Thrifty DIY mum saves thousands with stunning kitchen makeover £182

A thrifty creative has transformed her home into a “little palace” with £182.

Occupation data manager Louise Honeyman, 42 created a beautiful kitchen using her creative DIY skills and saved £6,000 on the average budget refurbishment.

She did this by scooping up pound shop bargains, repainting and upcycling.

Inheriting a talent for home improvements from her dad, Kevin, who died from lung cancer in 2012, Louise caught the DIY bug after watching him transform the family home.

While Louise, of Swansea, South Wales, who has twin daughters, has given the whole house a facelift with her impressive talent, she says it is the kitchen she is most proud of.

She said: “I’ve completed the whole room for £200. That included the floor tiles, paint for the cupboards, vinyl for the worktops.

“The only thing we bought new was a sink for £70. Everything else I’ve upcycled or improved.”

Louise has saved thousands of pounds renovating her kitchen by scooping up pound shop bargains, repainting and upcycling (Collect/PA Real Life)

She added: “My dad was very handy, so I used to watch him around the house and I guess it must run in the family.”

With the average budget kitchen refurbishment in the UK in 2022 costing £6,200 according to Checkatrade.com, Louise’s big ideas came in at a fraction of the price.

She just spent £12 on nine packets of wall tiles from Poundland, £28 on 14 packs of floor tiles from Home Bargains, £9 for a roll of vinyl for the worktops from Wilkinson’s, £40 for paint – which included a couple of testers pots – £70 on a new sink, £20 on a tap and £3 on a grout pen.

Using her DIY skills, she then replaced the old marbled worktops and the worn out floor with expertise.

Speaking of a pink dresser in her kitchen, Louise said: “This dresser belonged to my late grandmother Margaret and was made by my dad when I was a child, so it means an awful lot to me.”

She added: “Originally it was a dated orange pine color with old-fashioned handles, so I did worry that painting it might ruin it.

“But I’m pretty sure that my dad and my gran would prefer for it to be given a new lease of life, rather than have it sitting there unloved because the color did not match the rest of the house.”

Other items to have received her Midas touch include a headboard she made for the spare bedroom for just £15.45. She made this using four packs of £1.29 canes from Home Bargains, a 50-metre roll of raffia for £4.39 and 3m of conduit – a bendy plastic tubing which has a similar effect to a concertina – for £5.90 from eBay.

She then spent an hour using a glue gun to stick the conduit and canes together, then used the raffia to fix them into the desired shape. The result is striking, individual headboard that, if bought new in a boutique furniture shop, she estimates would cost £200.

She said: “I decided to make my own headboard when I saw that they were all around the £200 plus mark and I knew I wouldn’t be paying that much, especially as I could probably make my own.”

Louise upcyled her family dresser to suit her new contemporary kitchen

Louise upcyled her family dresser to suit her new contemporary kitchen

She added: “With my kitchen design, I saw some on Instagram that had pink in them. So, I was inspired by them and developed my ideas as I went along.

“It was never meant to be blue and pink. It was going to be black and cream to start off with and then I found some paints in the house and thought that might work.”

Louise only ever uses designs she has seen as a starting point for her creations.

She said: “I let things evolve organically. I’ll start off with a small idea from looking at Instagram and what we have in the house, but I never really stick to it rigidly.

“It kind of grows as I move along and that is what makes the process so enjoyable.”

She added: “The kitchen was in such a sorry state to start with that I just wanted to make it look presentable.

“I’m really pleased with how it turned out.”

Louise likes to mix old and new items. She said: “Not all my stuff is vintage and I don’t buy everything new either.

“I think mixing it up a bit means that you end up with something that’s completely unique.”

Louise's ceramic leopard, named Teefies, sits proud of place in her living room

Louise’s ceramic leopard, named Teefies, sits proud of place in her living room

One of her favorite cut-price finds is a giant ceramic leopard which she bagged in a charity shop for £100, but says can retail for upwards of £400.

She said: “I found it in a charity shop. I was driving past, saw it in the window and immediately stopped and went and bought it.

“It’s vintage and from the 1980s. The charity shop owner was telling me that it was his mother’s. She bought it new originally and he was finally passing it on.”

The leopard, named ‘Teefies’ by Louise’s twin daughters – Lily and Jess, 12, sits in his favorite spot – at the side of the sofa in the living room, with his ferocious teeth on display.

Both of Louise’s daughters have benefited from her talent.

Louise said: “I gave Lily’s bedroom a makeover.

“We did the wood paneling behind the beds for about £60 from B&Q. We fitted that ourselves.

“There’s a chest of drawers at the side of the bed which I got for free from Facebook marketplace.

Louise made this stylish headboard for just £15.45

Louise made this stylish headboard for just £15.45

“The wardrobe in there was from an auction and then the rest of the furniture we’ve kind of just pinched from other rooms in the house.”

Jess is currently having her pink and gray room completely transformed.

Louise said: “We’re in the process of adding some black and just changing the whole dynamic of the room to more of a Goth-style look.”

Louise’s husband is now finding it hard to resist the pull of DIY.

“I tend to be the one that picks up the paintbrush and comes up with the ideas,” said Louise.

She added: “But sometimes he will help me to execute them and get them finished to a really good standard.”

Louise recommends time and effort, rather than money, should be the main investment if you are looking to spruce up your home.

She said: “For bargains, I’m always looking in charity shops and eBay can be a great place to look, too.

“You just need to think a little bit differently. You don’t have to go to the high street all the time.

“You can get ideas and just come up with something similar that you can achieve on a lower budget.

“It’s just being creative and slightly clever with what you’re using.”

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