Savvy mum uses paint to transform sofa for just £20 instead of buying a new one

• Jacqueline Alcroft, 34, used sugar soap and paint to transform her sofa
• She took it from a tired red colour to a fashionable dusky pink
• The transformation cost Jacqueline around £20 as opposed to buying a pricey new sofa

If you’re fed up with the furniture in your home, you might have looked online to buy new pieces, only to despair at the sheer cost of replacing sofas, tables and chairs.

However, one mum managed to modernise her living room and switch up her sofa for just £20.

Jacqueline Alcroft, 34, a teacher and mother of one from South Ayrshire, transformed her old red sofa into a stylish new pink creation by ingeniously using Frenchic paint.

She was keen for a new style of sofa but couldn’t justify buying a new couch due to her active toddler at home.

The transformation ended up costing around £20, as opposed to buying a new sofa for hundreds of pounds.

Jacqueline bought a 750ml tin of paint for £17.95, which she used to paint three coats on her front door, and three on the couch - and she still has half the tin left.

Jacqueline told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I came up with the idea from watching YouTube DIY and upcycling videos and from being part of Facebook groups. I bought the Frenchic Al Fresco paint in Dusky Blush.

"I started by cleaning the whole sofa with sugar soap and then letting it dry. I used the dusky blush paint and a Frenchic small round brush. I applied three thin coats leaving at least two hours between coats to let the paint dry.

"The paint was £17.95 and the brush was gifted to me by a friend, and the sugar soap was around £5.99 from B&Q.

"One very important tip is that the paint isn’t actually designed for material, it’s designed for front doors and so on. So make sure you do a patch test somewhere inconspicuous before going for it!

“Also, if your cushions aren’t removable then use small bits of wood to separate the cushions to paint in between.

"If you are looking for supplies then it’s best to search Facebook for official Frenchic stockists. There are quite a few that will deliver or search for your local stockist as a lot of them are starting to open back up or will let you collect from them."

Jacqueline, who shares her home transformations on Instagram at @thealcroftgirls, is over the moon that the affordable materials have given her effectively a whole new sofa for a fraction of the cost.

"Now that it’s done I absolutely love it!” she adds. "I couldn’t really justify buying a new one because my two-year-old has a habit of spilling everything and anything.

"It has been so nice to get something done that has been annoying me, even though I had to wait a long time for the paint, as it was sold out everywhere.

"I am absolutely over the moon with the transformation for less than £20 rather than spending hundreds of pounds on a new couch that could have fallen victim to a wild toddler!”

Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “If you love a home transformation but are keen to keep costs down, you’ll adore this savvy reimagining of an old leather couch.

“Who knew that paint could work so well on leather? Jacqueline’s new sofa looks fantastic and is an amazingly cost-effective solution to having a living room with a whole new look!"

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