Savvy DIYer saves £100s On Office Makeover Using B&Q Bargains
- Aimee wanted to upgrade her filming room on a budget
- She got quotes from professionals but ‘it was just hundreds’
- By picking up supplies herself and going DIY she saved up to £400
- Her plain white room now has a dado rail and ornate panelling
Buying a new home is an exciting time, but often you have ideas for ways to decorate the property, and this will typically mean spending more money. However, one savvy DIYer has managed to reduce the costs for her office transformation by sourcing the supplies online and doing the work herself.
Aimee Michelle Andres, a 26-year-old lifestyle influencer from Bristol who shares her DIY projects on Instagram as AimeeMichelleHome, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘I had wanted to decorate my filming room for quite some time, and finally I felt able to complete this project.
‘I moved into my first home two years ago - a detached four-bedroom property in the countryside, in the South West of England. When it comes to new builds like this property, it’s a double-edged sword in terms of painting and decorating.
‘On the one hand, it’s a blank canvas - there wasn’t anything major to undo in terms of the decor as I moved into a property which mainly featured plain white walls.
‘On the other hand, it’s recommended you don’t do much in the first few years of living in a new building. There’s a risk of hairline cracks in the walls due to settling. The minimum it’s recommended to wait is two years, and I have just crossed this timeframe, so I decided it was time to go for it.
‘I wanted to make the white walls in this room more interesting to look at. Ever since I knew I was getting a house, I’ve been looking at Pinterest and Instagram accounts for inspiration. I wanted to give the room an ornate feel as opposed to a chunkier, modern set of panelling.
‘I was originally going to do up one entire wall of the room with panels, but I then decided to divide the walls in two and do the bottom halves with panels instead. The divide would be marked with a dado rail. The bottom half of the walls would remain white, and the top half would be a light beige colour.
‘I shopped around and got some quotes to do the work, and it was just hundreds. I decided - you know what, it’s just wood on a wall and a bit of maths! Plus, I come from a thrifty family who will avoid paying for work unless it’s specialist, such as plastering. Their motto is not to sit back and pay people to do it - try and do it yourself, within reason!
‘I got several paint samples to try out on the wall to decide which one I wanted. The samples I got were Pebble Shore, Nutmeg White, Natural Calico and Egyptian Cotton from Dulux, plus Skimming Stone by Farrow and Ball. Ultimately, I chose Skimming Stone, even though this brand is more expensive. However, I had a feeling this paint would only require one coat which would save me time and also potentially be more cost-effective.
‘The first step was to measure where I wanted the dado rail to go using a laser level and a one-metre spirit level. I then ordered some supplies from B&Q using Click & Collect - the Decorative Pine Softwood Moulding (L)2.4m (W)21mm (T)9mm 0kg for £7.50, the Metsä Wood Primed White MDF Dado rail (L)2.4m (W)58mm (T)18mm, Pack of 5 for £50 and the Polycell Polyfilla Light grey Wood Filler 330g for £5.50.
‘I also got the No Nonsense White Decorators caulk 310ml for £1.30 and the Farrow & Ball Estate Skimming stone No.241 Matt Emulsion paint, 2.5L for £52. Fortunately, I already had paintbrushes and rollers in the garage.
‘Once I had collected the supplies, I painted the walls with Farrow and Ball. It took four hours, but as I suspected, it only needed one coat. The first day was over at this point. On day two, I painted the dado rail with white emulsion. My parents were coming over, so my Dad helped with the corner cuts for where the rails meet at each wall corner using a Miter saw - I got the Stanley Mitre saw & box for £50 and the Plastic Mitre box for £8.60.
‘That evening, I laid out the measurements for the panels on the lower halves of the walls using a pencil and the levelling tools. I built a ‘test’ panel to decide what tools to use to stick them to the wall. Again, I used the Mitre saw to cut the wood strips to the right angle. I tried out the Evo-Stik Gripfill Grey Grab adhesive 350ml for £3.
‘On day three, I woke up wanting to get the panelling, panel painting and caulking done. I had nine panels to do, and I checked on the ‘test’ panel. I decided to use double-sided tape to affix the panels as if I ever did need to remove them - not that I plan to - it would just require sanding down. There would not be any damage to the plastering, as these walls are plasterboard.
‘I got to work cutting the rest of the wood strips and applying half of the panelling - I waited for my partner to help me finish it so we could use the levelling tool and ensure they aligned correctly.
‘I went to do the caulking afterwards, once all the panels had been applied, but one of the panels began falling off the wall. I realised I needed to re-evaluate my method for affixing the panels, and I got the Lumberjack 2 in 1 Electric Staple and Nail Gun Stapler & Nailer Tacker 18 Gauge for £29.
‘I used this nail gun to affix all of the panels to the walls, then got started on the caulking. I caulked all of the panel corners, then the dado rail corners. It was then time to paint the panels in the same shade of white as the original wall.
‘I got the Valspar Simplicity Walls & Ceilings Pure Brilliant White Matt Emulsion paint, 10L for £24 and the Harris Trade Emulsion 4" Paint brush for £7. Once I’d completed the job, the project was done. In total, I spent just over £230, and I know it would have cost £100s more if I’d paid professionals to do it for me.
‘I’m thrilled with how this room looks, particularly as I’ve been visualising it for two years. I’ve moved my furniture back in and picked up some more accessories, so now it looks great!’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘According to Household Quotes, the average price for installing dado rails in a medium to large room is £150 to £200, while Check A Trade indicates the average painter and decorator cost per day is £230.
‘That means Aimee has saved up to £430 on labour costs by sourcing supplies and putting in the work herself, spending just £230 on supplies instead of potentially around £600 by getting professionals in. What’s more, she’s done a great job!’
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Well done Aimee, you have done an amazing job and it looks fantastic. I might borrow a few of your ideas to do up my spare bedroom. 