A frugal woman saved £30,000 by renovating her house from scratch to showroom standard using Facebook Marketplace, car boots and DIY.
Nine years ago, Louise Jones, a 37-year-old mental health nurse, and her husband, her 42-year-old software developer James, purchased a fixer her upper in Bristol.
The front of the house was brown, with yellow and orange walls and light blue carpets in every room.
Her pink three-bedroom Victorian terrace is now indistinguishable, thanks to a couple who used YouTube videos to help.
Louise is a bargain-buying queen, and she says research and planning are key to creating the beautiful bargain home of her dreams.
Her favorite feature is her designer table. If she had bought it at John Lewis, she would have cost £700, but she self-made it with her £30.
Louise said:
"When we started, we couldn't even paint a wall.
"But with the guidance of YouTube tutorials, anything is possible.
"We laid all the tiles, painted, and decorated the whole house." I am currently pursuing it as a full-time occupation.
She spends hours trawling her Facebook Marketplace, using her creative eye for swag that can be upcycled with sandpaper, paint and TLC.
The star of the house is her upcycled table, modeled after an expensive £700 piece of wood that Louise found online.
``I spent months trying to find a round table that would do the job. One day a wooden round table was sold on Facebook Market for £50.
"I haggled them down to £30 and then sold it to reveal the beautiful design beneath the surface." I had to do some sanding work.
"Still needs waxing, but the table is my love.
Two kids saving money Perseverance and not being afraid to fail is the motto of 's mother:
"Tiling was one of the most difficult things we had to learn. If it happens, we can always start over.”
“We were able to build our dream family home all together without breaking the bank.”
DIY duo We laid all the tiles ourselves. Over the fireplace, in the foyer room, in the kitchen splash.
Instead of picking the tiles she saw at £70 a box from the top her tiles, a duplicate from B&Q I found a tile.
Louise swore by Facebook's marketplace that she recently acquired a brand new kettle and toaster worth £200 for £30.
A mother of two, By using paint to compartmentalize the illusion of a large r wall and using different colors of paint.
Although she is not afraid of making mistakes, Louise admits she has one disaster. She is waiting for a professional to fix it.
Louise's Tips for Redecorating Your Home on a Budget:
- Car Trunk Her Sale, Charity Her Shop, Tip Go to Her Shop. I found a lot of vintage chairs with great value. Always look at the clearance section of the
- store.
- The Facebook Marketplace is the holy grail of saving money. Look there before anything else. Try
- DIY. Anything is possible with YouTube tutorials. Before I moved home, I couldn't even paint the walls.
- Try reusing and reusing items you already have. It's amazing what you can do with paint and sandpaper.
