My Room: Clever DIY Hacks Were Key to Creating a Chic Living Room
Before and after photos show how an interior designer and blogger totally transformed his living room on a budget
“If I can give it a go, I’ll give it a go,” says interior designer and blogger Malcolm Begg, which explains how he managed to revamp the living room of his Victorian terraced house by doing most of the work himself. From replacing a fireplace and building a bookcase to laying a herringbone floor, it seems there isn’t much Malcolm won’t tackle, and if he doesn’t know how to do it, he’ll go ahead and find out.
Malcolm ripped the peach fireplace out and replaced it with a Victorian surround he’d found on Gumtree for £50.
He made the insert himself by building a framework with wooden battens and concrete boards. He built up the hearth with the old bricks he’d removed from the back of the fireplace and poured concrete into a wooden frame mould. Then he covered the surface with wallet-friendly stone-effect tiles and painted the wooden surround.
The fire itself is a bioethanol model, so there was no need for any additional work to be done to the chimney.
He made the insert himself by building a framework with wooden battens and concrete boards. He built up the hearth with the old bricks he’d removed from the back of the fireplace and poured concrete into a wooden frame mould. Then he covered the surface with wallet-friendly stone-effect tiles and painted the wooden surround.
The fire itself is a bioethanol model, so there was no need for any additional work to be done to the chimney.
The next job on the list was to lay the floor. “I love Parisian apartments with their herringbone parquet flooring,” says Malcolm. “I found these engineered oak boards on eBay and laid them myself. It was a challenge, as I’d never laid herringbone before.
“The tricky part was cutting the triangles at the edges, but it worked and I carried it through to the hallway.
“I also changed the radiators,” he adds. “They were from eBay, too. I couldn’t get the colour I wanted, so I spray-painted them with car paint, which adheres very well.”
Malcolm called in a plumber to install the radiators.
Radiators painted in Etch Primer, then Rover Tempest Grey car spray paint, both Halfords.
Thinking of doing something similar with salvaged radiators? Search for plumbers in your area
“The tricky part was cutting the triangles at the edges, but it worked and I carried it through to the hallway.
“I also changed the radiators,” he adds. “They were from eBay, too. I couldn’t get the colour I wanted, so I spray-painted them with car paint, which adheres very well.”
Malcolm called in a plumber to install the radiators.
Radiators painted in Etch Primer, then Rover Tempest Grey car spray paint, both Halfords.
Thinking of doing something similar with salvaged radiators? Search for plumbers in your area
To reinstate more of the period character of the property, Malcolm installed a ceiling rose, which was again sourced on eBay.
“My dad and I put it up together, as it was really heavy,” he says. “It was glued and screwed in place.
“I knew I wanted a contemporary light fitting with clean lines that didn’t distract from the cornicing and ceiling rose,” he adds, but as his budget wouldn’t stretch to a designer model, he used his creative thinking once again.
Discover ideas for decorating your fireplace wall
“My dad and I put it up together, as it was really heavy,” he says. “It was glued and screwed in place.
“I knew I wanted a contemporary light fitting with clean lines that didn’t distract from the cornicing and ceiling rose,” he adds, but as his budget wouldn’t stretch to a designer model, he used his creative thinking once again.
Discover ideas for decorating your fireplace wall
“I picked up a brass light fitting at a car-boot sale for £1 and transformed it,” Malcolm explains.
He removed some of the parts, including the floral glass shades and candelabras, leaving a sleek, five-pronged design.
He removed some of the parts, including the floral glass shades and candelabras, leaving a sleek, five-pronged design.
He then spray-painted the whole thing in matt black and attached some attractive light bulbs, which were in fact the most expensive part of the DIY hack.
Browse ceiling lighting in the Houzz Shop for a huge range of styles
Browse ceiling lighting in the Houzz Shop for a huge range of styles
The bookcase was another clever DIY project, made from Ikea Billy bookcases and some kitchen bridging units. The kitchen cabinets were attached to the base of the wall and a sheet of wood was laid on top for the bookcases to rest on.
Malcolm then turned four Billy bookcases upside down and screwed them to the wall above the bridging units, then attached a cornice along the top. He painted the whole unit in the same deep grey as the walls.
“The Ikea lights along the top were an afterthought, but they make such a difference in the evening,” he says.
In the corner is a little wooden chest that used to belong to Malcolm’s grandparents. “They didn’t have a bank account,” he says, “so this is where they kept their money under the bed.”
Malcolm then turned four Billy bookcases upside down and screwed them to the wall above the bridging units, then attached a cornice along the top. He painted the whole unit in the same deep grey as the walls.
“The Ikea lights along the top were an afterthought, but they make such a difference in the evening,” he says.
In the corner is a little wooden chest that used to belong to Malcolm’s grandparents. “They didn’t have a bank account,” he says, “so this is where they kept their money under the bed.”
The smooth walls were a lucky find, as Malcolm explains. “The intention was to strip back the wallpaper and leave some uneven but attractive old walls. However, the entire textured surface came off and left a perfect smooth surface of wallpaper lining. “Whoever put it on there did it with industrial-type glue,” he laughs.
Malcolm chose a colour scheme of grey and teal. “I wanted something quite neutral that I could live with, as I’m quite flighty.”
A sofa and armchair surround an antique rug that Malcolm bought years ago in Turkey and a coffee table he treated himself to when he bought the house. The armchair was revamped with some new legs and a slipcover.
Sofa; armchair, both Ikea. Legs; slipcover, both eBay. Coffee table, Dwell. Artwork, Malcolm’s own.
Malcolm chose a colour scheme of grey and teal. “I wanted something quite neutral that I could live with, as I’m quite flighty.”
A sofa and armchair surround an antique rug that Malcolm bought years ago in Turkey and a coffee table he treated himself to when he bought the house. The armchair was revamped with some new legs and a slipcover.
Sofa; armchair, both Ikea. Legs; slipcover, both eBay. Coffee table, Dwell. Artwork, Malcolm’s own.
“The windows were in perfect condition, as new sashes had been put in a few years earlier,” Malcolm says. Wooden Venetian blinds give the room some privacy, and on top of these are some thermal Roman blinds. “We have them down in the winter and it makes such a difference,” he says.
“The houseplant is called Audrey and she was £5 on Gumtree,” he adds. “We didn’t realise she would get so big, and she has to be trimmed regularly – but I love her.”
Metal side table, West Elm. Table lamp, Habitat. Tall lamp, French Connection. Wicker stool, from a charity shop in Aberdeen.
Check out Malcolm’s blog.
Tell us…
What do you think of this living room designed with smart finds and clever DIY hacks? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
“The houseplant is called Audrey and she was £5 on Gumtree,” he adds. “We didn’t realise she would get so big, and she has to be trimmed regularly – but I love her.”
Metal side table, West Elm. Table lamp, Habitat. Tall lamp, French Connection. Wicker stool, from a charity shop in Aberdeen.
Check out Malcolm’s blog.
Tell us…
What do you think of this living room designed with smart finds and clever DIY hacks? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here Interior designer and blogger Malcolm Begg of DesignSixtyNine and his partner, Brian
Location Aberdeen
Property Victorian terraced house with three bedrooms and one bathroom
Room dimensions 4.5 x 4.5m
“When we moved into the property, the living room was peach, beige and floral – it hadn’t been decorated since the 1970s or 1980s,” Malcolm says. “I knew I wanted to replace the peach-tiled 1940s fireplace first with something more in keeping with the period home.”
Walls painted in Whistling Whippoorwill, Valspar.