Ex-embalmer is now a self-taught decorator doing up single mums’ homes for free
- last year
A self-taught decorator and hoarding specialist has been doing up single mums’ homes - for FREE.
Multi-talented Tee Williams runs a cleaning company helping people de-clutter their lives on the Channel 5 programme Hoarders.
But the single mum has now branched out to set up her design company InTEErior Designs, despite having no carpentry qualifications and teaching herself via YouTube and Instagram videos.
Once she’s watched online demonstrations, Tee will apply her new knowledge to create anything from a resin bar for a nightclub, to a media wall, or a secret door leading to a panic room.
She never refers back to the video content - as a visual learner Tee can watch the bare bones of what needs to be done and crack on with her own version.
The 48-year-old, who previously worked a an embalmer, puts some of her success down to her OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) driving her to make things perfect.
The mum of two and grandmother of two has converted an entire garage from wall to ceiling, built a water feature in her own hallway, created a gazebo for a wedding proposal, made penny floors, and transformed bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms and gardens.
Customers keep coming back - 14 people are currently waiting for solo worker Tee to be free, the majority of them single mums.
In part, it’s because she offers her skills to vulnerable people without making any profit.
The lockdown project-turned-business began as an entirely free enterprise. As it expanded, with regular trips from Birmingham to London, Tee had to ask people to cover her fuel and tools.
One of her favourite jobs was five days spent building a media wall complete with a fireplace, shelves, and space for a television. She had never built one before.
Another, was a garage conversion where she turned the entire space into a shrine for a client’s dead mother and father. The garage was gutted and redecorated from scratch, all bar the lighting because she’s not a qualified electrician.
Currently Tee is creating a panic room for a woman in London, where a secret doorway will lead to a room stocked with essential items. She said: "I laughed about it with her, and I just do what I'm asked."
As a teenager Tee was fed up with the look of the council houses her friends were living in, with the same furniture in every home and set out to liven them up.
Tee said: “I’ve always just liked things different and thinking outside the box. When I left my mum’s house as a teenager and went to my friends’ houses, everyone was renting.
“It was always the same council cupboards, it was always the same look
“I hated the look of everyone’s houses, and started wondering how can I change these houses without renting privately, or damaging the council’s cupboards? So I started to just help people out.
Multi-talented Tee Williams runs a cleaning company helping people de-clutter their lives on the Channel 5 programme Hoarders.
But the single mum has now branched out to set up her design company InTEErior Designs, despite having no carpentry qualifications and teaching herself via YouTube and Instagram videos.
Once she’s watched online demonstrations, Tee will apply her new knowledge to create anything from a resin bar for a nightclub, to a media wall, or a secret door leading to a panic room.
She never refers back to the video content - as a visual learner Tee can watch the bare bones of what needs to be done and crack on with her own version.
The 48-year-old, who previously worked a an embalmer, puts some of her success down to her OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) driving her to make things perfect.
The mum of two and grandmother of two has converted an entire garage from wall to ceiling, built a water feature in her own hallway, created a gazebo for a wedding proposal, made penny floors, and transformed bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms and gardens.
Customers keep coming back - 14 people are currently waiting for solo worker Tee to be free, the majority of them single mums.
In part, it’s because she offers her skills to vulnerable people without making any profit.
The lockdown project-turned-business began as an entirely free enterprise. As it expanded, with regular trips from Birmingham to London, Tee had to ask people to cover her fuel and tools.
One of her favourite jobs was five days spent building a media wall complete with a fireplace, shelves, and space for a television. She had never built one before.
Another, was a garage conversion where she turned the entire space into a shrine for a client’s dead mother and father. The garage was gutted and redecorated from scratch, all bar the lighting because she’s not a qualified electrician.
Currently Tee is creating a panic room for a woman in London, where a secret doorway will lead to a room stocked with essential items. She said: "I laughed about it with her, and I just do what I'm asked."
As a teenager Tee was fed up with the look of the council houses her friends were living in, with the same furniture in every home and set out to liven them up.
Tee said: “I’ve always just liked things different and thinking outside the box. When I left my mum’s house as a teenager and went to my friends’ houses, everyone was renting.
“It was always the same council cupboards, it was always the same look
“I hated the look of everyone’s houses, and started wondering how can I change these houses without renting privately, or damaging the council’s cupboards? So I started to just help people out.