A quick fix does the trick

Barbara Chandler5 April 2012
The Weekender

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The most exciting development in the DIY business is the amount of design that's coming through in own-brand products sold through the sort of DIY chain store once studiously snubbed by style snobs. Those stores have given themselves a makeover just as massive as any of those celeb transformations we've seen on television. The It range, for example, a brand-new storage system for kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and bedrooms, has been created by B&Q after months of research into consumer tastes and needs, followed by stringent testing and experimental marketing.

The range has 17 possible fascias (from frosted glass to solid dark-stained oak and simple white) that offers every design detail. B&Q even consulted fashion guru Tara Bernerd, a partner in Philippe Starck's company yootoo, on the finer points. She says: "The It range is directional and accessible and above all affordable: why should design be the prerogative of the elite?" Call 0845 222 1000 for details.

A myriad of other new products has burst onto the market as DIY stores convert the "Do" into "Design" as part of a shrewd marketing strategy. Now, even if you've never so much as changed a lightbulb, DIY offers countless possibilities. Along with the glamour of new designs, come new products that reduce the technical skills required to bring style into your home.

GLUES COMPANY

Glues are the biggest breakthroughs. They have become incredibly strong and versatile. Brands such as Araldite and Bostik now have strong, clear, quick glues for all purposes. One even glues glitter to fabric or card in one simple action. Using a simple hot-melt glue gun, priced at around £10, enables you to stick most objects together, whether a simple repair for a broken toy or a fancy window pelmet. Says Bostik product manager Claire Lewis: "People don't realise how versatile glues are today. Glue guns stick pretty much everything and have loads of great uses from household repairs and DIY to arts and crafts."

Glue guns work when the strips of adhesive they contain are melted by heat from a power point. Bostik markets a cordless version powered by gas cylinders and, for delicate fabrics and card, a low-temperature version. Call 01785 272764 for more details.

Loctite's revolutionary Super Plastix is the first to bond all types of plastic, including notoriously difficult surfaces such as toys, electrical appliances, personal stereos, mobile phones, Perspex and CD covers. The price is £4.99, available from DIY shops nationwide.

New Solvite Pink is a jolly glue that starts as a white powder, mixes to a pink paste, then dries completely clear. The aim of the exercise is to let you see exactly how much of the paper you have pasted. Priced around £5.20.

PAINTING PLACES

Paint Magic is a legendary brand, founded by Jocasta Innes in 1987, that has developed a new species of paint-on glitter. The colours have all the magical allure of a fairytale princess and are carefully formulated to be used together: turquoise with violet, for example, or rainbow with copper. Stardust Glitter is the paint's name and it lives up to it.

Paint Magic has other clever finishes to offer: a range of pastel-coloured paint is formulated to give the touchy-feely effect of the softest of suedes (01279 876657). More clever surfaces in a can come from International Paints (01962 717001; www. international-paints.co.uk). It has a special paint for cheering up an old fridge, for example, or a paint to give your droopy old radiators a seductive and reflective chrome finish. "With the latest trend for metallics in the kitchen, our new products give a chance to update a appliance without the cost of replacement," says marketing manager Valerie Prescott.

Using its products, you can paint over tiles, melamine, old appliances and so on. Newest formula is a primer for uPVC. Or, for a quick effect, go for the latest three-in-one primer/sealer/undercoat. This primes to give a key for the top coat, seals to counter balance any porous topcoat and undercoats to give a final smooth and even surface.

MORE METAL

Plasti-Kote is also launching metallic paints this spring, all in aerosol form and a vast range of colours and finishes, including glass frosting, fleckstone, crackle stardust, brilliant metallic and stencil. For a leaflet and more details, call 01962 717001.

On the other hand, a subtle new product from Rustin's, master of the small can, is Hidden Heat, a matt-black radiator paint that completes the disguise of radiator grilles (020 8450 4666).

If timber decking is looking a bit sad after the winter, Ronseal has a new range called DeckCare in six colours, including pine, blue and evergreen (£24.99 for 2.5 litres). The range also includes a useful decking cleaner for removing all that winter grime (0114 246 7171; www.ronseal.co.uk).

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