A savvy mum's lockdown home improvement efforts have been hailed as "amazing" after she transformed her son's bedroom for just £6.50.
Single mum of two Nicola Hughes created an incredible geometric feature wall by drawing hexagons and sticking them together with washi-tape she bought from Amazon.
The 35-year-old full-time nurse's design has been described as "fun, stylish and cool", as she went hands-on to make a quirky print herself.
Nicola, who relocated to County Durham from Manchester as lockdown was lifted, explained that she took tips from posts on Facebook and Pinterest.
Nicola told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I’m a full-time nurse, and during the lockdown, my children were staying with their father due to my job.
"I wanted to create something nice for them, as I missed them so much whilst they were away.
"I needed to decorate - I’ve taught myself decorating over the years, as I’ve never really had the funds to pay people to do it.
"I’ve taught myself to do some basics like wallpaper, painting, and basic household maintenance.
"I decorated my daughter's bedroom first, then when it came to my son's I was stuck.
“We couldn’t decide on the wallpaper and he just kept saying he wanted it black, which I didn’t really want to do.
“So I looked up quirky wallpaper ideas and teenage room ideas on Pinterest and saw some images of rooms which had been decorated using the hexagon shape.
"I decided to play around with the idea and I got some wallpaper samples from the DIY shops and worked out how to draw a hexagon the size I needed.
"Mine was 20cm to create a size that was nice on the wall. I blue-tacked a few together and I was unsure at first if it would work, so I posted on my local DIY Facebook page asking for advice.
"The response literally blew me away. Everyone was so supportive and positive and told me to keep going and finish the wall."
Nicola said it took her a week because she was doing a few hours after work each night.
"It is really simple to do," she said. "You can easily create your own hexagon using a piece of cardboard and Google.
“That is how I made mine, then I literally just drew around it.
"I drew approximately 200 hexagons for my son's wall. For some of them, I used washi-tape from Amazon which cost £2.50.
“Those were the hexagons which are white with a black outline. They look like spaces in the wall.
"Then I used the remainder of the washi-tape to put the black outline border around the wall to make it stand out.
"Prior to starting the project, the wall was magnolia so I painted it white first with paint I had left over from my daughter's room and the living room."
All in all, the wallpaper paste cost her £4 and the washi-tape was £2.50.
"In total, it cost me £6.50, as I already had pasting brushes and I used an old piece of wood I had to paste on top of," Nicola said.
"I used scissors to cut mine, but you could use a Stanley knife to achieve a much straighter line. It’s not perfect but it was created with love for my son.
"I’m just waiting for payday to order his bedroom furniture.”
Nichola enjoyed the project and found it to be a great distraction during the lockdown.
"It was nice because it kept me busy whilst it was just me and the dog during the lockdown,” she adds.
“It gave me focus other than thinking about work all the time. I really enjoyed it. My daughter wants me to change her room now!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Lockdown has been a stressful time for many families and getting involved in a hands-on DIY project isn’t just a great distraction, but also means we’re finally taking on those home improvement tasks many of us have put off for years!
“Nichola’s son’s bedroom looks fun, stylish and cool, and it’s amazing to think she achieved the look for only £6.50 - it just shows that you really can transform your home even if you want to stick to a tight budget.”
