10 interior improvements you can make in under 60 minutes

Whether you’re short on time, low on energy or just like to keep things looking fresh, a 'power hour' can be all you need to update your home. Here are 10 quick and easy home improvement ideas to revive your décor, or make your living space work better, that can be completed in 60 minutes or less.

Declutter a specific area

Set yourself a timer, and use your focused hour to tackle that messy table, crammed cupboard or chaotic spare bedroom that you’ve been avoiding. If you finish sooner than expected, move on to the next untidy spot and keep decluttering until the timer goes off.

Spruce up your shelving

If you have an open shelving unit, paint the inside recesses, or even use leftover wallpaper to provide a striking background for the contents and tie in the unit with your room décor. Using tonal colours adds interest and depth, and you might only need a few paint sample pots to complete the project.

Switch out some handles

Replacing the handles or knobs on your kitchen cabinets, bedroom cupboards and drawers, or even the internal doors around your home can make such a difference, and it’s so easy to do yourself. If you can’t afford to replace them all, you could remove and respray them with your choice of colour (although you’ll need more than 60 minutes to allow them to dry!).

Make an easy gallery wall

Gallery walls are a striking and timeless trend for displaying lots of art and favourite photographs, but they can take a lot of time to hang, and can’t be easily rearranged once they’re in place. Instead, put up three long, narrow shelves or picture ledges on a blank wall, and just freely place your frames along them. Use different heights, sizes and frame colours to make your gallery asymmetrical and visually appealing, and mix in trinkets like candles, small potted plants and other prized mementoes for the perfect ‘shelfie’.

Paint a pop of colour

A splash of vibrant colour transforms the look of a room and also creates a focal point, perfect for introducing colour to a neutral room or beginning to add your personality to a new build home. Paint your fireplace surround (if you have one) in a bold colour to make it pop, change the colour of a key piece of furniture like a coffee table or cabinet, or paint a shape on the wall to provide a backdrop or brighten up a corner.

Stencil your tiles

Re-tiling a wall or floor is a massive undertaking, so if your plain tiles are looking tired, a contemporary tile stencil could be the answer. Buy a pre-made stencil, or even try designing your own, then use a specialised tile paint to add a design. You could paint a tile here and there, or create a border in an hour, but you might not want to stop there.

Pay attention to your plants

Gather all of your house plants together and show them some love! Wipe down the leaves to remove dust, cut off any that are dead or yellowing, and give each plant a good watering. Repot plants that have outgrown their pots, replace or repair any chipped or cracked pots, or even switch your pots around to try them in a new spot in your home.

Hang a mirror (or two)

A well-placed mirror can make an enormous difference to how a space looks and feels. In darker rooms, hang one on the wall opposite, or adjacent to a window to bounce natural light around the room, or use a large mirror in a small room to add an illusion of more depth and space.

Revive your front door

Your entrance door is the first thing that you (and all your visitors!) see upon arrival, so treat it accordingly! Replace tired-looking door numbers, and add a statement door knocker, a bold welcome mat, or potted plants beside your doorstep. Also – when was the last time you gave your front door a good clean? Scrub it down and you’ll be surprised how much it improves your home’s curb appeal.