Living Room: Before + After

When the lovely people at Ocean Finance got in touch with the challenge of making over a room for £50 or less, it couldn't have come at a better time.

Working on making our house a home has very much been a marathon rather than a sprint and a few weeks ago we finally got around to painting our living room. Our friends Richard and Fran were on hand to help and it was pretty amazing how quickly we managed to get things done, they were even sneakily up early to finish up the trim, we definitely owe them more than one.

[Before]
So, obviously it didn't look like this all the time but it should give you an idea of what a blank canvas this room was.



We are planning on putting a fireplace at some point but for now a makeshift radiator cover - what was left to us by the previous owners - will have to do.



Repainting things white never fails to make me feel a bit uneasy. Funny how your eyes can trick you.


So, the deal was that once we got this room painted we would be able to get curtains, put pictures up, finally pick up a dining table and basically just make the room feels like it was more 'us'.

Ocean sent over a voucher for Dunhelm to see what I could find to makeover my chosen room. Dunhelm has been one of my savior shops since we moved, all our curtains have been from there and I just think it's really good for everyday bits and pieces at a great price, it's definitely up there with Wilko as somewhere I'd recommend for general house things.


Pro tip: radiator paint is awful.


In need of so many more house plants!


After we'd tried to put things back to normal post-putting the curtains up.
Now I've had practice with a lot of other rooms in the house, I feel making a room over can be as simple as a lick of paint and a few personal touches, so I wasn't going to go too far out of my comfort range with my £50.




Every meal I've eaten has been here since we put this up on Saturday afternoon. ♥


This little ladder shelf was a TKMaxx find, just what I was looking for and much nicer than the MDF versions I'd been watching on eBay. Now we just need to work out what to put on it...




Most of the voucher went towards the map blind, I chose them because they're a little different but neutral at the same time. I didn't want another set of curtains as we got long curtains for the patio doors and because they're pretty close together I figured it would look weird to have different lengths next to each other. The rest went on curtain rings and picture frames (which we're yet to put up).





This 65daysofstatic poster has had a little re-frame and is looking much healthier now it's out of a bendy clip frame.



We used to have this poster in our bedroom in our flat but it's been promoted to living room since the space above our bed is a little too small for it. I'm pretty happy to have it more out on display now anyway though.


This mirror was one of our first Dunhelm finds, I love the wood.


My mum treated me to this Atlas Moth a few weeks ago when I was in Covent Garden with her. I'm actually a little obsessed with insect taxidermy recently.






I picked up this table on Saturday to match the other one we got when we first moved in. I'm so pleased that IKEA still had them as they're one of my favourite IKEA purchases - they're actually meant to be plant stands but they're the perfect shape for what we need as they don't take up much room.





I guess I'd have to admit that because of all the other things we picked up at IKEA at the weekend, as well as our new dining set (with IKEA bench), making over the room for £50 was a bit of a failure but I think you'll agree that I've certainly managed to put our stamp on it, even if it's from a few different places.

After 7 months of a combination of hard work - and being a bit lazy - we're actually pretty much there with this whole 'nestmaking' (not in a baby way) things and I feel much better about the prospect of hosting our first Christmas, our next milestone.

Would you be able to makeover a room for £50? Which room would you choose?

30 Ways to Save Some £££s

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I've been meaning to upload this for a little while... I know I say this a lot but this last year and a half has been crazy, I've gone from being ridiculously unemployed to the point where I wasn't even entitled to JSA anymore because I'd been on it to long. I was living at home, being bored in a spiral of job hunting and now I'm in my own little flat, with a proper grown up job. I think, although I'm pretty bad at it, saving money will always be at the back of my mind, there's always nice things I want to do and I don't really want to worry about them. It's because of this mentality that I was pretty excited to see Money Super Market's '30 Ways to Save £1' Challenge, in honour of the £1 coin's 30th Anniversary, of course - very weird that it's only 7 years older than me!

I love a good list, so here's my list of 30 ways to save yourself some pennies.

