A couple who moved into their first home just days before the country went into lockdown have revealed how they completely transformed the outdated property using just second-hand goods.
Elizabeth Young, 50, and husband Gary, 46, moved into their first home together in Jedburgh, Scotland last March – just days before all shops were forced to close.
But after being handed the keys to the council property, they discovered the council house was in desperate need of a complete upgrade – a transformation they were told would cost £20,000 to complete with many decorators unable to work due Covid restrictions.
On a quest to do it themselves, the duo started scouring the internet for bargains and training up on DIY tips on YouTube.
And over the past year they have completely overhauled the house.
Now they say every single room in the property is unrecognisable.
"An old couple lived in the home before us and every room needed updating when we moved in," Elizabeth told Jam Press.
"We didn't have a lot of money so we decided to try and do everything ourselves using second-hand furniture."
Elizabeth and Gary started with the bedroom, stripping the walls and plastering them, before glossing the skirting board and doors.
They then wallpapered the entire room and bought a second-hand desk for £20 from Facebook Marketplace - which they then sanded and painted.
The couple stayed in their spare bedroom while the work was being carried out and once it was completed, moved on to decorating their hallway.
Elizabeth said: "The hallway was dark with wood chips on the walls and the stairs weren't opened up, so my husband ripped them all open and bought spindles from eBay so it would be lighter.
"We then stripped the walls, plastered them, and glossed them before wallpapering and building cupboards under the stairs."
Next, they moved onto the dressing room, stripping the woodchip walls and replacing these with elephant wallpaper.
Elizabeth also bought a second-hand dressing table from Gumtree and a sofa bed from Facebook Marketplace - finally adding the finishing touches to the room with lights and a mirror from Ikea.
The couple then set to work on their living room, stripping down the walls, plastering them and wallpapering these before furnishing the room with more second-hand goods found online, as well as upcycling some pieces.
Elizabeth said: "The furniture in the living room before was all a horrible orange pine so I upcycled the second-hand furniture by painting them.
"We also used what money we had leftover for a log burner as my husband had always wanted one, so we had to get that installed."
Finally, the couple turned their attention to the spare room and kitchen.
Elizabeth said: "In the spare room, the old fireplace was blocked off so we knocked through that and I managed to buy an old Victorian fireplace from Gumtree for £60.
"In the kitchen, we knocked through three cupboards and removed the door that was previously there to make it all open plan.
"Then my husband and father-in-law built cupboard carcasses and fitted in a cooker and extractor which I bought second-hand for less than £150.
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"We also ordered kitchen worktops and new doors as we couldn't afford an entirely new kitchen, and put in plate racks and even a wine rack.
"The kitchen was definitely the most expensive part, but it was worth it."
Elizabeth and Gary managed to complete the entire home transformation over the course of a year, with Gary working evenings and weekends on the project between his full-time job in forestry.
The couple are over the moon with the finished result, and can't get enough of the bigger and better kitchen.
Elizabeth said: "It looks so much bigger and we can now sit in the kitchen for meals.
"We love our first home together, it's not to everyone's taste but we love it and that's all that matters."
Elizabeth recently shared photos of the finished look on Facebook - leaving users blown away at the home makeover.
One person wrote: "How amazing your new kitchen looks, I love it! You must be super proud."
"Kitchen goals right there. My fianc and I plan to make ours too," another Facebook user added.
And another person added: "Wow stunning, I love every bit of it. What a transformation, that would have cost a fortune."
"This is stunning... looks a million dollars," another person said.
