A couple saved more than £2,000 when they transformed their dull living room into a chic hangout using secondhand items and stuff found on the side of the road.
Savvy first-time buyers Flora Beverly and Fiann Smithwick spent just under £750 on a DIY makeover that would have cost them about £3,000 if everything was brand new.
The pair, who live in Bristol, scoured Gumtree and Facebook for bargains - scoring a free sofa that would have cost more than the entire lockdown project if new - and walked home with a vase that someone had dumped on the kerb.
Blogger and science writer Flora, 25, said careful planning and constantly checking online classifieds are helping the couple to convert the 1930s semi-detached home into a stylish space on a tight budget and limited DIY experience.
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She told the Mirror: "The living room was done in a way that was pretty inoffensive, so there wasn’t that much character to it.
"We really wanted to put our stamp on something, but we were fairly limited on budget.
"The room was very plain - magnolia walls, grey carpet, and that was it."
Flora and Fiann, a paleontologist, documented the living room transformation and other ongoing projects on their backtobristol Instagram account.
They started snapping up items on Gumtree before they took possession of their house in December, and on moving day went round in a hired van collecting everything they had bought or acquired for free.
Flora said: "I was a little bit cynical at the beginning about getting the stuff that we wanted within the vision that we wanted, all secondhand.
"It was driven by necessity and we planned it carefully."
In addition to the free sofa, the secondhand pick-ups included a coffee table for £15, a fire surround for £30 with reclaimed pine timber from Bristol Wood Recycling Project, and a side table for £15.
The pair spent £50 on a TV stand that costs £400 brand new. The price of custom alcove shelving was knocked down to £600 from £750 because they agreed to do caulk and paint it themselves.
They also spent just over £30 on paint, bringing the total cost of the project to £740.50, plus their own labour touching up some of the secondhand items to make them look fresh.
The vase found on the side of the road still had its original £20 sticker on the bottom. As luck would have it, it matched the used TV stand.
Flora said: "We love (the room) now, we absolutely love it.
"It's literally a dream come true to have our own space to do what we like, but also that we know we were able to do it in a sustainable way, to buy secondhand and give things a new lease on life.
"We're spending all of our time at home (during the coronavirus lockdown) and it’s nice to have somewhere where you can sit down and it feels comfortable and it represents you as a person."
The only thing the couple haven't been able to do is host family and friends in the space due to Covid-19 restrictions, first during the tiered system and now in England's third national lockdown.
But they have received positive comments from those who've seen their photos and videos, and they are encouraging others to consider buying used instead of new.
Flora said the couple set out to make sure the project was sustainable as possible and they were careful not to overbuy and end up with things that they wouldn't need after all and might go straight to a landfill.
She added: "Secondhand items have character and also you can go generally for better quality stuff than if you were getting new.
"You can repaint and repair."
Flora and Fiann have now moved on to other transformations inside their home, using YouTube videos as a guide for their DIY jobs.
The other day they retrieved some kitchen work surfaces from a skip, with the owner's permission.
They'll be used in Fiann's new workshop.
Flora said: "The best thing is encouraging other people to at least look at getting things secondhand.
"Giving things a new lease of life is so important, especially in this day in age."
How did they do it?
Sofa: Collected for free on Gumtree.
Coffee table: £15 on Gumtree.
Fire surround: £30 (reclaimed pine timber from Bristol Wood Recycling Project).
TV stand: £50 on Gumtree.
Side table: £15 on Facebook Marketplace.
Custom alcove shelving: £600.
Paint for the alcove and feature wall: £30.50 from Wilko, with leftovers used to decorate other shelves and the bathroom.
Vase: Free, found on the side of the road.
Total: £740.50.
