A young couple have revealed they completely transformed their ‘dated’ home within three months for just £12,500.
Adele Teather, 22, and partner Tom Jackson, 23, from Sheffield, saved up for a deposit of £20,000 using Help To Buy ISAs before buying their property for £150,000 in March 2019.
The couple spent every evening and weekend working on their new home for three months, starting at 4.30pm until 9.30 pm, and said the hardest things were ‘little setbacks, tiredness or a job taking longer than anticipated.’
Adele said the dramatic makeover has helped raise the value of their home by £20,000, adding: ‘It’s so rewarding to have decorated your own home completely to your taste and to fit your lifestyle, and there’s a potential to add value to the house too which is always a bonus.’
Adele Teather, 22, and partner Tom Jackson, 23, from Sheffield, upped the value of the house they bought for £150,000 to £170,000 by refurbishing it for £12,500 in just three months (pictured: left, the couple’s living-room before, and right now)
The couple transformed their home from dated, dark and dingy into a contemporary and chic home (pictured left, a study before, and right, the spare bedroom)
Adele explained: ‘It had all Artex ceilings, a dado rail in the living room and landing, laminate floors throughout and we wanted carpet.
‘There was an arch wall in the kitchen which we knocked down to open the kitchen up; pine internal doors which we changed to oak and the decking outside was rotting.
‘There was a wasp nest in the porch ceiling and a green radiator in the porch.’
She said the couple had long dreamed of refurbishing a property, saying: ‘Tom and I had always spoken about wanting to renovate a house as Tom is a joiner, so he is extremely handy.
The couple had long dreamed of refurbishing a property because they wanted to put their own stamp on a home (pictured left, the kitchen before, and right, after)
The young couple were overjoyed when they signed their mortgage contracts for the property, which cost them just £150,000
Adele and Tom said it had long been their dream to renovate a property, and they spent months adding things to a Pinterest board and discussing ideas before buying their home
‘We liked the idea that we could transform our house completely to our taste and decor and put our stamp on it.’
Adele continued: ‘We were both so excited to buy our first home together so when the time finally came, we already had quite a few decor ideas in mind.
‘We created a board on Pinterest for house ideas and we began to speak about colour schemes for each room and think about how we imagined the room layouts to look.
‘We would visit kitchen showrooms such as BNQ, Wickes and other local stores for inspiration.
Every room, including the kitchen (pictured during the works) was plastered and modernised with painting and wallpapering and the garden was landscaped and fitted with artificial grass.
Adele revealed she found home inspiration on Pinterest and spoke with her partner about cool colour schemes for each room (pictured, the living room before, and right, after)
Meanwhile Adele and Tom took on the majority of work themselves, spending hours working on their home in order to complete the project in three months
‘We began to put things in place before we even got the keys and this enabled us to be really organised.’
The couple ordered a new kitchen, which was delivered just a few days after they moved in, as well as paints and wallpapers.
The first stage of the renovation was to rip everything out so the pair were left with a blank canvas, meaning their home ended up looking ‘much worse before it looked better.’
The couple had a new tarmac drive fitted as well as new carpets, internal doors, architraves and skirting boards, and blinds.
Tom, who works as a joiner, was able to help lead on the handiwork in the home (pictured, knocking down a wall in the kitchen during the renovation)
Every room was plastered and modernised with painting and wallpapering, with the garden being re-landscaped and fitted with artificial grass.
But Adele admitted it wasn’t always easy, saying: ‘One of the setbacks we had was finding a wasp nest in the porch ceiling and having to pull the full ceiling down and have it re-boarded and plastered, which wasn’t part of the plan.
‘Luckily there were no live wasps up there.’
Adele and Tom were also living in the house during the renovation, which they admitted was quite tough.
The hallway was among the rooms in the property to undergo a complete renovation, with the couple ripping down walls and replastering the space to create a welcoming area (left, during the renovations, and right, after)
Adele said she was delighted by taking on project, which she said allowed them to put their ‘own stamp’ on the property (pictured, the couple’s bedroom upstairs, which was also refurbished and decorated their their style)
She said: ‘At first we didn’t have a kitchen so would wash pots in the bath. We were literally living in a building site for three months.’
The total cost for the renovation was around £12,500, with the most expensive item the red tarmac drive at £5,000 while the couple managed to save on the architraves and skirting boards, which cost just £150.
Now that their renovation project is complete, Adele and Tom are absolutely in love with their home with Adele saying: ‘We really enjoyed taking on the renovation project and would love to do it again one day in the future.
‘The best part was seeing the house come together and the excitement of cracking on with the next stages.
The couple’s new bathroom, with marble tiles and brand new fixtures, pictured. Adele and Tom only spent £150 on architraves and skirting boards
The couple managed to keep costs down on the renovation by taking on much of it themselves, and kept many of the transformations simple (the couple’s hallway before and after)
The couple painted their staircase white and fitted it with carpeted floor as well as painting the wall dark blue (pictured, Adele and Tom’s hallway after the renovation)
Another view of the living-room showing the couple’s dog comfortably sat on their cream sofa, and their statement dark blue wall
Meanwhile the pair transformed their kitchen into a chic and contemporary space, using bold wallpaper to create a feature wall (right) and added a large island with monochrome fixtures (pictured)
Despite the challenges of the renovation, including living in the property for three months while undergoing the work, Adele said the project had been totally worth it
‘Having our friends and family over to help in different rooms while listening to music and laughing was also great and they even said it inspired them to decorate their own homes, too.
‘We also plan to have a garden party in the summer, get the barbecue going and relax under our new pergola.’
As for those who are looking to renovate their own home, the pair added it will be ‘hard work but 100 percent worth it.’
Adele also launched a home Instagram account (@dulltodesirable) in March to give other young people inspiration and to show that it is possible to save for a deposit and buy a home.
And it wasn’t just their home that the couple transformed, building a huge pergola in their garden to provide them with outdoor entertaining space (pictured Adele working on the garden)
The couple had wanted to create something in their garden which they would get more use out of (left, before). They ended up building an enormous pergola
Tom screwing the outside pergola together during the couple’s refurbishment works. They said decorating their own home had been a rewarded experience