A COUPLE have completely transformed their entire home for just £3,500 using second-hand furniture from eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.
Charlie Knowles, 23, and her partner Shaun Yates, 24, from Wirral, bought the run down flat for just £65,000 in 2019 with aims to renovate the space themselves.
Lockdown proved to be the perfect time to tackle the job after mechanical engineer apprentice Shaun was furloughed and Charlie lost her job in the NHS.
The couple used their local coffee shop, Elephant Coffee in Parkgate, Wirral, as inspiration for their designs, as well as Pinterest, and watched clips on YouTube to learn some skills.
Charlie and Shaun worked tirelessly from early morning until past midnight most nights to complete the mammoth task – and the end result looks incredible.
“We would like to go into property development in our spare time in the future and we knew that our first place was a good starting point,” Charlie said.
“We bought our apartment two years ago and knew we wouldn’t get the opportunity to have so much time together like lockdown again, so we took on the challenges and renovated the entire apartment room by room.”
Charlie and Shaun started with their kitchen, transforming it into a café-style setting, complete with a rustic wooden wall, a brick stove area and coffee bar.
The whole space cost them £2,000, while the bathroom set them back another £600.
They picked up a new toilet, sink, heater and mirror for the bathroom, and added trendy accessories to create a crisp, minimalist look.
Charlie and Shaun sourced new wardrobes for £400 and added new accessories to the bedroom and living room – which set them back an additional £500.
The thrifty couple sourced most of their materials second-hand from eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace, and bought extra supplies from Screwfix, B&Q and Wickes.
The entire home renovation took the couple around 10 months to complete, and cost them just £3,500 in total.
They posted before and after photos of their home transformation on Facebook, where users praised them for a job well done.
“Wow you’ve done an amazing job, it’s all lovely but the kitchen is amazing, sit back and enjoy it all now,” one person wrote.
“Wow what an amazing team u pair are, absolutely love it well done,” another person added [sic].
“Looks amazing!!! You have a great eye for design I love what you have done,” someone else said.
Charlie said: “The most enjoyable part was accessorising the place at the end and adding the finishing touches.
“The most challenging part was the hours we spent [on the renovation], the early mornings and nights every day became exhausting.
“We’re so happy that everyone on Facebook enjoying it which is so rewarding!”
In a few words of advice for those who wish to revamp their homes, Charlie added: “Anything is possible.
“Don’t be afraid to get stuck in and have a try.”
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This DIY fanatic completely transformed a three-bed house in three weeks and did it on the cheap thanks to Dunelm and Ikea bargains.
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