A mum and her teenage daughter managed to completely transform their bathroom for just £600 - saving them thousands of pounds in the process.
Melissa Preston, 44, a mum-of-two from Northampton who owns a cleaning company, took on the renovation project with daughter Mia, 13.
By doing the labour themselves and upcycling existing items, the pair reckon they’ve saved a huge £3,400.
Melissa also saved cash by shopping in bargain shops like Poundland and B&M and looking for dupes of more expensive products.
She estimates the bathroom would have cost at least £4,000 to redo professionally.
Melissa told the 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.
"It got to the point where I was hiding my stuff in the cupboards, and I would often find myself dripping wet 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 is away at university it was left to Mia."
Melissa said daughter Mia wanted pink tiles, a green wall and black accessories for the new bathroom.
She started the project by buying the odd small bits over the months, including from both Poundland and B&M.
Mia wanted a bath mat from Urban Outfitters but as this was out of their price range at £25, Melissa hunted a copycat one down for a bargain £6.99.
"I did all the labour myself to cut costs but did pay a tiler £160 to tile for me," said Melissa.
"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, Melissa started the painting and wallpapering.
She upcycled the existing bathroom unit using cupboard paint and also replaced the handles with some brass beetles for £2.50.
Have you renovated your home on a budget and want to share how you did it? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
Melissa went on to use DC Fix to revamp the shelves in the unit and cover the old wooden main top units.
"I painted the bath panel in cupboard paint also to tie in with the units," she said.
"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."
Melissa has also shared her tips for anyone else looking to do a home makeover.
She recommends hunting around for the best prices and keeping a note of any products you like.
"But 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."
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: "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."
