Dark to light: This brilliant bathroom makeover cost under £100
Bathroom transformations can be notoriously expensive, but one savvy woman has proven there's thousands to be saved by shopping smarter to get a luxury look for less.
Lisa-Marie Hibbs, 33 from Colchester, Essex, has managed to turn her drab bathroom into a stylish sanctuary for under £100 thanks to some clever eBay and high street buys.
After sharing details of her budget overhaul to social media, Hibbs has now inspired her friends to have a go at their own home makeovers.
Hibbs was first motivated to tackle her home fix-up after taking over the tenancy of her late mother's house and realising she needed a change.
"I needed to change it dramatically as all it had was memories and it didn’t feel like my home," she told LatestDeals.co.uk.
"After doing a few rooms in the house I realised I kept returning to grey tones, so I went with this theme for the bathroom."
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Before its dramatic makeover, Hibbs' bathroom was a bland, blank canvas featuring white tiles with a black and white pattern halfway down the wall.
With dark floors and netting on the windows, making it difficult for light to penetrate, the room was a far cry from the inviting sanctuary she dreamed of it being.
"I absolutely hated it but I didn’t have much of a budget, so I couldn’t rip it out and start again," Hibbs continues.
Instead, after setting up an Instagram account detailing the progress of her house overhaul, she sought inspiration from social media, browsing various home decor hashtags including #tilepaint.
"I found some great ideas so I rushed to B&Q, where I got V33 soft grey tile paint for £36," she explains.
"Once I was home I scrubbed the tiles down thoroughly - as the bathroom is covered in tiles from floor to ceiling, it took six hours to clean!"
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Once the dirty work was completed, Hibbs was excited to move on to the fun part - transforming the tiling.
"After painting the grout first, I rolled over the tiles with a foam roller," she continues. "It wasn’t difficult at all - in fact, it was satisfying to see how it went on thick and rolled smoothly over the tiles. I automatically fell in love with it after the first coat!"
The remainder of the renovation went equally smoothly for Hibbs: "The only challenge I had was not showering or using the bath for 24 hours while the paint dried," she jokes.
Once the tiles were painted, the room felt much lighter and Hibbs turned to thinking about what else the room might need.
"I realised the bathroom would benefit from new flooring, so I purchased some lino from eBay for £30," she says.
The process of applying it was surprisingly simple, particularly as Hibbs used a clever DIY trick to ensure the floor fitted perfectly in the space.
"I already had lino down, so I took it up, laid it on the grass and used it as a template," she explains.
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Hibbs also turned to the High Street to add some other stylish touches to the bathroom, picking up some designer-influenced accessories from Home Bargains and Poundland.
She attached lights to the side of the bath to brighten up the room, and removed the netting to let more light in.
She also changed the towels from darker to lighter colours.
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"The lights are stick-on and battery operated, priced at just £1.50 each from Shein," Hibbs says. "I also bought two lanterns from Home Bargains - the big one was £15 and the medium one was £9.99. The fake candles are from Poundland and cost £1 each."
Overall the makeover cost less than £100, giving her a luxe look for less. "In total I only spent £97.50 on the entire room transformation, including the paint, lino and decorations," she explains.
Now that the project is finished, Hibbs couldn't be happier with the results. "I think everyone should give it a go. In fact, I inspired some of my friends and followers to get their tiles painted too!"
Under her Instagram handle @HibbsHome, Hibbs now plans to continue to share photos of her various interior decoration projects and hopes to continue providing DIY-inspo.
"In a month I have completed two bedrooms, revamped a kitchen, done a hallway and landing and started a few more projects," she wrote under one of her recent posts.
"You can achieve anything with little money, a pot of paint and effort."
Commenting on the impressive transformation, Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: "It’s great that Lisa-Marie managed to complete this project on such a budget, and I can see why the results have inspired others to start their own makeovers!
"When installing linoleum flooring, be sure to make exact measurements before ordering supplies online. Once it’s arrived, leave it for 24 hours so the material can adjust to your room temperature."
