Mum transforms not one, but four bedrooms for less than £1,500

When it comes to makeovers, most of us tend to do one room at a time, but this brave mum completed a whole house makeover on a budget of less than £1,500.

Emily Watson, a 29-year-old housekeeper from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, decided to embark on four projects: a bedroom revamp for herself, a new space for son Lewis, 11, and converting one room into two smaller ones for Maisie, 9, and Hugo, 1. Each one was filled with different bedroom ideas.

‘We moved into a three-bedroom house, but as there's four of us we halved the third bedroom in the back to give Maisie and Hugo their own space,' she told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.

Whole house makeover on a budget

Before

‘With my two eldest children, I wanted to try and keep their bedrooms grown-up so the makeovers would last.'

Conscious that she wouldn't be able to afford a professional decorator, Emily sourced everything for the four bedrooms herself, keeping costs down by shopping smart. 'Most of our supplies and furniture have been purchased secondhand, from budget shops or sales where possible,' she says.

Before the makeover, each of the bedrooms was a bare shell and the house wasn't in very good condition, which meant Emily had to redo everything while living there.

'It took five long months,' she says, 'but the process was made easier because I’d been planning it for over six months before we moved in. I had started buying budget items before we even had a house to move into, so this helped us to save money once we were in our new home.'

As you can see, each of the rooms needed a fair bit of work, including turning one bedroom into two smaller rooms. ‘When we began renovating the rooms, the job which took the longest was preparing the walls,' says Emily. 'We hadn’t replastered anywhere except one wall, so it took a long time to sand everything and white mist the walls before getting the paint on.'

After

Monochrome master bedroom

Emily's bedroom is a calm blend of soft grey bedroom ideas, glass and mirrored furniture, with a grown-up, elegant scheme and an on-trend panelled wall behind the bed. 'I wanted to model my bedroom on some rooms I'd seen on Instagram,' she says.

'However, they weren’t in the budget for me if I was to buy everything as listed. Instead, I tried to recreate the look by purchasing supplies from Facebook Marketplace, B&M and Home Bargains.'

The grey lamps on either side of Emily's bed cost just £25 on Facebook Marketplace, which is where she also bought her two mirrored bedside tables for £50 (for both)!

‘Overall I paid very little for the furniture in each of the rooms. For the whole set in my bedroom I only paid £150, and that includes two bedside tables, a set of drawers and a dressing table. Our bed was a little more pricey - it's from a company called Bedz, Bedzz & Bedrooms and cost £500.'

Jungle inspired kids bedroom

One-year-old Hugo, who loves the jungle, was treated to a boys bedroom idea where his imagination can run wild! ‘The most expensive purchase was the jungle wallpaper, which cost £70 from eBay,' says Emily.

The jungle-print curtains and bed sheets were from Next fit the theme perfectly! What little boy wouldn't love this bedroom?

‘Marketplace turned out to be a great place for items on the cheap,' says Emily. 'I picked up this large stuffed giraffe for £45.'

We love the scalloped edge to the walls and the little shelf racks that house all of Hugo's books.

Pink polkadot bedroom

Maisie's bedroom has been turned into a pretty girlie den, with a panelled wall behind the bed. ‘By going to the local builder's merchants we saved on the timber and plasterboard, paying £60 in total,' says Emily. 'And the pink chandelier for only £20 on Facebook Marketplace.'

'All of the smaller accessories are from either Home Bargains, B&M or The Range, but I didn’t spend over £30 for any of the items,' says Emily. 'The most popular decorative piece among family and friends has been my Naomi Tripod Lamp, which cost just £20 from B&M.'

 Gamer's bedroom

When it came to Lewis's room, Emily gave it a gaming theme, with fun wall stickers that she bought from eBay and some neon string lights for a cool vibe. 'I also got some gamer cushions for just £2 each, and a bedside cabinet for £15 from B&M,' she says.

‘The best bargain, however, was both of my eldest childrens’ beds, as we actually got those for free off Facebook Marketplace!'

Gaming prints have been framed to continue the theme, while a black rattan mirror goes with the monochrome scheme.

Taking on four-bedroom makeovers at once is a bold move, but Emily has pulled it off.