Liz carried out almost all of the work herself (Picture: mediadrumworld)
A mum-of-two and NHS physiologist added £100k in value to her 1960s home by carrying out a DIY transformation while her kids were at school.
38-year-old Liz Goulding from Fairford, Gloucestershire has turned her old mid-century four-bedroom detached house into a design-forward dream home by spending just £10,000 over the course of the project.
When Liz and her family bought the house two years ago, it hadn’t seen a paintbrush for years with the walls left a grubby magnolia colour.
Threadbare carpet lay throughout the home and ancient floral wallpaper featured in almost every room.
Specialising in cardiac devices such as pacemakers/heart failure devices and defibrillators, Liz works part-time around her two children Jackson, 8, and Spencer, 3, with the support of her husband Daniel.
With just one day a week during school hours, Liz has indulged her passion for DIY and interior design in order to create a lovely family home.
The staircase and the living area downstairs (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Liz’s kitchen post budget DIY job (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
The outside of the house in Fairford before Liz began transforming it (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Carrying out all the work herself, Liz spent practically nothing on labour – with the only outside help so far being a plumber for the downstairs toilet.
Using purchases charity shops and marketplaces online instead of going to high street stores, Liz reduced her costs by around 80%.
Instead of paying for a shelving set she liked the look of online (which came in at an eye-watering £800), Liz instead opted to purchase two sets from Wayfair for £100 and redesigned them to her needs, saving £700 pounds in the process.
Having bought the family home in 2020 for £399,000, it is now worth around £500,000.
‘It was clear that there was a lot of work to be done to make it into the home we imagined.’ said Liz.
‘To keep costs down I undertook almost all of the work myself. I taught myself how to do it using Youtube and trial and error. I got a huge sense of satisfaction from achieving good results myself.
‘I have learnt so much along the way. My husband is a big fan of mid-century well made furniture built to last. He is now so impressed with my ability to upcycle them into modern furniture.
‘He lets me get on with the work that I undertake and trusts my instincts. My children love their rooms. I have designed them according to their tastes and demands.’
A snap of DIY pro Liz in her new home (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
A snap of Liz’s colourful and green bedroom (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Liz did all the labour for the shelves seen here (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Liz explains what was the hardest thing to DIY of her now jazzy home.
‘It was taking out an old brick fireplace with a hammer and chisel,’ she said.
‘I had to re-plaster the wall around the new larger opening.
“This was not something I had any knowledge of and I didn’t quite anticipate how messy it would be taking out the old fireplace.
‘In hindsight I should probably have hired a power tool to do it with as it was more physically challenging than I expected.’
The loo downstairs in her new home was a challenging room for Liz.
She explained: ‘I had to strip off all the floral wallpaper before I could begin. Then we needed a plumber to remove the blue sink and toilet.
‘I found a gorgeous wallpaper that I loved, but it was £90 a roll, so I had to keep costs down elsewhere.’
Liz managed to complete the loo with a total spend of around £933.
Liz’s sitting area with a homemade gallery wall (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Her son’s bedroom has been done according to his tastes (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Liz has painted the walls herself using tester pots (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
She was clever enough to save a lot of money because she opted for unconventional places to shop from.
‘I have scoured charity shops and auction sites to gain pieces for a low price that I can renovate,’ said Liz.
‘I’ve upcycled a ruined sideboard into a double vanity unit and a small wall unit into a single vanity unit. I put hairpin legs on other units to bring them into modern living.
‘I have unleashed my creative side with paint and colour-blocking. I use tester pots for paints. They give you maximum effect for minimum price.
‘I love gallery walls and use a selection of prints and wallpaper samples to keep the costs down.”
One of the recent examples of ingenious upgrading was Liz’s project of her elder son Jackson’s bedroom.
She said: ‘He wanted a Keith Haring and space-age 60s themed bedroom. I used furniture we already had and painted it to fit in with the new theme. He was overjoyed.
‘I have also made my own cupboard knobs using laser cut MDF shapes from eBay. I made my own lamp using a charity shop £5 lamp IKEA frame and wooden semi circles from eBay.’
The kitchen before Liz’s DIY project (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Caption: Liz has used a lot of plants to add a distinctive element to her home (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
The new Keith Haring inspired knobs made by Liz herself (Picture: mediadrumimages/LizGoulding)
Liz’s hard work brought results and constant admiration.
‘People often say, “I love your house, would you come and do mine?”‘ said Liz.
‘I have had a lot of interest from friends and family who have seen my photos on Instagram and who now ask me for advice when decorating their homes.
‘Lots of people have said they love it but wouldn’t have the confidence to undertake it.
‘I made the DIY project part of my routine so it didn’t at any point affect my day-to-day life.
‘It is my hobby, my passion and I absolutely love it.’
For people who want to undertake a similar project but are afraid to do so, Liz has some advice.
‘Get on instagram and Pinterest and get a good idea as to what sort of thing you like,’ she said.
‘Make a colour mood board for your entire home as opposed to one room at a time – this ensures that there is some consistency in theme.
‘Be brave, especially with paint as it’s very easy to rectify mistakes.
‘Keep it in perspective – it’s not the end of the world if you need to re-do it.’
What Liz spent
Carpet – £2,000
Lounge – £833
Hallway – £ 176
Dining Room – £689
Kitchen – £70
Downstairs flooring – £1000
Downstairs loo – £933
Conservatory – £400
Son’s Bedroom 1 – £400
Son’s bedroom 2 – £700
Guest bedroom – £400
Master bedroom – £1996
TOTAL: £9597
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She used her weekly day off while the kids were at school to get to work.