Interior design: top 20 thrifty tips for your home

We keep being told that the economy has recovered. GDP went up 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, taking the total this year to 1.9 per cent. House prices in many parts of the country are growing too: London increased by 10 per cent.

Yet for those of us who are not looking to sell our homes, this new dawn is often hard to perceive. The cost of living continues to tick up, and wages for many are still flat. In the run-up to the most expensive time of year, it is more important than ever to save money where we possibly can.

Between upcycling, freecyling and recycling, homeowners have come up with plenty of ingenious ways to do more with less, and maximise our biggest asset. We forage, we grow our own, we make do and mend. From the family heirlooms to the hairy labradoodle, here are our tips on how to make the most of what you've got.

1 Second-hand hotel chic

Consider a five-star facelift for your home with some hotel accessories. The Lanesborough, on Hyde Park Corner in London, is closing for refurbishment and auctioning all its furniture between December 9 and 13.

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You could pick up some great curtains, or old furniture, which you could repaint. Or try specialist outlets such as Little Auctions, which has an average of two sales a month, putting up an online catalogue the Thursday before the Saturday sale. If you are selling, note that commission rates vary according to the auction house.

2 Enjoy the financial comfort of strangers

Once your home looks like a hotel, treat it as one. Lodgers are the new house guests du jour. With the Government's rent-a-room scheme, you can earn up to Ј4,250 a year tax-free for letting a furnished room (hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/tmarent-a-room-scheme.shtml). Alternatively, you could have visitors to stay courtesy of the booking website airbnb.co.uk, or even a full management service such as Onefinestay. It cleans your home, stores your personal possessions and provides guests with iPhones. Vive unique goes one step further. It provides linen and meets guests on arrival, taking anything from five per cent to 35 per cent.

Eventfulstays.com specialises in rentals for special occasions (with commission of 10 per cent to 15 per cent). Other online listings companies, such as Wimdu and Holiday lettings, enable you to advertise your property.

Why buy a new sofa when you could just re-cover? Genevieve Fox at Rob Gord's furniture restoration workshop in Kentish Town (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY)

3 Chic…and cheap

Renovation is tiring. At the end of weeks or months spent redoing a room, the last thing you want is to trawl around for elegant, realistically priced antiques. Ikea calls like a siren by the time your builder has been paid.

Try looking instead at salvage yards. Although anything retro or industrial is often overpriced, there are bargains to be had. Salvoweb.com has a section called Recraft+?pcycled. I found a natty trestle console table there that was artfully distressed and affordable - a rare combination. In north-west London, I found Robert Gordon, who sells gorgeous old furniture from his workshop in Kentish Town.

Other useful contacts include Cox's architectural, Lassco, Andy Thornton and Beeston Reclamation

4 Hold fire online

On eBay, hold your nerve. As with any auction, you must stick to your budget and play your cards close to your chest. This is where sniping comes in. Sniping is the process of placing a last-minute bid to within five seconds of the striking of the virtual gavel. Check out third-party sniping platforms, such as Goofbid (which is free) and Auction Sniper (which charges one per cent).

5 Lease of life

If you want to get on the ladder, or find an investment, consider flats with short leases. They will be less expensive than those with a long lease or share of freehold. You may be able to extend the lease, which will increase the property's value in the long term. Beware, though, as it can be complicated to negotiate lease extensions - make sure you have a good lawyer.

6 Action off-plan

Buying off-plan appeals to those keen to avoid the stress of renovating. Property search expert and developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi of Banda Property advises caution. "If you are buying an apartment off-plan as an investment, make sure there are not too many units in the building, to reduce competition when it comes to letting it out," he says.

Also make sure your contract allows you to check for quality control during the build and that you have some flexibility about specifications.

7 Shock of the old

No one wants glossy, gleaming furniture. Bashed up, vintage or wrinkly is the new chic, but don't pay over the odds for antiqued glass mirrors, French dressers or distressed Nordic wardrobes. Take a leaf out of Kirstie Allsopp's book and learn how to strip back wood and age it yourself. It is time-consuming, but far less costly.

Go for quirky recycled and salvaged pieces (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY)

8 Become a skip scavenger

Skip scavenging is the new metal detecting. You don't need any gadgets, just an eagle eye, agile fingers and an empty car boot. The middle-class vandalism of the Eighties had homebuyers throwing out perfectly good kitchens because they wanted to put their own stamp on the property. Since then, canny locals have been waiting to pounce in smart streets the second the builders have downed tools for the day. Fireplaces and cornices are among the items that regularly find their way into skips. Remember to get permission from the builder or owner before you take anything.

