Self-isolating mum totally overhauls her home for just £300 by bargain shopping
- Charlotte Moyse, 38, wanted to transform her home on a budget
- Charlotte up-cycled cheap furniture from Facebook Marketplace
- She also bought homeware from budget brands like B&M and Home Bargains
If you’re dreaming of overhauling your home but don’t want to spend a fortune, take inspiration from this budget-savvy mum.
Charlotte Moyse, 38, a mum of two boys from Devon, decided to transform the living areas of her home, but was determined to stick to a strict budget.
Charlotte, a Thrive practitioner and learning support assistant in a SEN school told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “We privately rent and the house was starting to look shabby but not so bad that our landlord would be willing to do much.
"We are a social family and I love to have friends and family around and I was starting to get very embarrassed about the dated appearance, especially of the kitchen.
"We were very reluctant to spend a lot of money on a house that isn’t ours so I decided to refurbish and add to what was already there as cost effectively as possible."
Charlotte hunted down bargain accessories from budget shops including B&M and Home Bargains, up-cycled furniture she bought cheaply on Facebook Marketplace, and managed to overhaul the kitchen, bedroom, lounge and hallway for just £300.
"I have ‘Hinched’ curtains with the insides of toilet rolls, painted furniture purchased on Facebook Marketplace, added silver leaf to shop-bought items, sprayed kitchen doors with AutoPaint and added Fablon to generic items and worktops,” Charlotte explains.
"I have sourced nearly all my accessories from bargain shops like B&M and Home Bargains and added pops of colour through plants and textiles.
“In the lounge, I bought the bookcase and lamp table from Facebook Marketplace for £30.
"I painted these items, my original sideboard and TV stand all with some emulsion paint that I had used in my son's room a couple of years ago.
“I bought the wall hanging for £12.99 from The Range and added silver leaf to this which I had at home already.
“The wallpaper from Home Bargains was reduced to £5 a roll. The majority of the candlesticks were from Poundland and they are mercury glass. A couple of the bigger ones were from TK Maxx and were bought in the January sales for £3 each.
“The curtains were £20 a pair in the B&M January sale.
“The plants were from B&M, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Lidl. The largest ones were a maximum of £12 and some of the smaller ones were bought for £1 each as they were in Christmas themed ceramic pots and I just turned them around so that you can’t see the Christmas design on them.
“The cushions were from the Matalan January sale and cost no more than £4 each.
“For the kitchen, I covered the worktops in oak effect Fablon - I used three rolls used at £8 each.
“The shelves and shelving unit were from IKEA for £70 and I bought a matching shelf from Facebook Marketplace for £7. I used the leftover Fablon used on the worktops to personalise them.
“The tile-effect wallpaper tile was £10 from Amazon and the trailing ivy was £6 from IKEA.
“The paint was from Dulux in the colour Goose Down and was two for £22 from B&Q. I used it in the lounge and kitchen.
“The kitchen storage canisters were from TK Maxx, ranging from £2 to £12 each.
“In the bedroom, the throw was from IKEA for £8, the curtains were from B&M reduced to £5 as there is a slight mark on them that can’t be seen when hung.
“The wallpaper was £2 in the clearance at The Range.
“For the hallway, I bought a picture shelf for £4.99 from B&M, marble effect A4 frames for £2.49 from The Range, and the runner for £8 from Wilko."
Charlotte is over the moon with how her home has been transformed.
"I am thrilled with how my home has turned out,” she adds. “It is my outlet for my femininity as my family consists of three males who are football crazy and if I’m not decorating then I am usually stood on the side of a football pitch or washing dirty football kits!
"I have a high stress job where I am a Thrive practitioner and learning support assistant for children with communication and interaction difficulties, autistic spectrum conditions and associated learning needs.
"A calming fresh decor is the environment I need in my home to help me unwind and look after my own mental health so that I can support the amazing young people I work with.
"My tips to get the look would be to follow online DIY sites, be brave and experiment with new ideas - oh, and if your husband tells you 'no you can’t put more shelves up or wallpaper a wall’, just wait until he falls asleep on the sofa like I do and just crack on quietly!
“It cost me £300 to do the kitchen, bedroom, lounge and hallway.
"With a lot of people now confined to the home this is the perfect time to do those renovations and decorate those rooms that have been driving you crazy but you haven’t had time to tackle!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Many of us are stuck at home twiddling our thumbs due to coronavirus, but it’s important to make the best of a bad situation.
“Overhauling your home needn’t be an expensive task: as Charlotte proves, getting involved in DIY and ordering cheap homeware online can reap amazing rewards.
“Better yet, getting the whole family involved in a creative project will avoid those cries of ‘I’m so bored’ and boost everyone’s mood!"
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