Savvy homeowner gives dated living room a modern makeover for £2, 000

A savvy homeowner has told how she transformed her tired-looking living room in lockdown for £2, 000.

Jennifer Wynter, 30, from Bracknell, completed on a house in need of renovation during the lockdown and soon turned it into an incredibly stylish haven. 

The beautician, along with her husband Kevin and their three kids aged four, five and 10, bought supplies from Wickes, Homesense and Ikea to bring their living room into the 21st-century.

They created their own panelling using decorative beading from Wickes, replaced the dated wallpaper with on-trend paint and stocked up on rattan furniture from Homesense.

Jennifer Wynter, 30, from Bracknell, completed on a house in need of renovation during the lockdown and soon turned it into an incredibly stylish haven. Pictured, the living room before

The beautician, along with her husband Kevin and their three kids aged four, five and 10, bought supplies from Wickes, Homesense and Ikea to bring their living room into the 21st-century. Pictured, after the transformation

Jennifer (pictured) says she loves interior design, watches a lot of home makeovers and has a lot of mood boards

‘We completed on our house during the lockdown and the whole house needed renovating,’ said the mum-of-three, speaking to money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk. 

‘I love interior design, watch a lot of home makeovers and with a lot of mood boards, I knew I definitely wanted panelling downstairs as it gives spaces more shape and character, and takes away a lot of imperfections.

‘The panelling was done really easily – we just used decorative beading from Wickes at around £6 a piece, and we just stuck them straight onto the wall.

Jennifer says the hardest part was working out how many rectangles they wanted on one wall and taking the measurements.

‘The dado rails were originally there but we had to add a few more as originally one wall had archways,’ she continued. 

‘Considering we had a lot of cracks and holes in the walls as the room had polystyrene ceilings, it’s crazy what a difference the beading, filler and coving made.’

The mother-of-three explained that she achieved the panelling by using decorative beading from Wickes at around £6 a piece, and just stuck them straight onto the wall (pictured)

The savvy mother-of-three went on to say they started by removing all the wallpaper and taking all the polystyrene ceilings down and the skirting, which left them with a lot of holes and cracks. Pictured, the living room before the transformation

‘Originally I was going for nude colours, but as we wanted the rooms to flow and the dark architraves and skirting to match we decided to stick with the dark grey. This allowed us then to play with any colour.

‘You always have a plan before going in but we kind of went with the flow with this room.

‘Our colour choices changed over time: our sofa takes centre stage with its bold colour, which was not a colour we originally thought about but it adds that pop of colour that the room needed.’

While Jennifer admits that armchairs are not to ‘everyone’s taste,’ she says the rattan finish helped her introduce other colours and textures.

‘Although it’s not fully finished as we still need to dress the room and walls and personalise it more to our family, so far it’s my favourite room in the house,’ she said. ‘It’s the first room you see as you enter the house and I couldn’t be more proud.

Jennifer told how the sofa takes centre stage with its bold colour, which was not a colour they originally thought about. Pictured, after the transformation

‘Doing this project during lockdown was difficult. Not only did we struggle with getting the materials and juggling three children but things can never be plain and simple and you always come across the unexpected.

‘Seeing what we have achieved and knowing we were absolutely useless at DIY shows that anyone is more than capable. Before this, my husband couldn’t hang up a shelf without it being wonky!

The savvy mother-of-three went on to say they started by removing all the wallpaper and taking all the polystyrene ceilings down and the skirting, which left them with a lot of holes and cracks.

‘When removing the old carpet, we were worried we had old asbestos tiles underneath but luckily they were not so we just chipped them off the floor,’ she continued. 

‘A friend took them off our hands otherwise we would have had to pay to get rid of them at the tip. Everything was done by us with a little help from the father-in-law when it came to putting up the coving and painting.

‘My husband learnt how to lay the laminate floor, change the plug sockets and even cut and secure the skirting.

‘It was pretty enjoyable doing it together – maybe that’s why I love it so much; because I know how much hard work went into it!

She added: ‘We bulk bought the architraves, flooring and other materials not just for the living room but for the rest of the house. With furnishings and materials, the room cost approximately £2,000 to transform.

While Jennifer admits that armchairs are not to ‘everyone’s taste,’ she says the rattan finish helped her introduce other colours and textures (pictured)

Jennifer is over the moon with the drastic transformation of the living room, and recommends keeping an open mind and a positive attitude when it comes to renovating. Pictured, after the transformation

‘The sofa was £599 and the armchairs were £200 from Homesense. The cushions varied from £14.99 to £20 from Homesense, the rug was on a deal for £50 from Ikea, the stool was £30 from Homesense and the blind replacements were £10 on Facebook Marketplace.

‘We picked up our doors on Facebook for £20 each and our side table for £12 in the clearance at Ikea.’

Jennifer is over the moon with the drastic transformation of the living room, and recommends keeping an open mind and a positive attitude when it comes to renovating.

‘Always keep an eye out for a bargain! Although we spent a little more on some furnishings, we were able to save too,’ she added. My main tip would be to remember that things happen for a reason, just go with the flow and it all works out!’

Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, commented: ‘Jennifer’s incredible living room is totally unrecognisable when you compared it to its dated former self!

‘It just shows that replacing tired wallpaper, flooring and furniture can make all the difference in the world.

‘You needn’t spend a fortune, either: make like Jennifer and Kevin and save on the cost of builders by taking on the DIY elements yourself. It’s cost-effective and a fun bonding activity for the family too.

‘If you don’t know where to start, YouTube is your best friend – there are loads of free online tutorials to have a look at!’