Renovating your entire home is something many of us have dreamed of doing, but not all of us have the funds to make the project come to life.
But as one mum from Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, has proven, there are so many ways to save money while still achieving your decorating dreams.
Natalie, 30, documents the transformation of her Victorian terrace home on her Instagram account, @thepinkterrace, and has said she had to cut back her budget and live frugally for a whopping four years before she could afford to turn her dark and dingy kitchen into the pink paradise it is today.
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She told UK Radiators: "My favourite transformation is definitely the kitchen - it’s something we waited to do for four years. We had nowhere to eat as a family, so it was really important for us to incorporate a dining area into the new kitchen!
"We saved up for four years to be able to get it done exactly how we wanted it. In order to save, we cut down on our spending massively, we were having to fork out a lot of money for childcare, but this was a priority, so we had to get clever with saving in other areas of our lives.
"We didn’t really go on any holidays, we were more frugal with our weekly shops - going to more budget supermarkets or shopping local - and we also set budgets on Christmas and birthday presents. All of that really helped us save!"
The mum and her family were able to keep cutting down on costs even after the work had begun by doing most of the work themselves – as well as hunting for bargains in the shops.
She added: "We were able to save money by doing as much work as possible ourselves.
"My dad is a joiner, so he fitted the kitchen for us, and my husband is an electrician so he was able to rewire everything. He also taught himself how to tile so we could save money there too!
"We made the foliage wall ourselves; I’d seen really expensive ones online for about £280 but found some foliage from IKEA and was able to create a similar look for around £90!
"I’m always on the lookout for bargains and will wait to buy something until there is a promotion or voucher code.
"We saved about 40 per cent on the radiator - which was about £250 - by ordering direct from the supplier rather than through the plumbers and then we saved a further £400 by using leftover wood to build the side table ourselves."
Natalie has run into issues with leaks and damp along the way, and overall, she has spent £9,000 on the kitchen renovation.
And the mum encouraged others hoping to redecorate their home to try doing the "unskilled work" themselves to save money.
Sharing her tips for renovating on a budget, she added: "Number one would be to spend some time living in your home before you decide how you want to decorate it - we’ve ended up decorating rooms twice because we had rushed it the first time around!
"If you can do any of the work yourself then definitely give it a go! If it’s unskilled work like ripping out stuff or stripping wallpaper, it can really save on labour costs!"
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