'DIY Was Our Money-Saver'

Natasha and Gary used their DIY skills to revitalise their home, giving it a new, easy-living layout and a timeless, budget-friendly makeover

This house was in such a sad state when we first viewed it that I don’t think anyone else was even interested!’ says Natasha. ‘Inside, everything was grubby and worn, and the decor was awful – turquoise kitchen walls and cupboards, an old-fashioned gas fire in the living room, and hideous vinyl wallpapers everywhere.

The layout was very strange, too, as the living room was only accessible from the dining room, and you had to walk through the second bedroom in order to reach the bathroom. It was going to be a challenge, but the potential was there. The amount of work that needed to be done must have put most people off, but Gary and I were looking for a doer-upper where we could make our mark.

Whitewash

Once in, we scrubbed the whole house and painted over the worst of the wallpaper to make it liveable, but it was freezing cold as there was no insulation. We had the wood burner fitted in the dining room as soon as possible, but we couldn’t do more because we were saving hard for the renovation. It was two years before we could afford to start major work, but we made do, and I spent the time saving, planning and researching. Although it was a long wait, it worked for me. I like to think things over carefully and then hopefully, make the right choices.

Online tuition

Neither of us had much-renovating experience but we were determined to do whatever we could ourselves. Gary was ​already quite handy as he builds sets for photography at work, but we used online videos to pick up information and learn how to do things like tiling. It definitely wasn’t the easy option, but it made our budget go much further.

The renovation