Home Things:

1. Upcycle Your Furniture: Sometimes you don't need to buy completely new things and just a lick of paint will do - Furniture can be expensive, paint, less so and it goes a long way. We painted a few things that we were gifted when we moved to our new flat and it really gave them a new lease of life.
   [Rainbow Clothes Chest.] [Duck Egg Bathroom Box.]
2. Sample Pots of Paint: Following on from 'upcycling', I guess paint can be pretty pricey too - Wilkinson do really good-sixed sample pots for just £1, which is perfect for smaller items like mirrors and shelves.
3. Cold Water for Plants: I'm nicking this one from my Gran a little bit, but why not collect your water in containers while waiting for it to heat up when washing up, then use that water for your plants. It's just going down the drain otherwise, and this way thirsty plants get a drink and you're not wasting water.
4. Grow Your Own: We've not had a whole lot of success growing our own so far, but we did get a metric ton of broad beans last year so I guess that means they're pretty easy to grow. I'd say the cost of getting things started is definitely worth it once you're saving money on fruit and veg, which by the way is hella expensive - no wonder there are issues with obesity when it's cheaper to buy a 6-pack of crisps than it is to buy a bag of salad.
5. Save up Cards and Paper: If you can get some nice ones, cards are perfect for recycling into gift tags and using again. Same goes for wrapping paper, you can even use it again for a second go at wrapping a gift.
6. Sew Yourself Some Homewares: Cushions can be upwards of £30 in some places, if you spent the same money on the materials you'd probably be able to make at least 4 cushions. You don't even need a fancy machine, cushions are easiest to make and just require some pins and a sewing needle. Of course they're much quicker to make with a sewing machine but it's a pretty relaxing way to spend an afternoon and it gives you a little more freedom with the design.
7. Cook in bulk: Cook things like stews in larger bulk and freeze them, great for days you can't be bothered to cook and want something quick, making it much easier to resist the call of takeaways.
8. Internet for Two: When taking out your internet in a long term shared home, be sure to only take it out in one name, that way you can cancel it each year and take it out in another name - new customers often get the best deals and prices go up after a certain period of time so it's a no-brainer.
9. Wrap Up: Having the heating on costs money, we got a major shock when our winter bill came through a couple of weeks ago - just cosy up in a blanket and big jumpers, it's just as easy to get warm.

Out & About:

1. Bring a Drink: If you know you're going to be out all day, why not fill up a spare plastic bottle with water (or whatever else you fancy) so you don't need to buy a drink, that way you get to save money that you didn't need to spend and you can stay hydrated.
2. Go for a Walk:
Enjoy the great outdoors, it's free, you don't need anything and it's an easy way to have a relaxing day out, you might even get to see some neat wildlife.

Second Guess:

I've started to make a habit of reconsidering things when out on a spree and asking myself whether I really need something - more often than not, I don't, so I end up not buying it, easy way to save money really, just not spending it...

Vouchercloud: Offering discounts for shops and restaurants, sometimes offering money off or 2 for 1 and all for free - you can either print off vouchers from the website or download an app onto you phone.

Online:

1. Cashback Websites: In my opinion QuidCo is one of the best things to happen to online shopping in a long time. All you need to do is sign up and then they give you money back on your online purchases from companies like New Look, ASOS and even Domino's, sure it's only a few pennies at a time, but it soon adds up and without it, you wouldn't get anything back so it's pretty solid.
2. Use Your Nectar Card on eBay: As I use Quidco for Cashback, I don't really use my Nectar card in the same way (although you can, so there's a bonus one if you don't want Quidco), but it's really easy to earn points when buying things from eBay, just attach your card and each time you win an auction or buy something, you'll get a point for every pound and the points eventually equate to money you can spend!
3. Price Comparison Sites are OK: ...but always go to the companies directly once you've had your quote. My car insurance was in the thousands when I was looking on comparison sites so I looked at the 'cheapest' site and entered my details there, and it already brought it down by £300, I'd recommend ringing them in the case of car insurance too as doing that saved me a further £100.
4. Unsubscribe:
Pesky emails from companies like Dorothy Perkins and ASOS are great for offers, not great for your purse. If you unsubscribe from these emails it's less likely that you'll know about the offers and be less likely get sucked in by 'great deals'.

