A mother and daughter transformed their bathroom for just £600 saving an impressive £3,400.
Mum-of-two Melissa Preston, 44, from Northampton who owns a cleaning company, took on the bathroom renovation project with her 13-year-old daughter Mia.
By using affordable materials, taking on the labour themselves and cleverly repurposing and upcycling existing items, the duo managed to transform their bathroom for just £600.
This resulted in a saving of £3,400, as Melissa says the bathroom would have cost at least £4,000 to redo professionally.
Melissa told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK : "I decided to do a makeover in the bathroom because I was fed up with my daughters using up all my nice shampoo and products that I would treat myself to in my en-suite shower!
“I decided to do a makeover on the main bathroom so they can use that and their own products.
"It got to the point where I was hiding my stuff in the cupboards, and I would often find myself dripping wet (because I'd forget to get them out of my stash place) rifling through the wardrobe to find my hidden products!
"As it’s just mainly the girls that use the main bathroom I let them design it.
“As Jasmine, 20, is away at university it was left to Mia, 13.
"About four months ago she sent me images of ideas she liked down to the colours of the tiles and the toilet roll holder.
"She had a strong vision of pink tiles, a green wall and black accessories.
"I was a little dubious at first given these colours, but after lots of hunting I found some combinations that I felt would work and still keep in line with Mia's ideas.
“I love the fact that Mia has an eye for design - a passion we both share and that brings us together.
"I started buying the odd small bits over the months, including a lot from the pound shop and B&M.
“Mia wanted a bath mat from Urban Outfitters but it was way out of my price range at £25 so I hunted a copycat one down for a bargain £6.99 - and she’s not even noticed!
"I did all the labour myself to cut costs but did pay a tiler £160 to tile for me.
“I had previously tiled my downstairs toilet but it took me forever and I thought I’d rather scrub people loos for hours than do that again!
“To cut costs with the tiler I had agreed to take off all the old tiles myself and prep all the walls ready for them to just tile.
"I replaced the basin taps and the bath mixer and shower taps myself.
“These were on offer at Screwfix as they were selling off some of the gold range cheap!
"Once the tiling was done I set about with painting and wallpapering.
"As I didn’t replace the old bathroom unit I upcycled it using cupboard paint.
"I also replaced the handles with some cute brass beetles for £2.50 and also inserted some of the wallpaper to the back.
"I used DC Fix to revamp the shelves in the unit and also covered the old wooden main top units with DC Fix.
"I painted the bath panel in cupboard paint also to tie in with the units.
"The bath screen was from Amazon for £104 and free delivery.
"For the blind I kept the old roller blind I had there already and just used some old cut off material to cover it to flow with my design.
"I sprayed the toilet flusher gold along with painting the tissue box in the same colour as the walls.
"All in all it cost me just under £600.
"If I were to have got it professionally done I would have been looking at around the £4,000 mark for materials and labour!
“I love that I saved so much by doing it myself, and also the satisfaction it gives me to know it’s all my own work.
"As they say, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves."
Melissa is thrilled with the look of her new bathroom, and her daughters are too.
"We all absolutely love our bathroom now, and I’m enjoying using all the girls' products as I’m spending more time having a bath rather than using my own shower in the en-suite,” she adds.
“My main tips would be to think outside the box and be brave with your ideas.
“At the end of the day you can easily change the cupboards and walls if you don’t like it.
"Hunt around for what you want: look in different shops and compare prices.
"Keep a note of what you have seen and where and how much it costs - don’t buy straight away.
"Look for codes and sign up to newsletters, as they often send a welcome discount.
"Don’t be afraid to ask the tradesman for a deal - or agree to do some of the work yourself.
"Another tip is to use YouTube as your free personal tutor!
“I’ve never done any plumbing before but learnt from watching videos.
"I absolutely love creating new spaces: this is my one passion in life and over lockdown it grew even more.
"I would love to get into interior design professionally one day, as it would be my dream job.
"I’m working towards my goal and have done a few cleaning clients’ projects to date.
"I suffer with anxiety, and I find getting stuck into a project really helps me cope and gives me great distractions when times are hard!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “What a stunning bathroom, and a stunning saving!
“By doing so much of the work themselves, Melissa and Mia have literally saved thousands of pounds.
“Their bathroom is Pinterest-perfect: it’s hard to believe it only cost £600!”
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