After the indulgences of Christmas we’re all probably feeling a bit broke to start considering any major projects or DIY work on the home, but there are plenty of simple tricks you can try out to give a room an instance facelift for very little cost. Here are ten clever ideas to transform your home without breaking the bank!

1. Adding colour, even if it's just a few bright cushions on the sofa, can instantly revive a room. Neutral shades are always a reliable option for interiors but the fashion now is for texture and colour. Why not buy a couple of bright, bold cushions to scatter on the sofa to see whether this new style is for you?

2. Alternatively a brightly coloured throw will lift tired old upholstery and save you having to think about buying a new sofa for another year.

3. Invest in some fake flowers. The quality of fabric flowers today is unbelievably life-like and after the initial investment they'll save you money throughout the year when you would otherwise be topping up your vases with new flowers.

4. Sort out all your family photographs into albums. Throw out any poor prints or ones you've duplicated over the years and sort any which aren't going into frames into individual boxes for each member of the family. Why not make everyone decorate their own shoe box as a really cheap alternative storage box? Make collages of your friends and family in a plain clipboard frame and hang it in the loo. It's a quick way to brighten up a small space and guests will love looking at them too!

5. Tidy up your kitchen cupboards. You'll be surprised how much extra clutter you've got lurking at the back of your cupboards and how much of the food is past its sell by date. Buy those handy shelf organisers so you can stack tins and bottles and actually see at a glance what you've got in your store cupboard - always handy if you suddenly have to cook something in a hurry.

6. Reorganise all your vases and decorative objects. Make an arrangement out of different coloured vases rather than keeping them stored away when you're not using them for flowers. Try and be ruthless with unwanted objects and only keep those which you truly like or have sentimental value. Arrange them into small groupings to display on shelves or a mantelpiece.

7. If you can't afford new curtains embellish the ones you've already got. Buy beautiful tassels to use as curtain ties. Create an ethnic look by sewing beads to the edges of curtains or if you've got very lightweight curtains add a trim or beading down the edge to add extra weight.

8. Transform your kitchen for a fraction of the cost of a new one by investing in new cupboard doors. Or for a really quick and easy updated kitchen change the unit handles.