Most Brits are happy to tackle painting and building furniture, with half of us saying we do the DIY in our homes. For the beginners out there, the advice is to start small and work up to bigger projects. DIY and Interiors expert, Alex Lawson of @casalawson also advises on a beginner tool kit to help us get started.
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00:00 I think one of the biggest things is that people find it really overwhelming.
00:04 There's a lot of terminology that aren't things you necessarily learn at school or already
00:08 know.
00:09 And I think going into that first hardware store or tool shop to ask for the tools and
00:13 even knowing what to ask for can be so daunting.
00:16 And I think with DIY.com and B&Q really making an effort to try and remove that stigma for
00:22 people and make it as accessible as possible is what we're really seeing.
00:25 And I think accounts like mine and others really try to break it down.
00:29 You know that step by step video, a post that you can save and come back to.
00:33 And I think by just making it so much more accessible for people, people feel like they
00:38 can do it too.
00:40 Most Brits are happy to tackle painting and building furniture, with half of us saying
00:44 we do the DIY in our own homes.
00:46 For the beginners out there, the advice is to start small.
00:49 I would always say start small.
00:51 But the most important thing is that you've got to start.
00:53 How many of us have a plan or a project and we just keep putting it off or don't get round
00:57 to it?
00:58 So I started with the Dalmatian wall with doing a stencil.
01:00 But yeah, start with something like painting a wall, putting up a shelf, perhaps changing
01:06 out a fitting in your home.
01:08 And you know, things like changing the handles on cabinets.
01:10 That's a really easy one to do.
01:11 And it can be super impactful, totally change the look of a unit.
01:15 And we're seeing so many more people now, you know, Facebook marketplace, a unit's up
01:19 for sale, you can get it for much cheaper and then paint it and upgrade the handles
01:23 and you have a brand new fantastic piece of furniture.
01:25 What would you recommend for a complete beginner?
01:27 What are the things that you need to have in your toolkit?
01:30 I would always recommend having a drill and a level.
01:33 They're probably my two most used tools at the start.
01:36 And then a nail gun is one that I think people find quite daunting because it makes quite
01:40 a loud noise when you use it.
01:42 But it can be a fantastic piece of kit around the home.
01:45 Definitely having a screwdriver set you can turn to.
01:48 And another favorite of mine is a mouse sander, you know, for taking back some wood that's
01:52 nearly got a stain on it or removing, you know, a kind of darker wood stain that you're
01:55 not a fan of.
01:56 a mouse sander is definitely a good job for that.