9 Forage on Freecycle

I don't chuck out used goods anymore. I put them on Freecycle, the global recycling network that enables you to offer unwanted goods and take them, too. You have to be super-quick, though, as quality furniture, put up by eco-souls happy to share, is snapped up within seconds of being posted. I have so far given away a dishwasher, oven, fridge-freezer and microwave. Trusting in the law of karma, I am waiting for something divine (an antique chaise longue would be nice) to come my way.

10 Help a hoarder

We all know about hugging trees. Now it is time to hug a hoarder, or at least help them out by renting out any spare storage space. Storemates.co.uk will put you in touch with clutterers needing affordable space. It's free to list your offer of space on its website, but Storemates will charge the equivalent of the first two weeks of your listed storage price as an administration fee.

11 Buy second hand

You don't need to break the bank even if your kitchen is looking tired. The Used Kitchen Company sells unwanted and ex-display kitchens for a fraction of the usual cost. Or you can just replace the doors if the carcasses are salvageable. Try Dream Doors for a quick way to achieve a kitchen facelift.

12 Lights, camera, action

If you have a des res, a designer pad, or a Downton Abbey-esque period home, invite the film crews around and cash in. There are several agencies looking for locations for commercials, television series, photo shoots and feature films. These can be for a day, a week or even months. Expect to earn upwards of Ј500 a day, with extra zeros thrown in for historic properties. Be prepared to pay a fee of 20 per cent to the booker. See Amazing Space, Beach Studios and Location Works

Even the family pet can earn his keep (ALAMY)

13 Drive up your income

You have ditched the Lexus for a Zipcar. Now your driveway is sprouting weeds, rent it out instead. Online sites such as Park at my house; Park let; and Park on my drive have tools to help you calculate how much you can hope to earn. A driveway can bring in Ј5 a day or more if it's near a main-line station, while a parking space in central London can earn Ј20 a day.

14 Grow your own cash

Rent your garden out to a green-fingered neighbour to grow their veg. Your view will improve without any outlay, either physical or financial, and you might benefit from the annual glut of courgettes and tomatoes. Or if it's big and beautiful but the gardener's costing a fortune, hire your lawn for parties and weddings. The website Rent my garden puts you in touch with hirers for a fee of Ј25.

15 Run for a re-cover

If your expensive Italian sofa needs a facelift, should you ditch it and join the masses shopping at DFS, or have it re-covered? By sourcing your own fabric, you can get the sofa reupholstered for a flat fee. If you favour trad suppliers, such as Colefax and Fowler, you should check out discounted online suppliers, such as Ultimate Fabrics.

16 Call it curtains

No house is complete without lavish curtains. They dress a room, set its tone and raise the spirits. Beware, however: bespoke curtains are expensive. Happily, there is a vibrant second-hand market. The Curtain Exchange has six branches, selling second-hand as well as made-to-measure curtains. Prices range from Ј100 to Ј1,500.

Look around for sites close to your home if you want to see fabrics in the flesh. I found a nifty website called Friday-Ad, an online classified site. Mayfair Furniture Clearance sells on a limited number of curtains, as well as furniture, from five-star hotels.

17 Small-scale spectacular

If the snazzy wallpaper you most desire is ferociously expensive, why not limit it to a feature wall? You can paint the other walls in a toning shade, whether it's fashionable Farrow & Ball or mix-your-own at B?&?Q. Just don't try to mix your own colour at home. You will never manage the same shade twice.

18 Learn a useful skill

You don't have to go to the gym to get a workout. Try plastering or decorating and save paying a professional, too. If you don't know which end of a screw to hit, visit Chix and Mortar or The DIY School. They'll teach you how to wield a drill and tile the bathroom or plaster a wall and build a stone fireplace.

19 Timeshare your pooch

You already share a holiday cottage with another family, so why not do the same with your pet? It's a must to halve the cost of doggy day care and looking good.

Alternatively, be a fair-weather dog person and find owners who loan their mutt for walks and homestays through Borrow my doggy.

20 Make do and mend

For the determined penny pincher, there are money-saving opportunities in your home wherever you look. Change to lower-wattage light bulbs, turn off your televisions and unplug your phone chargers to save on electricity bills. Candles burn more slowly if chilled in the fridge before lighting. Reuse old cuts of carpet as door mats or insulation.

Fingers crossed, the economic recovery will start to filter down to the rest of us. Until then, however, we will have to keep making the most of what we have. That building you live in is not just for eating and sleeping in - it can be a nice little earner, too.

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