Interiors: cheap tricks

The beauty of these vintage crates is the contrast between warm wood and white wall, and the fact that they don’t need wall-mounting. The more crates, the greater the impact, but a good starting point is at least three wide and three high. Consider what each crate will house: say, a tall vase or wide books. Fasten together with nails rather than glue, for easier dismantling. Find crates at Hen & Hammock. Photograph: PR

Choose your designs wisely, and stamps look great framed on a wall. Go for bright colours, graphic shapes – such as the recent Royal Mail collection of British design icons pictured far right – or vintage/foreign stamps. They’ll make more impact if you frame them in sheets, or enlarge them. Quality will be lost in photocopying to such a large size, but it will enhance interesting elements such as postmarks. (Alternatively, photograph a stamp close up in high resolution and have it printed in an enlarged format.) Head to Ikea for white frames like the one pictured. Photograph: PR

Peer closely, and this linen cupboard is lined with pages torn from a paperback. Look even closer and one of the glass doors is covered with Suzy Hoodless' glorious Foxglove wallpaper, from her Hothouse collection for Osborne & Little. We love. Fill with linen and towels, but don't worry about tying them together – only stylists do that. Photograph: PR

This is such a simple idea: rewire a plain lamp with neon electrical cord for contrast. Find a rainbow of coloured flex at Rockett St George or Curiouser & Curiouser. Photograph: PR

Blu-Tacking postcards to a wall is easy, but makes quite a statement. Unless you’re a serious hoarder, it’s unlikely you’ll have such a huge collection as this, so speed things up by browsing markets and vintage stores. To avoid total visual chaos, stick to one theme, such as statues, flowers or faces. But with this sort of display, more is more. Photograph: PR

When stuck on the outside of storage boxes, book spines create a faux bookshelf, adding interest to an otherwise ordinary object. Pick up cheap books from charity shops, and consider your colour palette. Look for loose spines – if too tightly fixed, they can be hard to cut. If you’re feeling extra-creative, add foam to each spine before gluing it to the box, so it keeps its natural curve. Ikea, again, does the best boxes. Photograph: Sam McAdam/PR

This wall is covered in pages from an inexpensive Chinese calendar – try Guanghwa bookshop in London and Manchester for something similar. Spray each page with glue and place on the wall, moving left to right so all the lines are straight. If one goes on crooked, just peel off and reattach. Papering around windows and doors is fiddly, so stick to simple walls, if you can. Photograph: PR

This requires a bit of creativity. Pick up some charity shop vases, spray-paint them white, and then get creative with some acrylic paints. Finish with a sealer. (The crochet lace ribbon, by the way, is in spring's hottest shade – tangerine. Try VV Rouleaux. Photograph: PR