"I spent £600 transforming my damp council home with charity shop bargains"

SWNS

A mum transformed her "damp" council home for just £600 - by teaching herself DIY and upcycling charity shop bargains.  Becki Foster, 31, and her husband Adam, 32, didn't have much time to look for a new home when he was medically discharged from the army.  The mum-of-four was heavily pregnant and were only able to view photos of their new home before moving in September 2023.  The couple were shocked to find the three-bed home near Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, was "damp" and "smelly".  Becki hired a tradesman but after being left with a botched job and £2.5k out of pocket she set about doing it herself.

Transcript

00:00I have a terrible toxic trait which has not only taken over my life, but it's also costed me an absolute fortune

00:04to the point that my husband even threatened to leave me today.

00:06But before I divulge into my personality issues, don't forget to like and follow.

00:09So what is my toxic trait, you ask?

00:11It's the inability to tell that just because I've watched something on the internet doesn't mean I can achieve it myself.

00:15Hi, my name's Becky and I'm a wannabe DIY addict.

00:17And just like many others out there, we were given a counts house in a shocking state.

00:21I mean, having hundreds of butterflies hibernating at every corner of your house is definitely an interesting touch.

00:25Just don't think it's really for me.

00:26However, thanks to social media and spending too much time watching budget home renovation videos,

00:30paired with my stubbornness, of course,

00:31I seem to think I can transform this house into something out of an ideal home magazine.

00:35I mean, it's only taken four days, multiple meltdowns, and several hours to get to this stage of panelling my walls.

00:39Although I must admit, despite me stating on multiple occasions that panelling your walls is total bullshit,

00:43this part isn't so bad, but that might be because I haven't got to scribe anything.

00:46It definitely would have been a lot quicker and easier if I'd stuck to my original idea of just panelling a half wall.

00:50But that's what you get for spending too much time on Pinterest.

00:52But in all honesty, this is the easy bit once you've finished framing the walls.

00:55It really is just a case of constantly measuring with a little bit of gluing and sticking.

00:58I do have a laser level, which I'm using as a guide to get my panels on straight,

01:00but for whatever reason, I didn't really trust it and kept going back to my spirit level anyway.

01:04But we did it, we finally got the panels on the wall,

01:06and now we've just got to fill it, caulk it, and then we can start doing the painting.

01:08Well, f*** me, I've finally done it.

01:09I've spent nearly three months giving my ugly counts house bedroom a bigger glow up than the entire Kardashian family.

01:14And thanks to obsessive online shopping and multiple hours being totally indecisive in B&Ms, the range, and the rest of the squad,

01:19it's finally time to do the finishing touches.

01:21Honestly, in the last few days, I've spent more time in home decor shops than Charlie Sheen does hookers.

01:25And if you've enjoyed watching my ugly bedroom transformation,

01:28don't forget to like and follow because there's still the rest of my house to do.

01:30So as you can see, I basically spent a lot of money on a crap ton of pillows.

01:33As a busy mum with four kids, spending 20 minutes every morning making my bed,

01:36of course, it seems like a good idea.

01:38But it'll look pretty, so that's all that matters.

01:40And who doesn't love a good karate-chopped pillow?

01:42What can I say? I wanted a princess bed.

01:43And what bedroom's not complete without a few random candles, flowers, and thingamabobs that will never be used?

01:48This random tray on the bed is a prime example.

01:50And for the moment you've all been waiting for, here's the final reveal.

01:52There are still a few jobs left to do in this room,

01:54wall-mounting that mirror being one of them,

01:55and building shelves for inside this cupboard.

01:57I also still need to replace my bedroom door from that ugly brown thing that's still there.

02:00Yes, I know I could just paint it black for now, but it just seems like a waste of time and resources.

02:04But compared to the giant pink flamingo anus we started with, it's definitely come a long way.

02:08But I absolutely love it, and now it's time to start the living room.

02:11Turning my cat's house into a home.

02:12Because apparently, cracked and chic isn't a vibe.

02:14So when I first started my living room renovation,

02:17these walls had more cracks in them than my self-esteem.

02:19But with the help of a lot of creative filling,

02:20misplaced self-confidence,

02:22and a half-assed plastering job,

02:23we're finally starting to prime these walls ready for painting.

02:25Because who needs professional help when you have Google and blind optimism?

02:28After all, is it even a DIY home renovation if you haven't questioned your life choices first?

02:32Speaking of which, today I nearly cried in B&Q.

02:35Long story short, I was basically told that none of the colour-matched paints

02:38were suitable to use on my radiator.

02:39But being emotionally unstable right now and overly hormonal,

02:42I wasn't mentally prepared to have my decorating dreams ripped out from under me.

02:45But thankfully, I've developed trust issues over the last year.

02:47And after a quick Google search, I learned I was misinformed.

02:49So my living room design idea is back on.

02:51Clearly, I need to get my shit together.

02:52Now, this tub of magic wall sauce turned out to be one of the best mistakes I've ever made.

02:56It's helped me transform this council house from something that's barely livable

02:59into barely Pinterest-worthy.

03:00But this is how it looks once I've finished painting it on my walls.

03:03I mean, it's definitely an improvement, but it's not gonna win us any awards.

03:06And here's how the primer looks once it's finished drying.

03:08I've got to give B&Q credit.

03:09It's completely transformed my living room walls.

03:11So don't forget to like and follow for more.

03:47And I'll see you in the next one.

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