A DIY enthusiast has used her creative skills to give her home an Instagram-worthy makeover on a budget – and shared her tips so that you can do the same.
Jasmine Gurney, 26, from Hertford, moved into her three-bedroom new-build in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire with her husband Stephen in November 2018.
Having gained valuable DIY skills as a child from her parents and grandparents, senior marketing executive Jasmine was keen to transform her new pad into a stylish abode.
She has already worked her magic on their kitchen, lounge, en-suite bathroom and bedroom, and has built an impressive decked area in their garden – saving more than £3,000 by doing it herself.
Jasmine Gurney, from Hertford, moved into her Bedfordshire new-build with her husband Stephen in November 2018. Pictured with her French bulldog in her lounge
Jasmine has also built her own hall console table – using an Ikea shelf and hairpin legs – a breakfast bar, and constructed stylish wall art out of copper wire.
Speaking to FEMAIL, she urged homeowners to stop relying on tradesmen and have a go themselves.
‘From wire words to building a breakfast bar or garden decking and rewiring light fittings, us ladies can do anything we put our mind to – and nothing is as hard as it looks, I promise,’ Jasmine said.
‘Not to mention the whole heap of money you’ll save by not hiring in tradesmen you do it for you!
The DIY lover built an impressive decked area in their garden – saving more than £3,000 by doing it by herself
Jasmine used Kikko self-adhesive floor tiles to spruce up her en-suite bathroom, and painted an under sink cabinet pink to tie it into her bedroom. The makeover, which included adding a towel rail set from Next Home, cost around £100. Pictured left before and right after
‘I always look for cheaper ways of doing things, whether it’s vinyl wrapping or painting something to give it an instant refresh, swapping furniture around in the home, combining multiple elements to make something bespoke, altering the item’s use or coming up with smart solutions to make the most out of what you have, before looking to buy new.’
Jasmine told how she spent much of her childhood helping her grandfather with home projects, from cementing a car port and building a raised house extension to fixing bicycles and finding new uses for old, unloved things.
She studied product design at school and helped out at home when it came to putting up shelves and redecorating – inheriting her father’s love of power tools and her mother’s ‘get it done’ attitude.
Jasmine, pictured in her kitchen, told how she spent much of her childhood helping her grandfather with home projects
Jasmine recommends quick and easy upcycles like this one, which saw her transform a £5 plant with matchpot paint
‘I’m quite an impatient person when it comes to DIY,’ Jasmine admitted. ‘Once I have an idea in my head, I need it done yesterday, so for me, my most important step in doing a project is a moodboard, taking inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram, and making sure every piece of the puzzle is ready to go before starting.
‘That means doing some savvy shopping and getting the paint, materials, accessories, furniture and the finishing touches all ready to just crack on.
‘I find watching YouTube videos really helpful as well as finding DIYers on Instagram to take inspiration from, get advice and guidance from directly.
‘Instagram is a great community and everyone’s usually so helpful.’
Jamine built her own hall console table using an Ikea shelf and bronze hairpin legs (pictured back left) and often upcycles accessories and furniture – such as these Ikea drawers (right) which she added gold T-bar handles too, costing £4 from eBay, and this lamp which she painted to match the gold accents in her room (also right)
Since moving into the property, Jasmine says they have spent £10,000 in total on furnishing it, which includes beds, mattresses and a sofa – big items she wasn’t prepared to scrimp on.
Jasmine revealed her go-to shops for budget-friendly homeware are Matalan for soft furnishings, Dunelm for items that ‘look high end but are affordable’ and B&M, Home Bargains, Wilko and Poundland for accessories.
‘I usually just upcycle them with spray paint or make them my own,’ she said.
‘Primark has an amazing homeware section these days and is always in-keeping with trends, and I’ve recently become obsessed with H&M home for the more Scandi-vibe items like vases, throws and bed linen.
‘Ikea will always be my second home for pretty much anything on a budget. They have so many ranges that it suits everyone’s style and tastes. They’re so easy to modify and paint too, so getting a high end looking piece of furniture on a budget isn’t as difficult as it may seem.
‘I’ve painted, added handles, cut holes in and completely changed the use of some items to suit my needs.’
In the spare room which Jasmine currently uses as a dressing room, she uses Ikea picture shelves to store her make-up palettes because she was running out of space in her drawer. She also added some sparkle to her desk by placing wallpaper under the glass
Jasmine also shops at Next Home, Aldi, Argos and TK Maxx, and relies on ScrewFix, Homebase and Wickes for her DIY tools, which range from bench and circular saws to drills.
‘Having the right tools can make the difference between a job done poorly and one that looks professional,’ she added.
When she moved into her house, Jasmine set up her Instagram page @_ohabode to share her projects and encourage and inspire other women to get their hands dirty with DIY.
When it came to her decking, Jasmine sourced quotes from local tradesmen which ranged from £5,605 to £3,695 – and managed to do it herself in just seven days for £1,185.49.
Once it was constructed and stained grey, she styled it with an outdoor dining set from MADE.com combined with a retractable canvas roof pergola which cost £140 from JD Williams, £20 string chairs from Aldi and a £200 double egg chair from B&M – all of which were on sale.
With a lick of paint, Jasmine transformed these black Malm drawers into white ones to match her colour scheme
‘When you’re working on a budget, huge project like garden decking don’t need to be put on the back-burner for when you have enough money to hire a company or tradesman to do it,’ she said.
‘I admit, it’s not an easy, quick or simply thing to do it yourself, but when you take it slow, rope in some help and really take time with the planning, it’s a great way to save yourself thousands.
‘Waiting for things to hit the sales, shopping in more budget-friendly stores, ordering your timber online and making smart choices to cut down costs, you can have your own large deck for less than £1,200.’
Jasmine’s clever console and breakfast bar tables have inspired other Instagram users to copy her designs
She insists just one of the rooms in her house is ‘done’, and one of her next projects is her main bathroom.
‘I’ve been wanting to add black accessories for months now, so will be changing the radiator for a heated towel rail, spray painting all the chromeware as I don’t want to splash out on new taps, and laying some new vinyl flooring,’ Jasmine explained.
‘Completing it with a few new towels and some artificial plants will finally get me the bathroom I’ve wanted for this house for ages.’
The next project is her hallway and landing, where she plans to build a bespoke radiator cover console out of wood and cane webbing to ‘bring some life and light into an often forgotten area’.
Thanks to her Instagram page, she is soon to collaborate with some big homeware brands for her upcoming makeovers.
Jasmine said anyone wanting to try their hand at DIY should ‘jump in feet first’.
‘Try working on smaller projects like upcycling where there’s a lot of margin for error, and work your way to bigger projects,’ she advised.
Jasmine said anyone wanting to try their hand at DIY should ‘jump in feet first’. Pictured: her garden before and during the decking construction
Jasmine said don’t be afraid to ask for help, as she enlisted her husband and father-in-law to assist with the decking
‘I myself am more than happy to guide people through things and try to film as much as I can when I’m doing a project so people can recreate it themselves.
‘You mustn’t be afraid to ask for help. Getting a second pair of hands or eyes can be really useful in a lot of situations. As much as I’d like to say I did everything myself, my husband was usually there passing me the tools I needed or holding something still when I was securing it.
‘My father-in-law was invaluable when I was building my decking. Without him helping with the digging, sawing and heavy-lifting, it would have taken me a lot longer to get it done solo.’