A mum of two, who lost £50,000 to a builder who “went away and never came back” after tearing down the front and back of her house, has now patched up the job using a different builder and refurbished her house using quirky second-hand furniture for just £1,500. Chloe Sweden, 42, hired a highly recommended builder to do a £100,000 extension on her 1960s house, but her life “quickly turned into a nightmare” as, after just a few months of labour, the builder left and never returned.
Chloe said her family were left “stranded” with their house looking “like a building site”, making Chloe feel “so ill”, and it took an additional six months, and £80,000, for a different builder to finish the job. Chloe had five rooms to furnish, and decided to get creative by buying all her furniture second hand and upcycling anything from doctor’s waiting room chairs to bins – she even found a designer sofa, which retailed at £7,000, for £500, as well as a free vintage sideboard, two beds and quirky chairs.
Now Chloe, from Hertfordshire, has estimated a saving of £20,000 by buying preloved furniture rather than new – her total spend equated to only around £1,500. “It was just such a horrific time – I just felt so ill, and like I couldn’t even breathe,” Chloe said.
