DIY Mum Transforms Her Home In Quarantine Using This Genius £19 Material
- Vivienne Bowerbank, 37, transformed her home in lockdown and post-holiday quarantine
- She used Frenchic paint which costs £19 for a 750ml tin
- Vivienne transformed her front door, hallway and kitchen using the paint and stencils
Many of us are having to spend two weeks at home in quarantine after going on our summer holidays.
And one mum used her self-isolation wisely, taking the time at home to undertake a variety of home improvement projects on a budget.
Vivienne Bowerbank, 37, a married mum of two who works for the emergency services, decided to make the most of lockdown and her post-holiday quarantine to transform her home.
Rather than forking out for expensive new flooring or a pricey new kitchen, Vivienne transformed her hallway, kitchen and front door using £19 tins of Frenchic paint.
Vivienne, who lives in Liverpool, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “My sister had told me about a paint called Frenchic which had no smell and is non-toxic, which you could paint over virtually anything.
"I became a fan in their forum and enjoyed seeing what other people were doing and the colours used.
"We had to isolate for two weeks a few days prior to lockdown in March as a child from my toddler's nursery had confirmed Covid-19.
"So I ordered the paint from Frenchic online and painted all of my kitchen units and used a Fablon for my worktops.
"The Frenchic paint was Swanky Pants and Dazzle Me. Each 750ml tin is approximately £19.
"Once completed, I put it on social media and achieved over 500 likes. It cost me less than £200 for a new kitchen basically. I then had the bug.
"We had a new porch built at the end of July so I also painted my front door in Frenchic Wise Old Sage. A tin of 750ml paint is approximately £19, which this time I bought from my local stockist.
"After seeing another Frenchic user achieve a floor stencilling, I wanted to attempt it on my hallway as it just had old chipped laminate flooring down and I figured if it turned out awful, I'd just buy some vinyl flooring instead.
"I ordered a stencil for £8 from ebay. I visited my local stockist and bought the Frenchic stencil brush and some Blackjack 750ml tins and still had leftover Swanky Pants from the kitchen.
"We went for our family holiday to Spain and as we were in the air on the way, the government changed the guidelines so we would have to quarantine on our return. Perfect time to start the stencilling!
"I did it each time my toddler went for his two-hour afternoon nap and sometimes a few stencils when he went to bed as it was impossible to do when he was awake.
"I began by painting the floor in Swanky Pants with a small roller. Once dry, I started the stencil with Blackjack and a sponge.
"Halfway through, I found using the stencil brush easier and switched over as the sponge was allowing the paint to bleed through a bit.
"I then uploaded my pic on social media to get people's views and achieved 4.4k likes and had the most amazing positive comments.”
Vivienne is delighted with her lockdown projects, and is so happy that she managed to transform her home using the trusty material.
"I think I would have gone a bit mental without these projects over lockdown,” Vivienne adds.
"I'm so happy with how all of them turned out and for a fraction of the cost of having to buy new items instead.
"I could have opted for vinyl flooring which was going to cost me around £100 plus labour, but it cost me just my time and £19 to complete my floor.
"My kitchen cost under £250, including two tubs of Frenchic paint, brushes, plants, a rug, a wine rack to hide the boiler and worktop Fablon from ebay, but if I had bought new worktops it would have been in excess of £250 alone.
“I was also quoted £280 for a company to come and do the Fablon. It took me four hours to do myself but it looks great!
"A new front door was approximately £800, and instead it cost me £19 for paint and £20 for the wreath from ebay.
"In total for my kitchen, front door and hallway floor stencilling, the total cost was just £370."
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “If all the extra time at home during lockdown and quarantine has made you decide you’re in need of a renovation, that doesn’t mean you need to spend hundreds or thousands on new flooring or a fancy new kitchen.
“As Vivienne proves, an artful lick of paint can make all the difference to your kitchen, hallway and front door - and it’s so much cheaper than forking out for new materials and labour too!”
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Hi Vivienne, I just love what you have done to the floor. It looks elegant and I'm inspired to paint my front door after your transformation. Thanks for posting as I'm sure other members of LD will admire your hard work. 