Shopping:

1. Poundshops for Cleaning Products: I'm a little against Poundshops because sometimes they're not always offering the best deals and you just think it's good because it's 'only £1', but cleaning products can be upwards of that elsewhere unless they're on offer so it really can be a bargain, particularly if you're after brand names.
2. Make a List: ... and stick to it! Definitely worth the effort when food shopping, that way you'll only be buying what you need rather than picking up all the impulse-buys supermarkets are designed to make you buy.
3. Share your BOGOFs: Not really a big fan of Buy-One-Get-One-Free offers, sometimes it's fine, like when it comes to cosmetics offers but with food it can be a bit annoying and you end up with way more than you need. Why not split the cost with a friend, that way you get the item for half the price and you have the amount you need rather than too much.
4. Avoid 3 for 2 Offers: Again, this is more about food and sometimes it's fine if it's assorted items but just be careful. You could have lots of things end up being wasted when you could have been satisfied with just the one - you're spending more money buying three anyway, even if you're saving at the same time.
5. Buy Loose Fruit & Veg: (If you're not growing your own, obviously) - Don't be taken in by £1 bags of fruit and vegetables, I've found it's often much cheaper to weigh it myself. It also comes back (again) to not wasting it, by being able to choose what you want, you can judge how much you'll actually need, a much better alternative to a bag of mouldy, rotten carrots.
6. Buy a Whole Chicken: Individual cuts of meat are expensive, especially when you can get the whole thing for less than or the same price. If you're willing to DIY (bit grim, I always get Moon to do it), you'll more than likely have more than you need if you use it for meals like curries or stir-fries.
7. Pay in Cash: I feel like that way it feels like real money, cards are great for convenience but with cash you know exactly how much you're spending - we started a food kitty this month so we know exactly what we're spending and once it's gone, it's gone.

Taking Advantage:

1. Get a Railcard: It can cost £27.50 for me to travel back to New Malden on the train, with my trusty railcard it's only £13.50, saving me £14. At £28 a year, it seems like a lot, but if I make that journey twice it's like it's paid for itself. And that's just the 16-25 Railcard, there are railcards for everyone, so it's worth investigating.
2. Use Points Cards: Earning points on your Boots Advantage card or Nectar card is free so the little effort it is to scan it could help out with the weekly food shop or make up. It does take a while, I think the most I've had on my nectar card was £20 but it meant that that week we didn't have to actually part with any cash.
3. Have a Clear-Out: Selling things on eBay is a great way to make a little bit of extra cash as well as have a de-clutter, if it's something you haven't used in the last year, you may as well get rid of it. Carboots are great for this, selling a few items for 50p soon adds up. eBay even offer free listings weekends and days, where it won't cost you anything to add items. I usually take photos in bulk and upload everything on these days.
4. Get your Favourite Beauty Products on Offer: ...but only if the offer's good and you think you'll use the products. There is an expiration date on make up so it's best not to leave it sitting around, but if it's an essential that you use all the time, then the offer will definitely be worth it.
5. Squirrel Away: Set up a direct debit between your current account and a savings account, be sure that it transfers out on pay day, so you'll never see it but you'll know that you're building up a little nest egg.
6. Orange Wednesdays: Bit of an obvious one, but why not, cinema tickets are crazy prices so go with a friend and split the cost of one ticket.

Duck Egg.

I wish I had more things to paint, painting is so much fun, although it's much easier to do it outside without a little cat trying to interfere every few minutes.

So, my Gran handed me down this box, she says it's called a butter box but she couldn't tell me why as she's always used to use it for extra bathroom bits. I figured it would come in useful for us so that we wouldn't have to worry about Dolly tearing up all our toilet paper (something that's happened before). All it needed was a lick of paint, so I figured why not.

