A makeover in minutes

Moi Ali tries out a product that can shave hours off a makeover.

Moi Ali tries out a product from Streets Ahead that can shave hours off a makeover.

“The lovely thing about these embossed sheets, aside from their appearance, is that they are so easy to apply.”

I got this conservatory second hand and it was in a terrible condition. The lady I bought it from painted it without her glasses on – and it showed! I always planned to replace the badly painted yellow sections with ‘bricks’ but couldn’t find anything suitable. Brick papers were quick, cheap and easy but too flat and unrealistic. Brick slips were too heavy, too fiddly and too expensive. A brick stencil just wouldn’t fit in the gaps between the wooden uprights. What to do? Then I found this Streets Ahead range of embossed papers and there was no stopping me.

First, I gave the conservatory a makeover, but couldn’t decide whether to use a random flagstone or a small terracotta tile for the flooring outside the conservatory. Next, I started on my kitchen. The blue Mediterranean floor tiles matched the blue metro tiles perfectly, and looked so lovely against my aga. I was so pleased with the results and the ease of application, that I decided to create a stylish mid-century living room inside a room box that had been sitting on my craft bench crying out to be made

into something. I used exposed, weathered brickwork on the walls and honey-coloured limestone tiles on the floor.

It was still not lunchtime, so I decided to put up a few more metro tiles, this time using a sheet of white tiles with black grout lines, in my 1930s Art Deco bathroom. Streets Ahead sell lots of different styles of metro tile, so there will be one that is perfect for your kitchen or bathroom. I teamed up the smart new walls with a black and white marbled tile floor sheet. They work together so well and were applied in minutes.

A quarry tile kitchen floor would take hours and hours to complete, it would be messy with all that cutting and grouting and would take a level of skill that many of us simply don’t possess. Even a complete novice can get great results using the Streets Ahead range. Just cut, paste and position. It takes minutes to transform a floor or feature wall.

If you want to have a go with these fun embossed sheets, here’s how!

After

The brick effect is so much nicer than the yellow paint

Before

Mediterranean floor tiles teamed with metros on the wall

Limestone on the floor and weathered brick walls

Marble tiles on the floor and metros on the wall

The terracotta tile sheet looks so real

6 6 Paste the reverse using ordinary household paste, as it has good ‘slip’ so you can slide your paper until perfectly positioned. Hey presto, job done!

2 2 Paint any woodwork or other surfaces that will butt up against the embossed paper (If you do them afterwards, you will risk getting paint on the embossed surface).

5 5 Cut the embossed paper and check that it fits snugly. Trim if it’s too snug.

3 3 Measure the surface to be covered and cut a paper template. Check it fits and adjust as necessary.

1 1 Rub down your makeover item to remove loose paint and strip off any old paper.

4 4 Draw around the template on the reverse side of the embossed paper.