Couple reveal how they transformed their home for only $7,000

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An Australian couple with a keen eye for DIY projects have shared how they transformed their home for only $7,000 using products from Bunnings Warehouse and Spotlight.

Angie Dixon and Lewis Keegan, both 29, bought the Melbourne unit in January 2020 and were eager to renovate the look of the home themselves despite having limited construction knowledge.

The impressive budget of $7,000 included the renovation materials, such as floorboards, paint, curtains and door handles, as well as new furniture.

‘We decided to renovate the unit because we wanted the house to feel like “us”; we wanted it to match our personalities and to make it feel welcoming,’ Angie told FEMAIL.

While there were no evident ‘problems’ with the home, the style needed to be modernised as the unit was built in the late 90s and the previous owner was an elderly woman.

Angie also outlined the renovation process in a video on her YouTube channel.

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The unit originally had cream coloured walls with red mahogany floorboards that squeaked throughout the entire house.

The couple agreed they wanted to modernise the style and researched how to execute the design on a budget before moving into the home.

‘During the renovation we shopped around for the best deal and did the entire renovation without having to pay for labour,’ Angie said.

‘We made sure to look into each item we bought just in case we could borrow from friends and family such as step ladders and a paint roller extension pole.’

While this money-saving tactic would’ve taken longer than hiring tradesmen, it allowed the cost to remain as low as possible. 

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BEFORE: To transform the unit, the couple purchased supplies from Bunnings Warehouse and Spotlight

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AFTER: The most time-consuming aspect of the renovation was replacing the floorboards, but the end result looked fantastic (pictured)

The pair started the renovation process by painting the walls using British Paints from Bunnings and Haymes Paint – which only took four days to complete.

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During the planning phase, the couple agreed they wanted to modernise the unit as it was built in the late 90s

‘We painted a small patch in each room and observed what the colour looked like throughout the day. This helped us to choose the shade that would brighten up our home,’ Angie said.

‘For convenience, we painted the entire house before laying the floorboards down because it then didn’t matter if we made a mess.’

They then started ripping up the floors to install new floorboards, which proved to be a time-consuming process.

‘The most lengthy and frustrating process was smoothing out and evening out the MDF because the floorboards were heavily superglued,’ Angie said.

‘We had to chisel and hire a floor belt sander to even out the boards – this process took around two to three days because it was extremely tedious, and the glue was very difficult to remove.’ 

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BEFORE: ‘During the renovation we shopped around for the best deal and did the entire renovation without having to pay for labour,’ Angie said

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AFTER: The entire renovation process took two weeks to complete, which was three additional days than expected

As the couple had never renovated before, they purchased tools including paint brushes, tape and sugar soap from Bunnings. 

‘The application of Haymes paint was so forgiving if you made a mistake, which was great for us because we made many mistakes along the way,’ Angie said.

Once the painting was complete and the floorboards were installed, the doors were spray painted and the curtains were replaced.

‘The final change were the handles in the kitchen – we chose plain black handles that matched all the door handles throughout the home,’ Angie said.

The entire renovation process took two weeks to complete and the end result looked fantastic. 

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When asked what advice they would give to others wanting to complete similar DIY renovations, Angie recommended thoroughly planning beforehand and deciding on a style you and your partner both like (new bathroom pictured)

When asked what advice they would give to others wanting to complete similar DIY renovations, Angie recommended thoroughly planning beforehand and deciding on a style you and your partner both like.

‘Lewis and I were open to each other’s ideas every step of the way and we were very lucky that we both kind of new the type of style of home we wanted,’ she said.

‘We both originally wanted to change the kitchen and the bathroom, but we decided during our renovation that the money was better spent on other things and those renovations just weren’t a priority anymore.’

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