Woman, 25, spends £3k transforming council house saving thousands by doing work herself

A woman who rented a run-down council house has spent £3k renovating it – using bargains from Primark and B&M – and saved £10k by doing the work herself.

Celene Francis, 25, started renting her council house in April 2020 and has renovated the property to make it more of a home. When she moved in, the mum-of-one said the house was in a “dire condition” with plaster all over the floor, yellow ceilings and wallpaper peeling off the wall.

Celene said that she saved a fortune as she did her DIY herself and bought furniture from shops like B&M Bargains, Primark and Ikea – estimating she’s saved herself £10k. Celene, a student midwife and mental health support worker, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: “When we moved in the house was in a terrible state. It was just full of wallpaper – the doors were purple, and the flooring was terrible.

“The person who previously lived here was a smoker, so all the ceiling and woodwork was yellow, and the garden was overgrown – it was a mess really. I am still doing bits now – I have been renovating the house bit by bit. I have saved myself loads of money – I have bought a lot of items from B&M Bargains and Primark. I love the H&M home section, but you walk into B&M Bargains and can get the same stuff for a fraction of the price.”

Celene has lived in her council home with her daughter Indie, three, for three years. After getting the keys, she said the house was in an absolute state, desperately needing some care. She said: “Once we moved in, I just had to gut everything. We got everything out, that’s why I went for all-white walls as it was easy and clean. I started off doing up the main rooms, the bedrooms and the living room.

“I painted the whole house white – I’ve put new flooring in, changed the kitchen completely by painting the cupboards and adding a new worktop. I have done panelling and slack walls throughout the house – I have tried to keep it all running in the same theme.” Always on the hunt for a bargain, Celene would often shop at cheaper high street brands like Home Bargains as she didn’t have “money to throw” into the renovation.

Celene said: “The hardest bits for me were the cost, I didn’t have loads of money to throw at it. That’s why I have been doing it gradually since I moved in, and I still have some bits left now. I have saved loads of money – I absolutely love B&M Bargains and Primark home section. I think I spent around £150 completely changing my kitchen.”

She says her top tip for anyone starting a renovation project is to have a vision of how you want the whole property to look. She said: “You need to have a plan of how you want the house to look before you start. Have an idea about how you want your home to feel, you don’t want all the rooms to be different colours.

“You want them to flow so every room ties in, keep colours the same throughout. I think people should also think outside the box, get panelling or a slat wall, something unique to your home.”

Celene’s top tips

• Do everything yourself
• Have a vision before you start
• Keep the same colours throughout your home
• Panel your walls
• Paint kitchen cupboards
• Add floating shelves

Breakdown of what changes were made

• Removed all wallpaper
• Plastered walls and ceilings
• Painted every room white to keep the house in one theme
• Removed and replaced all the doors
• Painted all the radiators black
• Added panelled walls throughout the house
• Refurbished the bathroom
• Renovated the garden and added slack fences