

But fear not, because no-non-sense Scottish design duo Colin andJustin, of Channel 5’s How Not ToDecorate, are on hand to offersome expert advice that could reallycome in handy.KITCHENSMAKE sure you have ample work-space for all that food preparation youdo, and do your best to keep surfacesclean and clutter-free. Butchers’ blocktrolleys are a great way of extending

your work zone, and there are someaffordable options.BATHROOMSANY colour goes in the bathroom -so long as it’s white. Don’t make afaux pas by going for anything else,no matter how tempting thatavocado suite in the sale is.You’llonly regret it, and with DIY multi-ples such as Wickes selling themfrom around £200 complete, therereally is no excuse.

Carpets in the bathroom are areal no-no, so opt instead for water-repellent flooring such as ceramictiles.

They are, of course, hardwearing,easy to clean and totally waterproof.They are also really easy to workwith - provided you plan the jobproperly and use the proper tools.

It’s vital you spend some timepreparing the walls before youbegin.They must be sound and dry,so slice away and replace anycrumbling and flaky plaster.

If the walls are a mass of lumpsand bumps, cover them with sheetsof plywood or chipboard, and tile onto these or repair/re-plaster. Coat

each sheet with PVA adhesive toprotect it against damp.

If the walls are already tiled, don’tassume that these will have to betaken off - provided they areattached solidly, you can leave themwhere they are and fix the newones over the top.

If you do this, clean the old tilesthoroughly first, and plan your workso that the joins between the newtiles don’t coincide with the old.

If old tiles are loose or damagedand need to be removed, chip themoff with a club hammer and abolster chisel. But remember towear safety goggles in order toprotect your eyes.1. To begin, screw a wooden battento the wall approximately one tilewidth above the skirting board. Usea spirit level.When drilling orhammering nails into walls becareful of, and make sure you checkfor, hidden electrical wires or cables.2. Spread tile adhesive over onesquare metre of wall.A notchedspreader will create ridges in theadhesive that will help the tiles tostick.

3. Following the guides made on thewall, bed the first tiles into theadhesive with a slight twisting action- its bottom edge should rest slightlyagainst the top of the batten.

Continue along the batten,bedding down tiles, and insertingplastic tile spacers in between themas you go.These will ensure an evengrouting pattern later and should bepressed into the adhesive below thelevel of the tiles.4. Leave gaps at either end until youhave completed two or three rows.You will work more quickly if youtile in batches and cut in batches.5. Tiles have always been cut byscribing and snapping separately, buta tile-cutting tool will do both jobsin one operation.6. Care must be taken when cuttingcurves in tiles to fit around a basin.You may be able to tilt the basinaway from the wall, insert a tile andmark your cut line directly onto itssurface.

If not you will either have tomake a cardboard template or use aprofile gauge to obtain the exactdimensions of the curve.

Use a pair of nibblers to removethe unwanted portion of the tile,taking small bits at atime to avoidcracking. Smooth offany rough edgesusing a tile file.7. Covering a wallimmediately belowa window meansthe job will lookbest if you have awhole row of tileshere. Measure downfrom the edge ofthe window andposition your battenaccordingly.

HALLWAYSMOST hallways are simply a narrowpassage through the rest of yourhome, so avoid a gridlock situationby keeping furniture, junk, andclutter to a minimum.LIVING ROOMSAVOID sofas that are shell-shaped,floppy, velour-covered, fringed orwrapped in a visible ‘antique’ timberframe. Sofas should be coloured,strongly structured, comfortable,and practical for you and all yourfamily.

Darker colours and patterneddesigns will hide marks and grubbyfingerprints that would be far morevisible on lighter, plain ones, butremember that they will still needwashing.

Many people make the fatalmistake of pushing furniture into thecorners of rooms in an attempt tomake them feel bigger. Instead, youshould fill out the space by bringinga coffee table into the centre anddressing your furnishing around afocal point, like a fireplace.

Remember that fashions comeand go, so the best thing to do isinvest in a timeless style that youlove.

● RIGHT:Kitchensshould haveample work-space for foodpreparationwith surfacesthat should bekept clean andclutter-free.

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Visit our indoor showroom.Also on display Workshops, Playsheds & Summerhouses

Nest of TablesMahogony Was £129

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Page 40 - Thursday September 28 2006 Visit our website at www.sthelensstar.co.uk

on flecks of paint with a window scraper,then spray with a soapy water solution.

