Couple transform dated home in just SIX WEEKS with second-hand bargains & YouTube videos – and add £45k to the value
A COUPLE has given their first home a complete makeover in just six weeks – adding £45,000 to the property value.
Ewelina Mejka, 36, and husband Przemyslaw, 33, purchased their new home in Rugby, Warwickshire, for £155,000 in May 2018.
They had their work cut out for them, with a substantial renovation needed and just six weeks to spare until they needed to move into the property.
“The state of the house was really bad,” Ewelina, a healthcare assistant, told Jam Press.
“An old lady was living here and she passed away – I think she hadn’t done anything to the house for 30 years.”
Luckily, the couple found all of the electricity and piping was in good condition – but the home still needed a complete overhaul to make it fit for their needs.
Ewelina and Przemyslaw, who are parents to daughters Amelia, 12, and nine-year-old Lena, took time off of work so they could work all day long to fix up the property.
They removed all the carpets and wallpaper, and took out the original kitchen and bathroom.
Przemyslaw skimmed the walls and Ewelina spent time painting the entire house – three times – one white coat and then two of the chosen colour for each room.
The couple spent £5,300 on new windows and a new front door, as well as £2,200 on a new boiler.
The kitchen, which they purchased from IKEA, cost £3,000, and Przemyslaw fitted it himself.
The downstairs wooden flooring cost £2,000, while the upstairs carpet set them back £1,300.
They spent around £4,200 on a new bath, sink and toilet, linoleum floors in the kitchen and bathroom, and paints and plaster.
In total, they forked out £18,000 fixing up the house, trying to keep costs low wherever possible.
Ewelina added: “Before we got the keys, I was on the internet all the time trying to find what we needed for a good price.”
Since moving in the following month (June 2018), the family have taken their time perfecting each room with finishing touches such as decorative furnishings – often themed around natural fabrics and tones.
Ewelina ensured they stuck to the tight budget and scoured Facebook Marketplace to find second-hand items.
She said: “I just give them [the products] a second life.
“The table and chairs in our dining room are from Marketplace, and so is our bed and the rattan chair in the lounge.”
The couple even made certain items themselves, such as the coffee table in the lounge, which Przemyslaw made out of wooden pallets by following a YouTube video.
Each room in the house is now unrecognisable after being carefully decorated over the past two and a half years.
The bathroom has seen a particularly dramatic change, with the original bright blue three-piece suite swapped for a fresh white upgrade, muted sage walls and patterned linoleum floor.
The lounge is equally unrecognisable, with the original green carpet and dated fireplace ripped out in favour of wooden floor, cream walls and light, natural furnishings.
Meanwhile the wall between the kitchen and dining room was knocked down to create a large, open-plan space filled with modern appliances, grey units and a stunning picture wall behind the dining room featuring dozens of frames purchased from Homesense – Ewelina’s favourite shop.
Each bedrooms has undergone a significant makeover, with the formerly plain master transformed into a teal oasis with glamorous fur finishes.
The family chose to abandon the plain walls in Amelia’s bedroom in favour of a bold accent wall with a large pink floral display.
Lena’s bedroom is equally sweet, with pale pink walls, a colourful bed and plenty of unicorn-themed trinkets.
Overall, the family couldn’t be more pleased with the result.
Ewelina said: “I love the finished look because it’s our first house and we have done absolutely everything here how we like it.
“Every day we are so happy that we decided to buy this house and put in so much effort.”