Woman gives rented house a dramatic makeover – and spends just £200 – Daily Mail
A community support carer has revealed how she’s given her entire rental home a makeover, using bold wallpaper, second-hand furniture and the creative use of an old wooden pallet.
Lauren Orme, 26, from Liverpool, moved into her four-bedroom rented home, which she shares with her partner Mark, 39, four years ago.
The couple, who pay £440 a month in rent, say they ‘tolerated’ the property’s magnolia walls, dark kitchen and brown carpets but in 2019, they finally decided it was time for a spruce-up on a shoestring.
Scouring Instagram for ideas, Lauren says she soon became obsessed with cut-price DIY and looked at imaginative ways to enhance the space the couple have – including installing a budget breakfast bar in an unused corner of the property’s kitchen.
Instagram fan Lauren Orme, a Community support carer from Liverpool, pays £440 a month for her rented home – but grew tired of magnolia walls and decided to give the four-bed property a revamp
Dark to light: Lauren says she began looking at cut-price ways to give the house a style makeover…with stick-on tiles and vinyl work surfaces giving the previously dark kitchen a fresher look
Mark helped build the breakfast bar using wood (£18) and two table legs (£10 each) from B&Q. Lauren completed the area by tucking under a pair of chairs she already owned and for just £28, and the project was complete.
In the garden, Lauren created a pallet bar using a wooden pallet that cost just £2 from a local seller. After sawing it in half and drilling it to a garden wall, the couple painted the wood using some leftover wood paint.
To finish off, Mark made a lid using leftover wood that the couple already had lying around and fastened this with a hook and eye.
She says: ‘Homeware has come such a long way and there’s great shops like The Range, B&M, TKMaxx, and Home Bargains which do fabulous home décor for a good price.’
One of Lauren’s favourite DIY hacks is using sticky-back plastic vinyl. Costing as little as just £10 a roll, Lauren has covered various items in her house including a fireplace, bathroom fixtures, and kitchen worktops – giving them a completely new lease of life. Similarly, Lauren emulated a £200 crittal-style shower screen by applying £1 black tape to her existing one.
Lauren’s partner Mark, who she shares the rented home with, helped her create a breakfast bar in an unused area of the kitchen. The mini bar was crafted using a shelf and some legs from B&Q – at a cost of just £28
Dining in style: The area where the couple eat has been transformed into a cosy dining area, with a cushioned seat, and window style mirrors on the wall
In total, Lauren estimates to have spent just £200 transforming her home including paint, wood, furniture, and accessories – sourcing around 80 per cent of her furniture second-hand from places like Gumtree or charity shops.
‘My favourite project was the little breakfast bar area I created. I’d always wanted one but struggled with …….