Long weekends are the perfect time to tick off projects around the home that you’ve been putting off. As well as bigger home renovation projects, it’s the perfect time to do smaller home improvements. For example, decluttering spaces, adding pockets of style or even building your furniture (nothing too challenging, promise!). We’ve gathered 20 of our favourite DIY and home decorating ideas for the long weekend.
Related article: How to: Style a bookshelf
Related article: 21 decorating hacks for rental properties
1. DIY ladder shelves
Bookshelves can be one of the most challenging furniture items to buy. Generally not the right size, far too expensive or in a style that doesn’t suit our aesthetic. Overcome these issues by building your own!
How about this simple yet sturdy A-frame ladder shelf that Mandi from Vintage Revivals created?! Using pine boards and dowel, it adds plenty of additional storage and is the perfect way to display your favourite objects. Find this customisable DIY here.
2. Set up your home office
Working from home is kinda the continued norm these days, isn’t it? And that extra day off could be the perfect time to give your office space a deep clean. We’ve got a great article with 5 steps to create a productive home office space, or one on streamlining and styling your office to boost productivity.
If you just want to pretty up your space (and who doesn’t want to do that?!), why not check out this article with 20 fabulous and affordable office styling tips?
Style your office with our top picks
3. Hack your own renter-friendly curtains
Are you a renter looking to add curtains to your property but can’t drilling into the walls? Maybe you’re a homeowner who just wants to make a temporary curtain update? If this sounds like you, this may be the weekend renovation idea for you!
Out of all the weekend renovation ideas we have here, this may be the most interesting!
Instagram user @offliveoak used Command hanging hooks to hold her curtain rail, completely removing the need for curtain hooks altogether. It’s so clever, we’re almost jealous we didn’t think of it ourselves.
2. Floating corner shelves
Struggling to style that empty corner? Shelving is a great solution — a spot for decor and house plants, all while adding extra storage to your space.
This clean floating shelf DIY avoids the need for unsightly brackets. By following the DIY here, you can get the same look for your home!
3. Create photobooks or print out family photos
A job we never seem to find the time to do is create family photobooks or print out family photos to display around the home.
There are loads of websites that allow you to easily create photobooks or print family photos from the comfort of your home. So why not take the long weekend as a chance to finally get all those precious photos off your phone and camera SIM cards and print them out!!
If you’re based in Australia, you may like to try the Photobook Australia site for great quality and value for money.
4. Get stuck into the garden
Heading back out into the garden again, now you’ve got your veggie patch sorted, it’s time to tackle the rest of the yard!
There’s still plenty of fun to be had in the garden in autumn. We cover everything you should be doing in your garden NOW in our autumn gardening guide here.
Shop your gardening essentials here
5. Curate a wine collection or stock up your home bar
There’s no denying that a long weekend is cause for celebration and a bit of over indulgence! Well… any excuse really, we say!
In all seriousness though, taking the time to research good wines and build up a home cellar has been something on our ‘to do’ list forever and it seems like now is the perfect time to do it. Plenty of websites have a great selection of wines available, such as Virgin Wines and Just Wines (use coupon code ‘FIRST’ to get $20 off your first order), and wine ratings/reviews to help you make your selections.
6. Start a compost
One of the boredom busters Gina recently ticked off her to do list, was starting an at-home compost. This is a great project to start while you have a bit of extra time at home so we encourage you to give it a go.
It’s also a fabulous way to reduce how much kitchen waste goes into landfill. And in return, you will be rewarded with rich, nutrient-dense compost your plants (including that new veggie garden you’ve just started!) will LOVE.
No idea how to get started? Our composting guide for beginners will take you through every step of the process.
Shop your composting essentials here
8. Declutter your home
Ohhh a declutter is good for the soul, don’t you think?! Now is as good a time as any to clear out those un-worn clothes, toys the kids no longer play with, or just ‘stuff’ you’re holding on to for no real reason.
Have a read of our declutter article to help get started, or try your hand at a toy rotation system. Or scroll through our organising articles to see if anything sparks your decluttering fancy.
9. Organise your fridge
There is honestly nothing more satisfying than a beautifully organised fridge. When Gina did hers, it went from being the most embarrassing part of her kitchen to one of her favourites.
This is an easy afternoon project and can make way for more space, helping you to store more in your fridge and minimise how often you need to pop out to the grocery store.
