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

And they're all completely different

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

a room with stripped back walls showing old paint and stripped back floors showing floorboards half with blue paint, and a radiator underneath white window showing the outdoors

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

‘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.

Stripped back room with exposed floor boards, wallpaper taken off one wall with a white window, and a brown flower pattern wallpaper still on another wall

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

'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

an elegant bedroom in multiple tones of grey, large elegant headboard and bed cushions, mirrored bedside cabinets in front of a grey panel wall

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

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

a jungle themed child's room with a green four poster bed, jungle bedding and curtains and a lovely jungle wallpaper feature wall

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

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?

child's bedroom in a jungle theme with the bottom half of the walls in green with a curved pattern where it meets the top cream half, bookshelf on the wall behind a large toy giraffe, with a storage box and chest of drawers against the wall

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

‘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

a young girls room with a pink panel wall, pink chandelier above a single bed and brown full length curtains in front of the window

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

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.'

a girly room with dalmation polka dot wallpaper, a white dressing table with a mirror above that has a white frame and lights, storage cubes in the corner and a dresser against the wall which has a vase and incense sitting on top

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

'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

a boys room with a black framed bed, white chest of drawers, neon string lights and gaming controller stickers on the wall

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

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!'

a desk area in a boys room that has a white keyboard, plant and crystal skull on it, with two pictures on the wall, each showing half a gaming controller each in opposite colours of dark blue and white, and a black circle rattan mirror

(Image credit: Emily Watson)

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.

Laurie Davidson
Contributor

Laurie Davidson is a professional stylist, writer and content creator, who lives and breathes interiors. Having worked for some of the UK’s leading interior magazines, styled homes up and down the country and produced sets for TV shows, adverts and top brands, it’s safe to say Laurie has had a pretty exciting career. Find her on Instagram at @lifeofaninteriorstylist or over at lauriedavidson.co.uk