I’m a single mum & transformed my dingy Housing Association home on a budget – I revamped the kitchen worktops for £20 | The Sun

A SINGLE mum-of-two has revealed how she transformed her dingy Housing Association home on a budget.

Victoria Robinson, 35, from Hertfordshire, pays under £600 a month to rent the two-bed, which she lives in with daughters Jessica, eight, and Amber, five.

"I can decorate but I can’t knock down walls," Victoria says. "I’m allowed to take out the old bathroom and kitchen if I need to, but the responsibility if something goes wrong will be down to me, which is fair."

Jessica felt the place looked 'boring' so did DIY to transform her kitchen worktops for £20 and scoured Facebook Marketplace for bargains.

She says: “The most challenging part was the financial aspect. I work part-time and I’m a single parent to two girls so I constantly searched Facebook Marketplace for furniture.

“I’ve picked up everything brand new from there at an amazing cost. I wouldn’t have been able to do so going into the shops."

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With the help of a friend, Victoria stripped out the old floor in the living room and hallway and installed new wooden flooring from Wickes which cost around £300.

Next, she painted the walls white and began decorating the space, scouring furniture within her budget.

For her living room, Victoria bought a rug for £40, a mirror for £40, a coffee table for £80 and a sofa for £400.

In her children's bedroom, she painted the wall with a funky Dalmatian print and found more furniture from Facebook Marketplace, including a bed for £70 and a play Ikea kitchen set costing £20.

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Moving onto the kitchen, Victoria put medium-density fibreboards into her cupboards to create more storage shelves.

She then painted all the cupboards and units white, before hiring a tradesman to strip the kitchen flooring and add new tiles, costing around £400.

Victoria applied white D-C-fix vinyl onto the worktops, costing £20 for two rolls.

My advice is to look for bargains. I don't have much money but I did this on a strict budget so it is doable

In her bedroom, Victoria painted the walls white and purchased an Ikea bed for £75, Ikea drawers for £60, and a make-up table for £70, all from Facebook Marketplace.

She says: "I made sure I had a fresh canvas to work with so painted all the walls white.

"I bought furniture from off Facebook Marketplace and started to bring everything together. I'm still nowhere near done but this house has come a long way since we moved in."

The last room to renovate is the bathroom, which Victoria hopes to start on soon.

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Her entire home renovation cost around £3,000 including the costs of shelves, paint, bedding, sofa baskets, chairs and toys for the children – and she couldn't be happier with the final results.

She adds: "I'm pleased with the way it's changed but I'm always still looking to improve, I'm always changing things around until hopefully one day I'll be finally happy.

"My advice is to look for bargains. I don't have much money but I did this on a strict budget so it is doable."

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