DIYer Turns Boring Backyard Into Perfect Picnic Area With £1 Poundland Bargains
- Angelika, 26, wanted to create a garden for relaxing and hosting BBQs
- She picked up bargain decor from eBay, IKEA, Poundland and charity shops
- Cheap buys include £1 decor, £15 lighting and a £35 furniture set
It can be hard to know what you want to achieve with a garden makeover, but one savvy DIYer has proven it’s possible to perform a simple transformation on an abandoned backyard, turning it into a cute and liveable space.
Angelika Garlej, a 26 year old sales assistant and part-time YouTuber at Simply By A based in Torquay, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘I have quite a large garden but most of it is covered in lawn. I wanted to make one area where I can enjoy sunny days or eat my lunch. A place where I can sit down, read a book or invite a few friends for a BBQ. This outside corner was just a perfect place for it. Plus it really needed some cleaning and decluttering.
‘Pinterest is my biggest source of inspiration when it comes to designing new spaces. With this outside corner I was mainly focused on making it nice and cozy on a low budget. All I really wanted was to have a table, chairs and plants - so very minimalistic.
The space had some ‘random chairs, old paints, weights and odd flowerpots with dead flowers in them’ to begin with, but Angelika got to work buying fresh new supplies at bargain prices. ‘I got the outside table and chairs for £35 in IKEA and placed some cushions on them - now they are super comfortable.
‘I got most of the decorations, such as vases, pots and lanterns, from charity shops. I’m a big fan of charity shops and car boot sales so I always look for some unique pieces there.
‘I’m really happy with the outside lighting. I bought it on eBay for only £15. They are solar powered lights in the shape of small light bulbs. They come on automatically when it is dark, creating a very romantic mood.
‘This year Poundland had such a good selection of garden products. All my wall baskets, the trellis and my new plants came from there. They only cost between £1 and £3 each so it was a real bargain.
‘I’m lucky to have all the power tools at home already. It was a big expense at first, but because my partner and I are renovating our house mostly by ourselves this was a good and necessary purchase.
‘‘I got started with removing all the rubbish and clutter from this space. Using a borrowed pressure washer I cleaned all the walls and the floor. Next, even though this house was painted last year I wanted to refresh it a little bit and I gave it another coat of white paint.
‘Then I drilled holes in two opposite walls where later I screwed the hooks to be able to hang my fairy lights. I really wanted to add some details on the plain walls so I attached the wooden trellis, wall baskets and then planted flowers to bring more colour to the whole space.
‘Last but not least I started decorating, then took all the outside furniture and placed it in the spot where it fit best. I decorated all the shelves with some candles, lanterns and gardening accessories.
‘To tackle the floor I’ve decided for this year to just cover it with straw mats. The floor needs a bigger job to be done on it but I will leave it for the future. This time I just wanted to create a cozy outside space on a budget and I think by adding those mats on the ground I’ve achieved it.
‘I enjoyed the whole process. It was a really quick makeover without any difficulties along the way. Next time I will definitely invest more money and time to actually fix the cracked floor. When it comes to all the decorations and jobs I’ve done I’m pretty happy with it so far. Of course I could invest more money to buy a better quality outdoor furniture set but, considering the length of the British summer and the amount of time I’ll be using this space, I think what I have now is absolutely enough for me.
‘My partner and I are big DIY enthusiasts and we always try to do jobs ourselves. He is also an experienced builder so I can always ask him for help or advice. Having a DIY YouTube channel means I like to do most of the projects myself to inspire people and also show them that “if I can do it, you can do it also”.’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘I love Angelika’s simple yet effective makeover. It proves that sometimes all you need to transform a space is a lick of paint and some bargain decor. No doubt she will enjoy a fab summer in this brand new space!’
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