Since the coronavirus pandemic forced people to start working from home, more and more homeowner s have transformed their unused rooms into home offices. But whilst this can often be a costly job, one woman has shared her money-saving tips to reveal how she transformed her spare bedroom into a luxury office whilst on a budget.
Sharnene Jewell gave her daughter's old bedroom an incredible, rustic makeover to create an impressive home office, which cost her just £250. The mum-of-four sourced cheap items from Facebook Marketplace, B&Q and IKEA to be able to carry out the renovation.
The savvy mum estimated that her home office would have cost her around £2,000 if she had paid full-price for everything, meaning she saved £1,750 by shopping around for the best bargains.
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Sharnene kept the costs down by buying furniture second-hand on Facebook Marketplace and upcycling everything from a wall canvas to a clock.
She also used clever DIY painting techniques to give the walls a concrete effect and give the desk a rustic look.
"The room was originally my youngest daughter’s room, but she had an upgrade when my middle daughter moved out, so then decided to use the room as an office because my husband works from home a few days a week," Sharnene told DIY On A Budget UK.
"I started by drawing two to three-foot rectangles on the wall also leaving space for the faux grout.
"I used a Tesco kitchen sponge, and matte grey emulsion paint with a bit of water to create the concrete effect and then I used matt black emulsion mixed with a bit of the grey for an off black colour for the faux grout. I added a small amount of salt for a bit of texture and I painted the rest of the room matte black."
Sharnene, who is a keen DIYer, did the entire transformation herself with clever techniques.
"The floor was whitewashed, but I wanted it darker, so I stained the white to brown and then scraped matte black floor paint into the grain. I finished it off with clear matte yacht varnish." she said.
"The desk I bought second hand from Facebook Marketplace for £75. I sanded the top and applied satin black wood paint with a cloth for a rustic effect and I did the same effect on the window frame.
"The clock was from TK Maxx. It cost £8, and it was black originally. I painted it randomly with white paint and then applied teak wood stain to the white to create the rust effect.
"The wall canvas was from The Range. I painted the outer edges black and then random areas with white and then I went over the white with teak wood stain for the rust effect.
"The ceiling loft hatch was white. I randomly painted it black with Rustoleum matt black paint and then I used teak wood stain for the rust effect."
Sharnene also sourced some items for free from Facebook.
"I got the leather chair for free from Facebook Marketplace, which I blacked just in the creases for an aged look and the swivel chair was second hand from Facebook Marketplace for £50," she said.
"It was originally orange, but was a little bit faded due to sun damage, so I dyed the fabric black, but not perfectly. I wanted a grungy look so I left some of the orange showing through. The bullet lamp I bought from a boot sale and my husband re-wired it with the green fabric cord, then I just added an Edison style bulb.
"The green vase is an old demijohn carboy, I bought that second hand for £5 from Facebook Marketplace. The top was slightly damaged, so I bought dial rope from B&Q, and attached it with a glue gun.
"The rug was £60 second-hand from Facebook Marketplace, but is originally from IKEA, and the artificial leaves were from IKEA and Dunelm."
The entire transformation cost the mum-of-four just £250 in total.
"For the money it cost me I couldn’t be happier. I managed to put my own stamp on everything to make it my own and unique," Sharnene said.
"I highly recommend upcycling, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment. It's a lot less work than replacing everything and it obviously cost next to nothing to do.
"If I had to buy everything from new I guess it would have cost me about £2,000, so I’m so happy with everything I managed to find second hand and all the things I was able to upcycle."
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