This allows you to move the sheetonce it’s on the window to get theposition right.Then peel off the backingpaper - these sheets are like big piecesof sticky-backed plastic - and slide on tothe window.

Position it and carefully expel any airbubbles (from the centre out) using aplastic scraper (usually supplied). Prickany hard-to-budge bubbles with a pinand smooth out. Once dry, it sticks likeglue.

If you’re using an expensive patternedsheet, have a go with a cheap plain piecefirst.To buy, try www.windowfilm.co.ukor www.etchfx.co.uk

Don’t be tempted to use frostingsprays, as it’s hard to get an even coatand you’ll probably use lots of cans,making it patchy and expensive.

Blinds are another popular solution toprivacy problems.Venetian blinds (wood-en ones look best) allow you to angle

MOST of us have a room or twothat face the street and unlessyou want people peering in

while you’re relaxing at home, youneed to address the problem of mak-ing your windows private – there’s farmore to it than just net curtains.

Nets rarely have a place in the mod-ern home but, of course, some peoplestill like them.They’re inexpensive, let inlots of light and you can see what’s goingon outside, usually without twitchingthem.

Many people opt for nets just on thelower half of the windows, which is allyou need to provide privacy, but aesthet-ically, floor-to-ceiling nets are the way togo, with them pooling on the floor - andforget dated tab tops.

Nets are traditionally hung on acovered wire passed through a series ofhooks, which are easy to screw in to awooden window frame.Another optionis a double curtain pole, which allowsyou to hang nets behind curtains.

Ikea has a good selection of nets - itscurtains are longer than usual (300cm),which is ideal if you have high ceilings.John Lewis is net curtain heaven, whereboth off-the-shelf and made-to-measureproducts are available.

If you want something more contem-porary - and these days most of us do -how about frosting? There’s no denyingthat frosting looks really good, but it is apermanent solution and you can’t seethrough it.

Get round this by, again, only having iton half the window, or having a design,such as rows of cut-out circles orsquares, incorporated into the frosting,which makes it more interesting andallows you to see out. Patterned frostingsheets are much more expensive thanplain ones, though.

To fit a sheet, simply cut it to fit thewindow on a clean, hard, flat surface.Clean the window and remove any dried-

By Julia Gray the slats to give you some privacy, but the price isless light.Again, Ikea has a selection of inexpensivewooden Venetian blinds, as has Next.

They’re fairly straightforward to install - simplycentre the blind over the window and mark, drillholes for each bracket, place a Rawlplug in each holeand screw the brackets in place.The top of the blindslots into the brackets, then you click the rest of eachbracket in place around it.The biggest problem isthat the blinds are heavy, so get someone to helpyou.

Slatted wooden shutters (inside not outside ones)are similar and can also be angled.They’re quite aspecialist item, though, so aren’t as cheap as Venetianblinds but, unlike Venetians, you can just have themon the lower half of the window.To buy, trywww.opennshut.co.uk (gives instant quotations) orwww.shutterlyfabulous.com

A better solution is bottom-up blinds - roller blindsthat go up from the bottom of the window ratherthan down from the top and can be unfurled as much

or as little as you want. Choose a sheer fabric if youwant to be able to see out.

Again, they’re straightforward to install - you havebrackets to hold the cassette box containing thesprung blind, pulleys for the top and a cleat at theside. Once you’ve measured, all need to be screwedin place - use a bradawl to make the pilot holes.Youthen string up the blind with cord according to theinstructions, pull it up and secure using the cleat.Instant - but not permanent - privacy when you wantit.

The major drawback is the price - Eclectics has agood range but they’re not cheap.Alternatively, theydo 50:50 blinds, a roller blind with fabric you chooseat the bottom and white mesh at the top, so only thebottom half of the window is obscured.These arecheaper.

Similarly,Argos has a Roman blind with a privacy-providing sheer panel, though it only comes in onesize.And that’s the problem - lots of us don’t havestandard-size windows, making more expensivebespoke options our only choice.

Options for letting the light inwithout losing your privacy...

Oak Chest ofDrawers

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Cream Leather2 Seater Sofa

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Oak Finish ExtendingDining Table with

6 Chairs Was £1199Now £599

Solid AshSideboardWas £650

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Hardwood Table with leatherinert with 6 matching chairs,

chocolate brownWas £799 Now £399

Oak DisplayCabinet

Was £399Now £199

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Visit our website at www.sthelensstar.co.uk Thursday September 28 2006 - Page 41