A couple managed to turn a dingy home into one that won an award, increasing the the value of the property massively – and they did it with a lot of budget buys
Renovating a house can be really hard work, but one couple managed to turn their dingy home into an award-winning one worth a whopping £750,000.
Becky and Adam purchased the dated four-bedroom house in South East London for £525,000 back in 2015, and despite not having much DIY experience, they decided to get to work on making their dream home together. After five years of juggling conflicting priorities, including bringing up their child, in 2020, the work was done.
Their home also increased in value by £225k, and their glorious garden even impressively won the Ronseal Lockdown Garden award as it was deemed so beautiful.
Becky said: “We previously done up another flat in 2014 where we earned £100,000 on it a 12-month property flip period which afforded us our deposit on this house and gave us a taste of renovations. In 6 years we have gone from living at our parents to a £175,000 flat to now a £750,000 house. Before we started we didn’t know anything about interior design or building work so we have self-taught ourselves but it has all been completely worth it.”
Becky and Adam did the majority of the work on the house themselves using YouTube tutorials and interior design TV shows, which saved them thousands. And although Pinterest and Instagram inspired their style, their biggest inspiration according to Becky is the amount you save.
“Most looks you see on Instagram you can recreate yourself with a bit of elbow grease”, she said. “For example the kitchen panel wall Adam created himself one afternoon. What you save in money though you have to make up with effort, it’s not easy but it is well worth it when you see the end product.”
Between 2015 and 2020, the renovation project cost £50,000. Buying their home decor from budget stores has helped to keep the costs down, explains Becky.
“Ikea is our favourite. The Range, Dunelm and B&M. Even recently Poundland trinkets and home decor have become very good. We hunt for items that look more expensive than they look and always looking for furniture hacks and upcycling tips. e.g. a family member gave us their old brown dated patio set which we upcycled.”
Becky is now encouraging others hoping to get onto the property ladder to do the same thing and shares tips on how to do it and the lessons they have learned on her Instagram page 21oakham. But her top tip is: “The old cliché – buy the worst on the nicest street”.
Becky also says: “Research furniture hacks for getting your own bespoke items. Give up your social life and weekends temporarily as you need time and cash while you’re renovating. Budget everything and stick to it and don’t underestimate the costs of jobs always allow for worst case scenario.”
A version of this story was first published on October 29 2020.
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