A bathroom renovation can typically put you thousands of pounds out of pocket but one savvy couple managed to save themselves a fortune on expensive labour and materials costs by doing it themselves. Sharnene Jewell, 45, from Cardiff and her husband Paul, 51, transformed their bathroom by upcycling second-hand furniture and hunting for bargains.
Using Gumtree and Ebay the pair pulled off an incredible industrial makeover for just £550. They now have a charming and rusting-looking bathroom that is unrecognisable from its former self.
"The shower room on our top floor originally had a full-length cupboard behind the door which I felt was a waste of space because it was really not used for anything," Sharnene told DIY On A Budget UK.
"We took the cupboard away and put a door opening from the landing to create a separate room. We then closed up the doorway from the walk-through dressing area and that created a fourth bedroom because we also blocked up the arch between the master bedroom and the dressing area.
"In the middle bathroom, the door when fully opened used to hit the bath panel, so I felt it would make a better shower room. So it just made sense to swap them around.
"I took the old shower cubicle out, and kept the original toilet, but moved the pipework. I also moved the sink and bath pipework."
Sharnene then went on the hunt for some bargains and bought tiles on sale in B&Q, at £8 a box for five boxes. She also bought a drawer unit from Gumtree for £40 and made some DIY adjustments to it.
"I bought a drawer unit from Gumtree for £40 which I sanded and black washed, and painted some of it solid black. I replaced the handIes with copper pipes and fittings from B&Q which cost £30.
"I bought a quarry cast bath from Gumtree for £150, which was sanded and polished. I also bought a freestanding bath tap from Amazon for £140, a stone sink which was £45 from eBay and a sink tap for £25 also from eBay.
"I bought the glazed window from Gumtree for £20, and we handmade the frame. I used old parquet floor tiles as wall tiles from Gumtree, and they were free.
"The mirror was from TK Maxx from £18. It was silver, but we painted it black, with a brown rust effect."
Sharnene and Paul saved the most on labour costs, choosing to do the work themselves. "My mother-in-law paid £7,000 about 10 years ago to have her bathroom done, so I just knew we would be able to save loads by doing it ourselves," Sharnene explained.
"My husband fitted our last bathroom so he had quite a bit of knowledge, but YouTube is a great place to watch videos on how to do things." She added: "Buying new is a lovely feeling, but when you create something with your own hands it just makes you feel so proud.
"Especially if on a budget, you can get much better quality items for less money and make them unique and perfect for your own home very easily with just paint and new hardware."
Sharnene and Paul are proud of their achievement and in love with their new bathroom. "It’s my dream bathroom, I just love how warm it feels with all the dark wood and plants," she said.
"I'm very much into industrial decor so I’m loving my industrial style window, black taps and stone sink, but I think what makes me most happy is how cheaply I managed to do it all for. For more what's on stories from WalesOnline, you can get our newsletter here.
