From building dog houses to bars, many Brits used their time at home during lockdowns and restrictions to transform areas of their home, and now some of the best before-and-after DIY photos have been revealed.
The UK’s leading sofa and carpet specialist, ScS, has launched a competition to search for the best home transformations over the past year.
The nationwide competition will close on Monday 20th June, when a lucky winner will be picked to receive a sofa set worth over £1,500, including both a two and three-seater Andreas sofa.
Here are some of the best transformations that have been entered so far:
1) David Whistle (50), from Brighton
“We had a dank, bleak and crazy paved corner that we transformed into a bright attractive place to relax.” says David.
2) Dave Deeks (43), from Thatcham
“Our garden looked a complete tip so we did a little DIY landscape job to make it more pleasing. Now we love to spend time in the garden and avoid going out as much.” says Dave.
3) Sophie Ayris (30), from Milton Keynes
“We had a dull dark hallway that hadn’t been touched in years. It was super dated and not very pleasant.” Sophie explains.
“I thought we needed a downstairs loo and it all needed vamping up, so we added a tiny basin and toilet under the stairs, installed new mosaic tiles and did an awful lot of painting and stripping on the stairs. To finish, we added a little dog house – she absolutely loves it!”
4) Matthew Standing (41), from Warrington
“I added a fresh coat of paint, replaced the old and tired rug, added curtain rails and added curtains, then painted the walls with colourful and delightful accents.” says Matthew.
5) Sharon Jackson (59), from Northampton
Sharon says: “The garden was overgrown and becoming like the local tip. I was desperate for some flowers and to stop the mud from being brought in by the dogs when it rained.
“My son and I decided to keep ourselves occupied during lockdown by sorting the place out – adding slabs and building some raised beds. We hired a digger and created a simple yet lovely garden to sit in.”
6) Charlotte Leathert (56), from Manchester
Charlotte says: “We decided to build a summer house during lockdown and we transformed it into Marley’s bar.”
7) Fay Norris (38), from Hastings
“I renovated our entire bedroom but my favourite part is the wardrobe area – what a makeover it has had! I scraped off all the Artex on the ceiling and had everywhere plastered, before fitting spotlights, silver switches and sockets, adding skirting boards, fresh paint and new shelves.” says Faye.
8) Audrey Jestin (36), from St Neots
“Our bedroom was dull and dated and it wasn’t making the most out of the large space we have. We transformed the layout completely and the bed is now where the wardrobe was.” Audrey explains.
“My partner has levelled and laid the floor, painted the room and built the bespoke wardrobe and panelled wall behind the bed. We spent a lot of time on Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration!”
9) Margaret Ann Finkle (71), from Colchester
“We have a dining room window that looks out onto a wooden neighbour’s fence around five feet away, which isn’t an attractive view at all.
“We discussed how to obscure the view and decided to have a go at stained glass. My husband, Granville, designed the windows and off we went. It took us a while, but we managed it as we had plenty of time during lockdowns. We are so pleased with the result and now we can entertain during the daytime without feeling we have to draw the curtains.” says Margaret.
10) Dawn Aylmer (63), from Gloucester
Dawn says: “We live in a pre-fab bungalow that didn’t have any brick in it, so we were unable to get a mortgage from most lenders. We finally found one who would lend, so we got straight onto this transformation.”
Amy Forster, Content Executive at ScS, said: “We are loving all the wonderful home transformations that have been entered so far – there are some really impressive projects!
“Though lots of these people have clearly put time and effort into these fantastic renovations, there can only be one winner, so if you have a transformation of your own, don’t miss your chance to enter!”
To enter the competition for a chance to win a sofa set worth over £1,500, share your lockdown home transformations here: https://www.scs.co.uk/lifestyle/lockdown-glowup.html