Tab Tries: Upcycling

Fixing up a house abused by countless groups of students can be a massive effort that landlords refuse to bother with, here’s how to make your shabby house a home for next to nothing.

Upcycling is essentially scoring freebies online – you can sign up to websites where people give stuff away they no longer need, all you have to do is send them a request for it.

It’s like asking your mates for hand-me-down but on another level.

Anything you can’t find for free can be found at a small cost in charity shops across Sheffield.

We found ourselves an ironing board in Broomhill’s Oxfam and some side tables in The British Heart Foundation furniture shop in the city centre (they even deliver).

Full of treasures

Often items you find for free or in charity shops aren’t to your taste or in a good condition, but bear in mind they can always be upcycled.

With a little PVA glue, some free wallpaper samples, old museum tickets and book pages we upcyled this tired 1990’s desk using the art of decoupage (it’s French for cutting up).

You can decoupage almost any piece of furniture, simply sand down the surface and glue on the paper or fabric of your choice, ensuring that there are no air bubbles.

Workin’ on your workspace

Desk tops are great for making other pieces of furniture. To make this gingham headboard all you need is an old desktop, some fabric and a staple gun.

Simply staple the fabric over the desk, perhaps with a little foam underneath for added comfort, ensuring that the fabric remains taut.

We used an old desk top and some cheap fabric bought at ‘Abakhan’ to make this gingham headboard.

Just want to add a few personal touches to your uni room? Go online for regularly updated inspiration.

For this, start with a cheap canvas and wall paper sample. Print out an initial template in a font of your choice, trace onto cardboard and cut out, before painting with cheap acrylic paint and attaching some old clip on earrings (or any old piece of jewellery you can find).

Using more old jewellery and wallpaper samples you can embellish plain candles, selecting small sections of the wallpaper and attaching them with coloured string.

For that candle lit essay

If you have any wallpaper samples left over, use free origami instructions to make these paper birds and hang them from the ceiling surrounding your main light, using string and drawing pins.

Organising your stationary and notes is an undeniably good idea. Get a cheap desk tidy and some paint samples to brighten it up (you don’t even have to be artistic).

Get a cheap desk tidy and some paint samples to brighten it up (you don’t even have to be artistic).

If you love organisation you’ll love this

And finally, if all else fails (or requires too much effort) then a good old string of fairy lights can transform even the ugliest of rooms.

Palace