Interiors inspo: best house renovation and DIY influencer accounts to follow

Planning to give your home a facelift but not sure where to begin? Look to these creative DIY bloggers…
Where better to look for tried-and-tested interiors tips than from those who've been through it themselves?
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Edwina Langley1 November 2018

If you have ever found yourself searching for some interior inspiration, chances are you might have discovered the UK’s thriving interior blog community.

Because where better to look for sound advice and nifty ideas than to those who are not just truly passionate about home décor but who have done it for themselves?

These are the influencers Amara Interior Blog Awards aims to celebrate. Founded in 2013, the awards were conceived to highlight individuals who have done – and continue to do – fantastic things in the interiors sphere.

Months of voting result in the creation of a prestigious shortlist, which leads to a spectacular finals ceremony, where winners from the UK, US and International, in each category, are announced.

Now in its fifth year, the winning blogs for 2018 were announced last week in a glamorous soiree at One Marylebone in London. And one of the most popular categories on the night was the Best DIY and Home Improvement Blog award.

Won this year for the UK by Vikkie Richmond – the woman behind The Carpenter’s Daughter – it was a hotly contested battle.

Here, we find out more about the shortlisted nominees.

Dove Cottage Blog

Dove Cottage Blog is run by Sam who is in the process of transforming her ‘fairly modern first house’ into a ‘country cottage’ of dreams.

Sam’s aim is to show how anyone – no matter their budget – can create a Pinterest-worthy home, even if juggling renovations with parenthood and pet care (Sam has a one-year-old daughter and a young dog).

Her most recent blog posts include such gems as "Six things you can do to embrace Autumn" (making an autumnal display and opting for a new diffuser scent) and "How to finish off a room: easy ways to accessorise".

Hester’s Handmade Home

A fan of upcycling and crafts, Hester’s blog brims with all manner of useful tips and interior inspiration.

Through her DIY Tutorials and Tutorial Crafts she uploads videos explaining how to create such ingenious homeware as pet sofa protectors from pillowcases, and how to paint a wall organiser.

She posts interviews with other crafters though her ‘Meet the Makers’ section, and adds regularly to a Lifestyle column, where you’ll find all things from cookie recipes to her detailed account of how she created a nursery – a "woodland cabin" – from the room formerly used as her "dumping ground of past builds and out of season clothes".

Kezzabeth

Kerry, known as ‘Kezzabeth’, started her blog after she and her partner Grant bought a Victorian house to renovate with only a small budget to do it on.

Her blog details what her house looked like upon purchase, and all the additions and decorations she and Grant have subsequently made.

From plastering to upcycling a towel rail, notes on turning a cupboard into a pantry, and installing a log burner, Kezzabeth’s renovation has been a serious project.

It even includes the renovation of her garden, where she’s been building her own pink shed.

The Carpenter’s Daughter

As her blog suggests, Vikkie is a carpenter’s daughter.

She purchased an inexpensive house in a nice area, in the hope that she and her partner might be able turn to it into a home reminiscent of its surroundings.

Often turning to her father for advice, Vikkie has managed to teach herself a hefty – and impressive – number of skills: from plastering to tiling, patio laying and making her own decking. Best of all, she demonstrates how readers can do it too.

Usefully, she has also tackled basic plumbing with a recent post detailing a step-by-step guide on how she successfully plumbed her utility kitchen using Speedfit.

Including cleaning tips and an entire section on travel and lifestyle, Vikkie’s blog shows what life looks like to someone wholly passionate about DIY, and invites you into her world.

The Little Stone Cottage

Serafin and Emma’s blog The Little Stone Cottage was conceived to chart their DIY renovation of a pre-1850s cottage in the Cotswolds.

They began by detailing the problems they faced and how they planned to tackle them, such challenges as the "damp, damp, damp", the roof in need of replacing, and the double storey extension required to "bring the house out inline with the front elevation of the house".

Their blog and Instagram feed relay their progress, and include the interior designs they’ve added as they’ve gone along.

With a focus on reclaimed pieces and natural textures and materials, their aim is to pay homage to their home’s extensive history.

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