Check out Gina’s tips for taking your fridge from disgusting to dreamy, here!
Get everything you need to beautify your fridge here
10. Organise your pantry
Another popular organising task in the kitchen zone is the pantry. We LOVE an organised pantry! If you are less fond of yours, why not spend some of your long weekend giving it a makeover?
We share our top pintrest-worthy pantry ideas here as well as tips and tricks to styling and organising your pantry. Trust us, this one is seriously satisfying once you’re done!
Get everything you need for a pintrest-worthy pantry here
11. Grow plants or expand your indoor jungle
Propagating plants is a fun activity and many of them are soooo simple to grow!
One of our favourite plants to propagate is the ever-so forgiving Pothos (aka Devil’s Ivy). Watch this quick video to get the know-how and be on your way to becoming a crazy plant lady!
And of course, succulents are also super simple to grow — either from a leaf or a cutting, and we share both techniques here.
Worried you’ve got a black thumb? Never fear! Our top tips for keeping indoor plants alive and hard to kill plant articles are some of our most popular articles ever!
Shop some stylish indoor pots here
12. Paint a pot
Now that you’ve extended your plant family, you might need some new pots to spruce them up! There are countless DIY tutorials online showing different ways you can decorate pots, such as the pic above from the Dream Green DIY site. Soon we’ll be giving a few pots in our front entry a makeover so stay tuned for that 😉
13. Style your laundry
Often, the laundry is a neglected zone of the home styling-wise. It’s time to bring your laundry out of the shadows and make it a real statement room in the home. We’ve got all the tips and tricks to get you stylin’.
Shop everything luxe laundry here
14. Make use of an awkward or under-utilised space
Many of us have an awkward space in our homes or a room that’s just a dumping ground of stuff. You’d be surprised what’s possible in these small or oddly-shaped areas with a little creativity. For example, Gina had an area under her stairs that was used as a storage room (read: rubbish room) so she cleared it out to make an indoor cubby for her kids.
No matter how big or small, if you have a dead area in your home, why not take this time to find a new way to make use of it?! And if you’re not sure how to tackle it, check out this article where we share 11 ideas for styling an empty corner of your home.
Find all your under the stair cubby essentials here
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15. Create your own Kmart hack
DIYs are some of the best ways to keep busy and have a bit of fun (we’ve got LOADS of ideas for you right here). But some of the most popular ones are the good old Kmart hacks.
From our very own Kmart concrete side table DIY article, to some amazing Kmart hacks for kids — we have got you covered!
Just looking for a bit of inspo? Take a look all our Kmart hacks articles that cover every room of the house!
16. Give a room a stylish makeover
Styling (or re-styling!) a room is one of our favourite projects… ever! Perhaps you’d like to tackle your lounge room, or maybe your bathroom? Kitchen styling is always popular, or have a read of this article which gives you luxe ideas on a budget.
However, top of our list for rooms that are the most fun to makeover are kids bedrooms! Gina recently gave Alexander’s room a refresh and re-style over the course of a weekend. And the results speak for themselves!
17. Style up your bedside table
Give your bedside table a makeover for another simple, easy to do project. Following some of our top advice here, you can create a clean, stylish and more inviting space within your bedroom sanctuary.
Shop your bedside styling essentials here
18. Make some bath stuff
A long weekend surely means more time to relax, right?! Well, even if that’s not the case it should still mean you’re giving yourself a bit of pampering and ‘me time’.
Create your own at home day spa with our DIY pamper ideas. We have a super simple bath fizzies recipe the kids can help make. Or, how about luxe bath bombs or some beautiful bath salts.
19. Have a go at making your own candles
A relaxing bath just isn’t complete without a gorgeous candle (and a glass of wine 😉 ). So before you jump into the bath, let us take you through a step-by-step candle making tutorial!
Just imagine how luxurious that bath is going to be after you’ve made your own bath products and soy candle?! You can thank us later!
So, what do you think of our list of things to do at home to keep busy? Are you keen to give any a go? Tell us in the comment section below or we’d love you to tag us (@stylecuratorau) on Instagram so we can check out your creations!
More DIY ideas
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Love love love those painted pots – really gorgeous! Lots of great ideas here for whiling away time in lockdown Melbourne. Thank you.
Hope you’re going ok down there Justine! Lockdown was hard enough the first time x