We renovated our entire home ourselves for £55k – now it’s worth £350k more after a few simple changes
A COUPLE have added £352,000 to the value of their property after transforming the space into a modern family home.
Becky Nevitt, 32, a company director from Cheshire, UK, has given new life to her current home, with the revamp costing less than £60,000.
She and her husband, Steve, 33, purchased the five-bedroom, four-bath, detached property for £4,280,000 in October 2018 and could see the potential as soon as they stepped inside – particularly liking its Georgian-style features.
But the home needed a serious revamp in order to make the space their forever family home for their young children.
Now, one year later, they’ve transformed the space on a tight budget and believe they’ve added £352,000 to the value of the property.
“We completed almost all of the work ourselves around our full-time jobs and young family on the weekends and evenings,” Becky, who shares home inspo on Instagram (@insidenumber5), told NeedToKnow.online.
“I instantly saw the potential with the house on the first viewing, as I could see that it would give our family lots of space to grow into.
“As it was quite a blank canvas, I was excited to make it our own.
“I wanted the house to have a timeless, classic feel throughout, which complemented the Georgian-style features.”
Quickly, they started tackling each room – but as this was the couple’s fourth home renovation, they already had the necessary skills to hand.
Firstly, they began with reconfiguring the downstairs layout, where they removed a wall to create an open-plan space.
Speaking about the process, she said: “We had a builder remove the wall and within this area, we relocated and renewed the kitchen.
“This was our biggest project, as we had to essentially take away our original kitchen/dining space and family room.
“We then had to relocate pipes and other fixtures to move the kitchen over to the other side of the room.
“After this, a new hand-painted kitchen with an island was installed, along with a new oven, hob and other essential amenities.
“I wanted new flooring, so we added different floor tiles, an antique mirror backsplash and painted the walls, as well as the woodwork.
“Finally, we included some new lighting, sockets, coving, ceiling roses, skirting boards and column radiators.
“This made the space flow much better and made the room the hub of our family home.”
In total, the space cost £40,000 to transform.
Elsewhere, they refreshed the walls with coats of neutral-toned paint, which they paired with similar-toned carpets.
In most of the rooms, they utilised their DIY skills by creating panelling made from dado rail and beading, a form of wooden material, which they purchased from B&Q.
She said: “We added wall panelling which created interest and a more period feel to the house.
COST BREAKDOWN
Kitchen: £40,000
Living room: £1,300
Playroom/snug – £500
Main bathroom: £3,000
Ensuite one: £2,000
Ensuite two: £2,500
WC: £1,500
Main bedroom: £700
Ethan’s room: £250
Mason’s room: £250
Harry’s room: £250
Laundry room: £2,000
Hallway: £600
Office: £400
Total: £55,250
“My favourite room has to be our formal lounge, as I love the floor-to-ceiling panelling and warm colour on the walls.
“This is also the room where we relax in the evening once the children are in bed, so it’s a chilled-out space.
“For all the other rooms, apart from new flooring and being fully painted, we added new furniture, new sockets and door handles throughout.
“However, most of the rooms only needed cosmetic alterations and styling.”
For their four bathrooms, which include a master suite, two en-suites and a downstairs toilet, they ripped out the original versions and revamped the spaces with new tiling, radiators and paint.
In the downstairs WC, they also boxed in old pipework, panelled the walls and added some decorative wallpaper for a pop of colour.
As they wanted to utilise all the space within the home, they also decided to transform their second office into a laundry room.
The mum-of-three said: “Creating a laundry room on the middle floor has been the most brilliant decision, as the house is over three floors, with most of the bedrooms on the top.
“It’s been ideal to have the laundry done closer to the bedrooms for putting all the washing away.
“This was a second office when we bought the house, so we gutted the room and turned it around.
“We’ve added kitchen units, a washer and a dryer. Also, some patterned floor tiles and a traditional wooden ceiling airer.
“After blocking up a door and moving the radiator, we painted the walls slightly darker and added a curtain to cover the wash basket.”
In total, they have spent an estimated £55,250 transforming the property and after one year, the gorgeous family home is complete.
In a recent valuation, the couple claim they have added over £352,000 to the value of their property – with an estimated price of £780,000.
Now, she regularly shares shots of her home interior and family life on Instagram with her 104,000 followers.
Becky added: “I found so much inspiration on Instagram and really enjoyed seeing others’ content and stories, so I decided to start my own account.
“Initially, I was only doing DIY and selecting paint colours – I never thought it would be any more than that, so I have been beyond thrilled that people have enjoyed following along.
“My husband and I do enjoy a project, so I think we will renovate another home in the future.
“But, for now, we want to enjoy where we are and spend time with the children while they are young.
“It’s a big pressure when doing most of the work ourselves and does impact our family life.
“My advice to anyone renovating would be to do as much of the work yourself to save on costs and on certain materials where you can.
“This allows you to invest in the important things, like the kitchen, bathrooms and finishes.
“Even if this means saving up to do something at a later stage – for example, we only bought blinds and curtains for the bedrooms when we moved in and over time, added what we wanted to finish the other rooms.”