Woman transforms shared kids’ room for under £300 and it looks amazing
- Maria Emmerson, 44, wanted to create a gorgeous shared room for her kids
- Maria wanted her son and daughter to share the room
- Maria used bargain items from IKEA, B&Q and B&M
If you live in a small house and are looking for inspiration on how to create a gorgeous bedroom out of a tiny room, look no further than this creative mum.
Maria Emmerson, 44, a kitchen assistant and mum of three from Leeds, wanted to create a shared bedroom that both her son and daughter would love.
Maria told LatestDeals.co.uk: "I live in a very small three bed home in Leeds with my partner and three children.
“Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of living space and my youngest son and daughter have to share a bedroom.
"It's a really small room (we can't even fit a wardrobe in it) and it was in desperate need of updating but I had the problem of trying to come up with something that would work well for both a boy and a girl.
"I'd seen a few ideas on Pinterest and decided I really liked the monochrome look.”
Maria set about planning a gorgeous room for her kids, looking on the internet for affordable inspiration.
"I started to search the internet to see what was available but at first everything was out of my price range,” she explains.
"My budget was £300 but I needed new flooring too. I didn't give up and slowly started to find some bargains.
"I'd seen a few posts on various groups on Facebook regarding the wood effect sticky back flooring planks.
"My local B&M didn't have any so I found some at B&Q in a black wood effect. They cost £70 and I laid them myself.
"The walls and ceiling were painted with white matt emulsion, which cost £22 for a huge tub from B&Q.
"I searched black wall stickers and the best I found was from Amazon. The dots were £9.39 for 72 and the crosses were £11.39.
"The bedding cost £11 each and the cushions were £5 each, both from Amazon, while the star chenille throws cost £5 each from Asda.
“We already had the IKEA Kallax units, so I just bought new storage boxes in black and white, which cost £3 each from Ikea, and we also bought four hinged doors also from IKEA for £9 each.
"The children picked out their favourite short quotes which I then drew myself with a black Sharpie, and the frames were £3 each from IKEA.
"The little vanity table cost £25 and the bedside table was £15, both from B&M, while the stool was £13, the rug was £7 and the light shade was £4, all from IKEA.
"My best money-saving hack was the blind: I'd bought one a few years previously and didn't want to pay out for a new one, so I bought a pack of black Sharpies and coloured every circle. It took over six hours!”
Both Maria and her kids are absolutely delighted with how the room has turned out, and it cost under £300 to carry out the transformation.
"I am so pleased with how it turned out,” Maria adds. “The children absolutely love it. It's a really cool place to hang out and so cosy.
"My tips would be to get some ideas and inspiration from sites like Pinterest and Facebook, and to think about the space you have and your budget.
"Then search for bargains, as they are out there. Just spend a little more time and compare prices. You will be amazed at what you can find.
“Also, don't be frightened to get creative - I saved loads by having a go myself!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, says: “I thought I’d seen every budget DIY trick in the book, but Maria has definitely taught me some genius ideas - colouring in blinds with circles and using wall stickers is super smart.
"This room looks fantastic and it just shows that even if you’re tight on space and budget, you don’t have to ever be short on style!"
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