Book Review: Made by Yourself

The final book I'm reviewing for Book Week is... Made by Yourself: 100% Handmade Designer DIY Projects for the Home, from Furniture to Accessories by Peter Fehrentz.

This is a super-stylish hardback filled with 48 projects. The photos and styling are all great (& all done by Peter himself) and check out that yummy neon yellow spine!

Each project is rated by difficulty and cost, from 1 (easy / cheap) to 6 (difficult / expensive) and Peter has also provided an estimated time for each project.

As somone who is a bit of a novice when it comes to home DIY stuff I was pleased to see lots of projects rated 1 or 2 for difficulty. However, each project only includes quite short text instructions (with just a couple of diagrams in the book) so some knowledge of the materials you're using are required. I definitely wouldn't be able to tackle the level 1 woodworking projects with the same confidence as the projects involving card, fabric, paint, etc.

At the back of the book there's a "credits" section, noting where all the materials and photo-props can be found, and a general stockists list. It's great to know exactly which bits of IKEA furniture Peter has decorated or used as props, but the other stockists are a bit pointless as they're all based in Germany (where the book was originally published) and I'm not sure that many people buying the UK edition would go that far to shop for DIY supplies.

The projects are divided by material...

... and the projects include mirrors, decorative accessories, trays, lighting, tables, candle holders, chairs and more.

If I'm honest there are lots of things in here which look awesome but which I am never ever going to make in a million years, either because I know my making-skills aren't up to it or the materials/tools needed are quite specialist (cutting glass to make a chandelier and turning a quartzite slab into a tray = not the DIY projects for me)... or just because they're a bit too "I've got a minimalist loft sparsely decorated with chic statement pieces" for my taste in home-decor (minimal and chic are words no-one is ever going to use about anywhere I live).

But oh my goodness there so many things in here I really want in my house!

It was hard to just pick a few examples to share with you guys but I especially loved this malachite-effect table (swoon)...

 

... these faux-metal letters...

 

... these fun cardboard "vases"...

 

... and this cushion cover (which is decorated with leather pieces but which I am, of course, imagining made with pieces of wool felt).

If you ooh over chic design blogs and fancy trying your hand at some creative, inspirational projects you'll find lots to love in this book... and the more confident and ambitious you are when it comes to DIY the more you'll be able to make from it.

And - great news - I've got a copy to give away! Check back tomorrow for the giveaway :)

Made by Yourself is published by Jacqui Small. RRP £18.00. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and many other bookshops.

Please note: I was sent a free review copy of this book. The Amazon & Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links.

365 / 222 - Hundreds of Circles

I was a bit sleepy yesterday and spent the whole evening curled up on the sofa watching videos, and cutting out teeny felt circles from my stash of felt scraps...
... colour therapy at its finest! In other colour-related news, I bought some delicious plants yesterday to add a bit more colour to our balcony and am most annoyed at the rain we're having today cos I can't get outside and plant them... plus: we're busy picking paint colours, starting with a blue for the bathroom. The bathroom has a blue carpet, so it's going to be blue walls to match. Test patches are drying as I type, and so far we're leaning towards this one, the imaginatively titled "blue sky":
Not too dark, not too pale, looks half-decent with the carpet, etc etc. I rather liked the look of this one... .... but it ends up darker than that and we definitely want the whole room painted one colour, it could be quite oppressive (though it would make a lovely and chic accent colour). Named "stormy sky" it may have similar effects on the emotions as real life stormy weather, and paint colours that seem likely to cause Seasonal Affective Disorder are probably a bad idea, haha. Also the boyfriend thinks it rather revolting and has vetoed it completely! Hopefully we'll have some sunny painting-friendly weather sometime soon - the bathroom does look rather funny at the moment covered in blue patches.