With the cost of living crisis, many homeowners may be putting off big DIY jobs, and opting for smaller rooms like downstairs bathrooms and porches instead - but what if you can save even more money on those cheap-to-update rooms?
Many people who have a porch - otherwise known as an entry or, the posher term, vestibule - may not give them much thought when it comes to decorating. However, they’re often the very first thing that guests see when they visit your home, and we all know how important first impressions are.
If left undecorated or not updated, they can quickly look outdated or run down but one savvy DIYer has shared how he transformed his porch on a tight budget.
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Jonathan Barnes, a 50-year-old spray shop manager from Rochdale, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk how he saved £700 by transforming his porch with affordable buys from eBay, B&M and Home Bargains.
He said: “When the property was built in the 60s, the vestibule was originally an open porch. It was enclosed by the previous owner sometime during the 00s. However, apart from a lick of paint, it was never fully renovated. Even the old coal hatch still remained!
“The previous owner had extended the kitchen in order to create a dining space. They achieved this by extending into the hallway, thus reducing the overall size of the vestibule. This created a dilemma for me when it came to finding a good space for hanging coats and shoe storage without it looking cluttered and intrusive, so I decided to renovate the old vestibule to meet my needs.”
The first item that Jonathan purchased was the floor tiles - a gorgeous moroccan style from Al Murad Tiles which he bagged for £91.65 with a 10 per cent off code. He said: “When I first started the renovations, I had no idea what the overall design was going to be. Then I purchased the floor tiles, which I came across by pure chance whilst I was looking for something completely different online. So basically, my design ended up revolving around the floor tiles, which have a theme I’ve called Country Chic.”
He kept costs down by shopping around for the best prices, picking up supplies from B&Q, Amazon, Home Bargains, B&M and eBay,
Among his materials were four 12mm MDF boards from B&Q and tile grout for £20 from Amazon, as well as two packets of interlocking floor mats from Home Bargains for £24 and tile adhesive for £18.
The 50-year-old went on to pick up 2.5l of Dulux paint in the shade Overtly Olive for £35, four cast iron coat hooks for £15.80 and a hexagon shelves set for £22. He also got two specialist door hinges for £10.
Jonathan added: “Then I went over to eBay and got an antique bronze light switch and plug socket for £15.80, followed by a bamboo shoe bench which was £30 (reduced from £50). After that I got 2.5 litres of white ceiling paint for £10 from B&M and two lots of grip fill adhesive for £3.40 from Screwfix.
“At the local joiners I got 18mm of solid oak tread for £30, and a neighbour kindly donated three LED spotlights with a sensor. The total cost for my supplies was £449.65.”
The DIY-enthusiast removed the old laminate and ceiling light, and got to work with the MDF panels and insulation, adding new lighting and making his own skirting boards.
He covered the old concrete step with the piece of solid oak timber that was purchased as an offcut from a local joinery company for £30 and cut it to size himself before tiling the floor.
He said: “his was the process I was most looking forward to despite having never done it before. I watched a couple of tutorial videos on YouTube on how to cut the tiles. I decided to cut all of the tiles to the required size first and lay them out in their respective order before applying any adhesive; this was to ensure that they were all cut correctly.”
He made a discreet cupboard door by using another offcut from the wall panels, painted the walls, ceiling and skirting boards and varnished the oak tread.
He added: “Working in such a limited space meant that I had to do most of my wood and tile cutting in the garden, which was OK when the weather was fine, but for a large part, it rained, so the whole project took longer than I had anticipated. Despite this, it was one of the easiest and most enjoyable renovation projects I have undertaken to date.”
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: “Jonathan has managed to turn his average-looking vestibule into a modern and chic space for a tiny price compared to getting a professional in.
“A simple Google search reveals that the average hourly cost for a handyman in the UK is £30, so considering the fact that Jonathan spent just over 24 hours on this project, getting someone else in to do the work would have set him back around £720. He has therefore saved the best part of £1000 by completing this project himself - nice one!”
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