Crafty ways to ease your family's stress during lockdown

Arts and crafts have proved to be great activities to lift anxiety and improve wellbeing during lockdown.

Concentrating your mind on being creative can help bring a positive slant to a stress-filled day.

Interest in  interiors has soared during lockdown with searches for DIY up by 148% since this time last year.

Rebecca Snowden, interior style advisor at FurnitureChoice.co.uk, shares three eco-friendly DIYs that are easy and enjoyable.

Bearing in mind that increased time spent working from home should not detract from leisure time as a family, a DIY kids memo board is a fun activity to consider.

“This DIY makes use of materials that are most likely already lying around at home like old bits of contact paper, scrap fabric or toys that are no longer played with but still loved,” said Rebecca.

On the decor front, little touch ups to existing pieces of furniture can make a space feel refreshed and revitalised.

In the living room, add a dash of Art Deco to a plain sideboard.  Consider touches of gold and repeated patterns of geometric shapes or straight lines reminiscent of The Great Gatsby flair.

“One of my favourite interior tips is to upcycle furniture pieces that might feel a bit dated and turn them into a new centrepiece that wows,” said Rebecca.

Spending time indoors can be made more enjoyable with a few little tricks such as making your own DIY air freshener using essential oils, dried fruit or flowers and baking soda.

Rebecca said: “Scent is a powerful facet to interior creation that can dramatically change how a space breathes and feels. "

To learn how to create the memo board, revive a sideboard or make an air freshener go to the website www.furniturechoice.co.uk/advice-and-inspiration

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