AS a teenager, Mel Ritchie would decorate her own bedroom and was top of the class at woodwork. 

She spray-painted a mural of her name onto her bedroom wall in the style of New York City’s metro graffiti.

Now Mel, 35, has taken her love for DIY to the next level and helped increase her home’s value by £100,000. 

She developed a “real interest” when she bought her house, because prior to this she had been in a rental accommodation and was itching to redecorate.

Mel, a solicitor, purchased a four-bedroom terraced house in 2017, which then cost £450k, along with her partner, Oli Gardner.

They decided to make their own mark on the place and first started off with the kitchen.

FABULOUS BINGO: GET A £5 FREE BONUS WITH NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED

With expensive plumbing, reinforcement work and the installation of a new sink and tap set costing £700, the pair only spent £213 on other work in the room. 

For £25, they repainted the walls, and used two grey grout pens to update the tiling (£4 each). 

Most read in Real Life

After stripping their laminate covering from their kitchen cabinets with a hairdryer, they primed and painted them for £75.

Mel says: “We try to do as much of the DIY as possible on a budget as this then allows us to spend on special items for the house.”

Mel then spent £75 on reeded glass effect window film along with new handles for the kitchen cupboards.

She then covered the worktops with DC-Fix vinyl (£30) to give them a wood-effect finish.

She says: “Vinyl converted worktops won’t last forever, but they will definitely last a couple of years. 

“Our worktops cost around thirty-pounds and look brand new.”

Mel gets inspired from social media and Pinterest, as well as inspiration from her parents as her mum, Val, who “was always making something” and “forever upcycling furniture.”

Vinyl converted worktops won’t last forever, but they will definitely last a couple of years

Her mum even gave her several items in her bedroom a new lease of life as a result.

Through beading and a fresh coat of paint, Mel transformed her bedside tables. 

For £45, she also boxed in her Ikea PAX wardrobes with some MDF boards and upholstered her Ikea headboard with blue fabric. 

She says: “You can paint literally anything with the right primer and there are all sorts of amazing ways to dress up items. I’ve created stained glass effect windows using lead tape and coloured window film, for example.”

In total, Mel estimates that they have spent £20,000 on home renovations over four years of renovating. But a recent valuation revealed that their home’s value now stands at £550,000. 

Their home originally cost £450,000, meaning that through their thrifty decorating tactics, their house’s value has shot up by £100,000. 

Mel says she has no plans on slowing down and is currently working on her garden. 

She also adds: “We are also going to turn our spare bedroom into our son’s bedroom as he will soon need more space than there is in the nursery.

“This will be great fun. I imagine it will involve blackboard paint and a secret den.

“A fresh coat of paint makes a huge difference to a room and if you don’t like the colour, it’s not the end of the world. It can be repainted.

“I think it’s worth being brave and just having a go. It really is immensely rewarding to transform a space yourself.

Vinyl converted worktops won’t last forever, but they will definitely last a couple of years

“Things simply do not go to plan when you are DIY-ing but it’s better to just have a laugh about it, adapt the plans a bit and move on. I really do believe it should be a fun and enjoyable process, not a stressful one.”

For other home renovation articles, check out this woman who lives in a council house and transformed her kitchen with these savvy tips

Or if other Fabulous news, have a read about the woman who has spent £100k on her bum but it scares men

Plus, have a read about this woman whose whole life has been a lie, her Nan completely erased their family history

Source: Read Full Article