As a specialist home interiors PR agency, we recently appeared in the Sunday Express with our latest home improvements research, which showed how Brits are splashing the cash on their properties and gardens instead of going on holiday.
Within the article, one of the great case studies we interviewed as part of our research was featured with her seaside themed garden project - creating her very own beach hut.
Here you can find out more about this creative DIY project, as well as meet some of our other home improvement case studies.
And if you're looking for PR services for your own home interiors, home improvement or DIY brand or business, contact us today to see how we can help.
Lockdown home improvement case studies:
“We made our own beach hut for our garden to help us relive our holiday in Cornwall”
Katie Lauren created a beach hut for her garden - inspired by her holiday in Cornwall last year
A beach hut home improvement project created an additional space at home
Lifestyle blogger Katie Lauren is 21 and lives in Nottingham with her parents and sister. Inspired by their trip to Cornwall last year, they’ve used lockdown to recreate their holiday experience by transforming a shed into a nautical beach hut.
She said: “We’d been thinking about making a beach hut for our garden ever since our holiday last April and over the last year we’ve been searching car boot sales and charity shops for seaside-themed products to go into it. Although we’ve been planning the project for some time, lockdown gave us the opportunity and the motivation to turn our idea into a reality. The weather was great and we knew we’d be unlikely to go on holiday this year, so it was the perfect time to do it.
“My dad is really handy so he built the seating and table inside the shed, as well as the painting and overall structure of the beach hut. I helped to plan the overall aesthetic of the space and decorated it.
“It took us about six weeks to complete, and we’ve used it so much over the last month or so for afternoon teas, evening drinks and playing games. We’ve also used it for work too – it’s great to show off in video call meetings! It’s just such a nice space to have to get away from the house, whether we’re working, relaxing or socialising with each other. I can’t wait to show it off to more people as the lockdown restrictions ease further!”
Home improvements research: The full results
Our recent home improvements research has been covered by several industry and national publications, including the Sunday Express, DIY Week, KBB Review, Retail Times, Prima magazine and more. You can read the full results and insights about how this impacts the home interiors industry here.
“We’ve spent lockdown creating our dream garden – complete with outdoor living area”
Furniture designer and maker Benjamin Sully transformed his garden into outdoor living space during lockdown
Furniture designer and maker Benjamin Sully transformed his garden into outdoor living space during lockdown
Furniture designer and maker Benjamin Sully, aged 36 from Gloucester, has spent lockdown transforming his garden, including an outdoor living area. He lives with his wife Victoria and two children, Bella (8) and Reuben (5).
He said: “We’d been planning our dream garden for some time and knew we wanted to get our outdoor space sorted before the summer. When lockdown started, we finally had the time to get on with the project. I’d already installed a veranda, but we’d not made the most of the area and there was an old patio in front of it that ruined it. So, we removed all the old slabs and lay down some new tiles and bought some brightly coloured garden furniture to set it off.
“On our veranda area, we’ve installed decking and added an awning so that we can use the space no matter what the weather. We wanted this outdoor area to be an extension of the inside of our property, so we’ve invested in some comfy sofas and chairs, and made it feel even more homely with cushions, an outdoor rug and plant pots.”
“We created our own playground to entertain our three children at home in lockdown”
Sarah Anguish, family blogger at Boo Roo and Tigger Too, created a play area for her children in lockdown
Mother of three Sarah Anguish, aged 37 from Norwich who writes one of the UK’s top family blogs Boo Roo and Tigger Too, transformed part of her garden into a play area for her children at the start of lockdown.
She said: “We used to have a large trampoline at the bottom of our garden, but it got ruined earlier in the year in one of the storms. Although the children enjoyed having the extra space to run around, I knew this wouldn’t be enough to keep them entertained for very long when we started lockdown. They usually love playing in the park, but even with our daily exercise allowed we knew they’d miss playing on the equipment, so we decided to create their very own playground.
“It was a fairly big project for us to take on and took us four weeks. We started by sectioning off an area in the garden with wooden sleepers, then to prepare the area we had to lay down slabs and install weed control membrane. After lots of researching on the perfect outdoor equipment, we chose a wooden climbing frame with swings and slide. We’re not going on holiday this year anymore, and we’ve not been able to go on days out over the last few months, so for us a dedicated play area was the best option. The kids have loved having their own playground and it’s provided hours of fun over lockdown. We know they’ll continue to use it for years to come too, so it was worth the investment.”