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Once again, Wilkinson saved the day with their sample pots, although I don't think these shades went as far as the ones I used before as I had basically run out by the time I was finished. The amount was fine though and I think it's best to have the exact amount rather than be over or under.

I went for 'Duck Egg' and 'Tealtastic', two of my favourite colours.
The 'teal' was a bit more blue than turquoisey but I still think it complimented the duck egg well.


Before.


I decided to paint the inside of the box too, which was much more hassle than painting the outside. It is better I did though, mainly because it had seen better days and was kind of mucky, but also because the mushy red didn't go to well with the clean, crisp colour I'd chosen for the rest of the box.


After.
I'm quite happy with the end result, and although our bathroom is mainly white - with the grossest shower curtain, which is why I haven't shown it to you - most of the accents are a turquoise/teal colour, so I picked everything so it would go.


RIP sanding block, this was Moon's contribution to this project. obviously we couldn't wait to buy smaller screws to screw the handle back on (we totally could have), so he improvised and used my sanding block to hold everything in place. It's a good improvisation to be fair and means that the handle holds well, and it does look a bit silly but hardly anyone would ever know...

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I'm quite pleased with this little project and it took a lot less time than the chest, probably because I only stuck to two colours more than the fact that the chest is a lot bigger. Now the toilet rolls have a safe home!

Rainbow chest.

This is from a long time again, so long ago, I almost shouldn't really be posting it, but I wanted to share it with you because it gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I would have shared sooner, but apart from a couple of days, I've been so busy with other things.

Today, all I have to do is some laundry and to clean the house, so I thought this should take priority as I promised myself I'd upload it as soon as I had internet, and it's been nearly a week since that happened, so here we go...

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This chest was originally from Ikea, we've had two for as long as I can remember, and have usually used them for laundry hampers. Since I moved into my first house at University, this particular chest has followed me to each house since. I've used it mainly for storage and it was looking pretty tired and was (some how) covered in nail polish and stuck-on paper. So, I thought it would be appropriate to give it a makeover before I moved again and it would follow me once more, plus it saved on thinking about laundry hampers.

Everything I bought to do this was from Wilkinson. I was going to paint it all one colour but found out buckets of paint are way to expensive, considering I wouldn't use it all. So I picked up some of Wilkinson's sample sizes, which were £1 each and much better value, mainly because of their size, than branded samples. I did use two yellows in the end, but that's mainly due to the amount I used. Unfortunately I can't remember the names of the paint for you, all I know is the blue colour is called 'Minted' and sadly didn't live up to is minty expectations, but overall went quite well with the other colours anyway.

Supplies:
Paint
Paintbrushes, from large to small (for tiny details)
Sanding block
Sandpaper - to get rid of muck and smooth the surface
Masking tape
Warm water

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Here is Moon being super-helpful as always, but I did the rest by myself, even putting everything back together!


Even now that she's moved in here, this is still going on, great place for hunting, apparently.







We had a big move around yesterday, so where the chest is at the moment isn't how it is in this photo, but you get the general idea. This was a much easier project than I had anticipated and I've since moved on to painting something else, which I finished yesterday and hopefully won't take as long to share with you. I can't say that enjoyed the painting side of things that much, but the end result of having something new and exactly how I wanted it for a fraction of the cost was such a great feeling.

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I'm thinking of having a big revamp elsewhere, and once I have some time to meticulously go over it, I'll be giving my blog a bit of a facelift. Also, don't know if you noticed but I used my tablet for the 'before' and 'after' photos, bit naff, I know but I want to try and use it more. I've had my Wacom tablet for years but never really used it due to lack of space, now I have tons of space so I thought I'd whip it out - it took me so long to do these that neither of the words mean anything to me anymore. I hope to practice and use different techniques to get better, I know it will take a bit of getting use to though.

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Have you done any fun DIY projects lately?