Using affordable buys and Facebook bargains to transform a room is easy when you know how – just ask Rachel Poolton from Cardiff, whose hallway is now dressed to impress after some thrifty shopping.
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Rachel, who owns a beauty clinic called Inch Go Lipo, was looking to make a change once lockdown lifted and she reopened. ‘I needed an appealing look for clients’ first impressions of my business, which is attached to my home,’ she told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.
Using spare items from other projects, along with low-cost items from Facebook Marketplace and affordable stores such as B&M and The Range, Rachel’s hall was transformed into a monochrome area with pretty pink floral accents.
Maximalist hallway makeover
Before
Image credit: Rachel Poolton
As one of the first places that people see when they enter your home, the hallway was an important area for Rachel to make a good first impression for both visitors and clients. Stripping off the old wallpaper and taking up the tired stripy carpet was the first step, before the fun part – the decorating! – could begin.
Realising she’d need a budget for the project, Rachel got creative and bought a chair, dressing table and chest of drawers. ‘I spent £55 on the furniture and managed to upcycle it for a profit, selling it for £300,’ she says.
Replacing the carpet
Image credit: Rachel Poolton
Instead of paying out for a whole new carpet, Rachel racked her brain and came up with a cheaper option. ‘I got a runner instead of a proper carpet for the stairs and used panel pins to attach them,’ she says. ‘Then I painted the rest of the steps black.’
The monochrome pattern is certainly striking and makes a thrifty addition.
Adding a lick of paint
Image credit: Rachel Poolton
An old radiator was hidden with a radiator cover that Rachel bought for £30 on Facebook Marketplace. ‘I already had the shelf above it, so I upcycled it to match,’ she says. ‘I also bought a small unit for under the stairs for £5, and painted it the same colour. Then I had a professional tile the floor with tiles I purchased from Wickes – they were on sale for £20 (for a box of 10) instead of £28.’
Buy now: Dusky Blush Inside/Outside paint, £9.95 for 250ml, Frenchchic
Finishing touches
Image credit: Rachel Poolton
A gallery wall leading up the stairs draws the eye upwards, but instead of spending a fortune on new picture frames, Rachel collected them from online selling pages for a fraction of the price. ‘They cost between £1 and £15 and I got several at a time for those prices,’ she says. ‘Then I just painted the frames in the same blush colour, and others in a dark black.’
Buy now: Blackjack Inside/Outside paint, £9.95 for 250ml, Frenchchic
‘The most expensive items were the blinds,’ Rachel continues. ‘I bought this blush-coloured Roman blind in the sale at Dunelm – it was half price at £32. The made-to-measure wooden-effect white blind underneath was £115. Finally, I bought some floral wallpaper from eBay for under £10 and applied it to the side of the stairs myself.’
After
Image credit: Rachel Poolton
Rachel bought a lot of accessories from Facebook Marketplace, B&M, The Range, Poundland and Wilkinson, including vases, fake plants and a rug and canvases. The end result is a scheme with plenty of interest and a feminine vibe to it.
‘Rachel’s transformation is truly stunning and is sure to impress anyone who enters her home,’ says Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk. ‘Shopping smartly online and scouring seller pages is a great way to save money, and if you’ve got a talent such as upcycling furniture, why not use it to get some extra funds for your project?’
Related: Hallway colour schemes – the combinations that make an ideal first impression
Have you been inspired to give your hallway a glamorous revamp?
