Savvy Mum Quoted £4,000 To Redo Dull Bathroom Does It Herself For Just £45
- Samantha Daley, 35, was quoted £4,000 to overhaul her tired bathroom
- Instead, she did it herself, spending just £45
- She used Fablon, Frenchic paint and accessories from IKEA and Amazon
Bathroom renovations are notoriously expensive, with everything from the price of retiling to painting costing a pretty penny.
But one mum managed to breathe new life into her dull bathroom for a fraction of what she was quoted by builders.
Samantha Daley, 35, a married mum-of-one from Huddersfield who works at a sixth form college, was quoted a staggering £4,000 to redo her tired-looking bathroom.
Determined to keep costs down as she still had a few more rooms in her house to redo, Samantha managed to transform the room herself using budget materials such as Fablon, Frenchic paint and a grout pen.
The transformation cost Samantha just £45, representing a staggering saving of thousands of pounds.
Samantha, who shares her home transformations on Instagram at the_half_finished_house, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “I love to do DIY. We bought a do-er upper at the end of 2016 and I have been working on the house since we moved in. I have a few more rooms to go until it's done top to toe.
"I get my inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram, but it wasn't until lockdown that I discovered Frenchic paint.
"I am not one to plan much. I am very impulsive when it comes to colour choices and I like bold colours and dark interiors.
"I had wanted to change this bathroom for ages, but it wasn't really that bad - it just wasn't to my taste.
"We were quoted £4,000 for a full refit so that's when I decided to make it over - and discovering Frenchic was the push I needed!
"I bought the paint, grout pen and Fablon online, and I already had the basic tools from my other projects to do the job. It was about three days work in total.
“The Fablon cost £8.99 a roll from Amazon, the handles were Amazon were from £10.99 for five, the grout pen was £3.99 from Amazon, and the paint was from a local Frenchic supplier for £6.95 per 150ml.
"I watched YouTube tutorials to work out how to apply the Fablon. I started off with marble Fablon but it didn't work so I changed it to the terrazzo style instead.
"All in - other than the faffy trinkets! - it cost about £45, so it was a complete bargain!
“I then accessorised. The plant pot with the face was from Amazon, the big plant was from a local garden centre, and the pot was from IKEA.
"The picture and frame are from Iamfy, my favourite online interiors shop.
“The little vases and candlestick holder were from IKEA, and the mat on the floor was from a market in Mexico!
“Not including the house plants - which is my most expensive habit, I have about 60! - I only spent £40 on accessories for the loo as I already had everything else.
"But it's probably about £100 worth of stuff that I have collected over the years, including the plants.”
Samantha is delighted with her project, especially considering she managed to achieve the look she wanted on such a reduced budget, saving thousands in the process.
"My top tips for people hoping to do similar is to join Facebook groups, Instagram and Pinterest so you can gain inspiration and tips from people who have undertaken similar projects!
"Another tip is don't be afraid to experiment and don't worry if you don't make the right call the first time round. It's easy to change direction, and if you're DIYing it, changing your mind needn't be costly!
"It was other people's success that spurred me on to give it a go. And I figured the downstairs loo was the best place to start because it was small and would be easy to undo if it didn't turn out well.
"When I was originally quoted to update the bathroom, I was a bit despondent. It wasn't dated enough to spend so much money on when there were other more pressing jobs that need doing in the house, like the kitchen, so I had resigned myself to having a boring downstairs loo.
"Then I realised that I was going to be able to refresh the bathroom for almost next to nothing, and as soon as I was inspired to give it a makeover, I was excited to start!
"I am normally a procrastinator but I finished this project in a matter of weeks. I absolutely love it now, and it's one of the happiest spaces in the house despite it being the smallest.
"It's refreshed my enthusiasm for finishing my 'half finished house' and I'm about to start the next project now - the spare room!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “£4,000 is a huge amount of money to spend on a bathroom renovation, so hats off to Samantha for pulling off this amazing bathroom refresh for a tiny fraction of what she was quoted!
“If you’re keen to follow in her footsteps and pull off your very own bargain home transformation, budget materials such as Fablon, Frenchic paint and IKEA accessories will be your best friends.
“As Samantha says, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook are full of ideas, so inspire yourself for free online before you get cracking!"
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