DIYer Quoted £6500 For New Bedroom Does It Himself For Under £700
- Jonathan, 50, was quoted £6500 for a professional bedroom fit out
- He decided to go DIY and saved £1000s in the process
- Bargain buys were purchased from eBay and Home Bargains
It’s easy for wardrobes and drawers to look old-fashioned, especially if you never updated the furniture that came with the house. So how do you upgrade what you’ve got without racking up a hefty bill? One savvy DIYer managed to achieve exactly this, saving £1000s by doing the job himself.
Jonathan Barnes, 50 from Rochdale who is a sprayshop manager, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: I recently completed renovating my master bedroom on a home I bought as a doer-upper back in November 2021.
‘My idea came from my 30+ years of experience working as a wood finisher within the furniture manufacturing industry. I’ve used many different coloured paints and wood stains over the years, so I have good insight into which colours work well together.
‘I share a fondness for both painted and wood grain furniture, so I decided to combine the two together; this also worked out as being the most cost-effective solution, and the end result is aesthetically pleasing too.
‘I obtained several quotes ranging from £5,500 - £6,500 for a complete fit out, however as the existing cupboards were in good condition albeit old fashioned, I decided the most cost-effective option was to refurbish them.’
Jonathan picked up supplies from bargain stores where possible. ‘I shopped online to get 22 brushed nickel finger pull handles for £49 from eBay. Home Bargains was the next stop, where I picked up 2 rolls of 50mm masking tape for £2.60 and two rolls of linking paper for masking-up for £5.80.
‘I then went to Roebuck & Holmes in Huddersfield and got doors and drawer fronts in Light Rockford Hickery woodgrain and 30mm MDF worktops for £580, plus 5 litres of matte white sprayable wood paint for £55 from Symphony Coatings. The total cost was £692.40, which is much better than the £6,500 I was quoted!’
It was then time for Jonathan to get started on the project. ‘First, I unscrewed and removed the corner shelf sections that were located above the bedside cabinets as I did not want to keep these because they were no longer fashionable.
‘I also removed the arches below the bridging unit and from the dressing table as I wanted my makeover to have a streamlined, sleek appearance; this process took about half an hour.
‘I then removed all of the doors, draws and worktops; again this process was pretty straightforward as they were also attached with screws and took around one hour to complete.
‘Next, I masked-up the cabinets using the lining paper and tape that I had bought earlier from Home Bargains. This was quite time-consuming and took roughly two and a half hours.
‘Once I had finished masking-up, I proceeded to spray the outside of the cabinets matte white using an air compressor and a spray gun that I had borrowed from my workplace. Being an experienced sprayer, this process only took me twenty minutes.
‘Once the paint had dried, it was then time to denib the cabinets and apply a second coat. All-in-all, painting the cabinets and replacement worktops from start to finish took just over two hours.
‘The next step was to attach the new doors, draw fronts and worktops that had been manufactured by Roebuck and Holmes as per specification. Fitting these was the most time-consuming part of the renovations and took six hours to complete.
‘This project was relatively straightforward. By using neutral colours, the palette will be a consistent background for changing colour trends. They are also gentle and calming on the eye, which is what I was aiming for with my makeover.
‘I believe any future makeover should only require replacing the doors and drawer fronts, unless of course I decide on a complete redesign.’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Jonathan has completely transformed the appearance of his room with this makeover! It goes to show how much you can save by thinking outside the box and going DIY.’
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