ADDING glamour to your home can cost hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
Not all of us have the funds to get the builders and carpenters in to transform our homes, leading many to turn to DIY to transform their homes on a budget.
Particularly for students, money can be tight, but one NHS student has proved that that doesn’t mean your home needs to be boring.
Imogen Quirk, 27, a mum of one from Merseyside, managed to give her staircase a designer makeover on a budget.
She spent under £90 and snapped up budget wallpaper, carpet runners and spray paint from Amazon, ebay and B&M.
By putting in the hard work herself, she got a luxury staircase for less, saving herself hundreds of pounds.
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Imogen told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: "I always try and freshen everywhere up every six months even if it’s just with a new coat of paint but I always have so many design ideas and I just seem to go with it!
"I recently wrapped my kitchen in a black and wood theme and loved the black so I’ve spread that out across the house, but didn’t want the hall to be too dark because it’s quite big I like to keep it bright and airy.”
Imogen explained that she wanted to redo her staircase, without splashing the cash.
She continued: "I needed to keep it as cheap as possible, and it took me about three weeks after I got home from work after putting my daughter to bed.
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“The original carpet was taken up, and all carpet grips, staples and tacks removed.
"The stairs were then sanded down and smoothed, then varnished in white.
"I measured the stairs myself and ordered normal carpet runners to the same length.
"I needed three long runners and one medium runner, however, there was a pattern at each end so I cut the patterned ends off each runner so the pattern would continue.
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"I singed the edges with a lighter to stop any fraying and touched up with dye on any white bits after I’d cut, with the edges of each runner starting at the crease in the stair.
"Each step then has 12 to 16 carpet tacks hammered in keeping it firmly in place.
"Then I put the black varnish on the rail.
"I also sanded down a leaner mirror and sideboard I had in other rooms and spray painted them along with my radiator black to go with the black rail varnishing.”
And luckily, Imogen was able to completely transform her stairs, without causing a huge dent to her purse.
She added: “The wallpaper cost £39.98 from Amazon, the runners cost £62.97 but I had a £20 voucher so £42.97 from ebay, and the spray paint was £5 from B&M.
"The rest I already had in from all the other bits of DIY I do.
“It cost me under £90 in total.
"I’ve been quoted £300 once for just all the glossing in the hall stairs and landing so I'm not sure how much it all would have cost but as an NHS student it’s not an option to pay for something like that so I didn’t look into it.
"I’m really glad I did manage to do it for under £90, especially with all the cost of energy and things rising!
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"I think my tips would be don’t be afraid to just have a go.
“They are only walls and if you don’t like it a lick of paint can transform a room easily enough… but you never know until you give it a go!”
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