LOCKDOWN encouraged half of Brits to upgrade their homes, with garden landscaping and bathroom renovations coming out as the top home improvements.
And it seems that everyone turned to TikTok to document their renovations, including loved-up couple Scarlett and Ben.
TikTok/@westonroadrenovation
TikTok/@westonroadrenovation
They completely transformed their Victorian three bedroom house and managed to save £25k doing it all themselves using savvy hacks.
According to new research by Selina Advance, who are the UK’s first to market Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOCs) provider, shows that since last year Brits have been turning their efforts to their homes with the majority dipping into savings.
Scarlett, who has been sharing renovation videos to her TikTok @westonroadrenovation, says: “Our house is Victorian, it has loads of character we wanted to keep.
“In the original bathroom before we renovated, it had a crazy exotic poster embedded into the tiles on the wall.
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“We managed to get it out without damaging it, cut it up and reframed it between 4 frames like a gallery wall.
“Then put it back up in the place we originally removed it from. It cost us less than £25 to do and looks like a completely new piece of artwork.”
The couple took matters into their own hands, and did a total revamp to their place by using their own stencils for design, and making their own vanity units.
Talking about her super cheap hacks, Scarlett says: “You don’t always have to strip everything out and start again:
“If you’re wanting a makeover but don’t have the money to spend, there are some amazing tile stencils out there.
“You can pick all sorts of patterns and prints for a fraction of the cost of real tiles.
‘Get tile stencils’
“Just use them to paint over your originals and it will transform your space.”
She also mentions how to make low cost terrazzo tiles too.
Scarlett adds: “You can make these with ‘paint chips’ that you can buy online.
“It looks really effective for half the cost. Paint your tiles white, sprinkle over paint chips in the colour you like then seal, and hey presto.”
‘Purchase paint chips online for low cost terrazzo tiles’
And to create your own vanity unit, she adds: “Get vintage cabinets or sets of draws for a steal from eBay or car boot sales, and they make amazing vanity units.
“You’ll just need to drill a hole out the top for the sink, and cut some of the drawers out inside.
“If you’re really keen for tiles, or making do with what you’ve got, think about the size and pattern of them.
“Herringbone tiles are a complicated pattern so will be much more expensive than others to lay.
TikTok/@westonroadrenovation
TikTok/@westonroadrenovation
“For some, you can buy one big tile that looks like four smaller ones, which is far easier and quicker to lay, which makes it cheaper.”
The couple save around £3,000 doing it all themselves.
She adds: “Although it did take us a month longer.
“The herringbone pattern we decided to do was really complicated, and we wanted it to be a neat finish so we mitred everything with a single corner which was a massive amount of time and effort but gave it a cool finish.
‘Buy one big tile that looks like four’
“We realised we could save about 15cm of space if we moved a post back where the bathroom bends left over the stairs.
“It sounds like a tiny amount but that 15cm meant we could completely reconfigure the layout.
“And managed to squeeze a bath, shower, and storage into the space.”
Hubert Fenwick, Co-founder, Selina Advance, said: “This looks set to continue as a further 15 million Brits have their sights set on upgrading their homes in the next 12 months and many of these will benefit from using a HELOC which gives greater flexibility and affordability. ”
TikTok/@westonroadrenovation
TikTok/@westonroadrenovation
For other home renovation stories check this, Builders turned up to redo my garden but they’ve got the wrong house – I’m not telling them, I want new decking
Meanwhile, this couple transform their ‘awful and wet’ patio into their dream space using £4 Dunelm and B&M bargains
And thrifty couple transform drab garden into dream outdoor space with epic DIY decking job & it saved them over £1,000.
I’m a mum-of-15 and have SIX 13-year-old kids, people always ask where they sleep and how I keep my house so neat