How to make my flat a home on a budget

[Notablippifan]

Hello! This is my first thread on Mumsnet.
My husband and I are incredibly lucky to own our 2 bedroom flat. We live here with our 2 year old.
We have lived here for 5 years already and have barely done anything with the place. We've refitted the bathroom and that's it.
We now need to slowly start making it more ours but we don't have a huge budget. We'll have to do as much as we can ourselves and slowly so we can save up on the way.

We need to do the following work:
Replastering the master bedroom
Fixing small cracks and painting walls, ceilings and skirting boards
Complete kitchen replacement
Carpet replacement throughout
Putting up shelves and replacing some inbuilt wardrobes
Updating furniture and decorations
Replacing interior doors

Does anyone have any tips on doing this without breaking the bank? I know we'll need a professional to do the plastering, kitchen and carpet refitting but do you think a DIY novice could attempt to handle the rest? I'm a complete beginner but hoping to learn with the help of youtube. Am I insane to think I can do this with a toddler in tow?

Not the doors but the rest could be learned from YouTube and done slowly. Definitely one person take the toddler and one decorate (and clear up after!). Just make sure it's not always the same person with the toddler.

Thanks very much! Yes, I wasn't too sure about the doors. Probably much too ambitious!

Hey, if you have access to youtube/ tiktok/ Pinterest, you wouldn't need to hire a plasterer, or carpet refitter, you could learn how to do it on tutorials and it can be quite fun. Fitting carpets is actually quite easy, plastering may take some practice as it's mainly about technique, but one you know you'd be unstoppable. I've lived on my own since 15, and was poor but picky on aesthetics, liked the home to be comfortable so I just Google 'how to' and learned, now days at 31 I can do most things in a house that most men can't comprehend haha it's fab and I'm a bugger for redecorating often and on a budget and finding things really cheap or free.

Thank you! I'm definitely willing to give things a go. I guess I could always call for help once I mess it up (which most likely will happen!)
I wouldn't mind trying a bit of plastering but not too sure I'd be up for tackling this crack that appeared underneath our bedroom window after we accidentally left it open during a bad rain shower.

It's much easier to deal with low level cracks that don't involve getting up a ladder. I would tackle that by sanding it down, giving it a small amount of pollyfilla, letting it dry, repeating, then eventually sanding til it's flush, and finally repainting.

Most DIY jobs are a case of fail til you learn from your mistakes, but having YouTube and hundreds of different people telling you how to avoid messing up really removes most of this burden.

You've got this, OP.

I must confess I’m a total twerp at DIY but my husband has fitted 3 kitchens and 3 bathrooms since we’ve been together. He is quite handy but no expert and the air does turn blue as he always says “I f*ing hate DIY” etc …. until the next time! So everything is doable - though I agree that doors are best done by a joiner after we had a couple of ‘gappy’ doors!

That's amazing! Well done to your husband! I'm honestly in awe of anyone who can do this and I would love to learn at least the basics.

You can do it! Just google how to.

I wouldn't do the plaster yourself though unless a very small area- especially ceilings are very hard and require skill and strength

If you have nice floorboards you could hire a sander, use floor varnish and then put rugs on the top. It's expensive in labour to do that but if you do it yourself.

Alternatively, some carpets already held in stock or offcuts for smaller areas can be a lot cheaper to buy.

My Mum and Dad paid someone to refurbish their kitchen with painted cabinets, new work surfaces and sink/hob/electricals and tiles. They thought it cost about 70% of a new one so not a huge saving but maybe an option if you have good quality units just old fashioned.

Painting and shelves you can definitely learn to do.

Have fun but don't feel.you have to do it all at once as that's the hardest thing with DIY.

It’s amazing what you can do when you have a very limited budget as we’ve always had!
Must add he always got someone in that he knew to do plastering us too for ‘mates rates’.

I would love to do that with our floors but sadly we're not allowed to. It's a condition of our lease to have carpets down as we're upstairs.

Agree with everyone about getting on YouTube and teaching yourself many of these things, then pick a job and start! Filling small cracks etc. and preparing walls for painting isn't hard.

It's worth a look on eBay or gumtree for replacement internal doors, you get people who've replaced perfectly good ones because of a change of decor/style etc.

Home decor doesn't need to be expensive either, once you've mastered the diy, Pinterest etc. is good for ideas, then check out Ikea, H&M home, Primark, Matalan etc. for similar styles (they're good for shelves etc. too), and don't forget local fb groups. I'm not a fan of fb marketplace, but community groups can be a treasure trove. I've even sourced and given away paint tester pots on mine.

I'd be tempted to pick the easiest room to do and tackle that first. The sense of achievement will spur you on! Good luck!

I agree with everyone - YouTube is your friend! I’ve managed to sort out plaster damage, old peeling wallpaper that I was too nervous to remove and upcycle some cheap looking IKEA furniture. I learnt that preparation is key, make sure everything is dry and sanded and take your time with masking tape when painting. Also, don’t buy the cheapest paint brushes. Start with the easier jobs and your confidence will grow. It’s really satisfying and you will save a fortune.

Thank you very much. That's really helpful.
That's definitely a good idea to tackle a small room first. I can start with the hallway and see how I get on.

As pp said, check out your local recycling groups. We have a FB one caller recycle, reuse X area. I could have furnished and probably done all the DIY you have mentioned off that group from what I have seen them give away in the last three months.

Also, check the miscellaneous section at your local tip now and then.

Do not underestimate the kindness of strangers.

I agree you can learn pretty much anything off you tube.

i was doing really well doing mine until I had an accident (not related) & pretty much lost the use of one arm. I can't hold anything for more than a minute and nothing above my head, plus I no longer have the energy. So I have to buy in labour now (I live alone) it's bloody annoying, but needs must.

if neither of you have physical limitations you'll be fine.

even give the door hanging a go. It's a great skill to have.

If you're likely to move, why not do a days plastering course? Then you'll have that skill to take with you, it's no so much worth it if this is the only place you plan to live in.

its more fun when you have a partner & are young.

even if you go cheap on the carpet, DO NOT go cheap on the underlay, it's one thing in life that's definitely worth getting good quality!

enjoy yourselves!!

You can do it! We spent a week when our adult son bought his first flat, transforming it from a mouldy, stained place with loads of cracks and holes in the walls. It looks brand new now.

My advice is: prep it! It takes longer but it's then much easier to paint.

Get sugar soap spray and rub down any grubby areas.
Use masking tape to protect any surface that you don't want to get accidentally painted, such as door frames and handles, light switches etc. Lightly sand skirting and wooden window sills to get a better surface for painting.
Use a fine brush to do edging where walls meet skirting or ceiling, then fill in with a roller. Always do two coats.
Mask the edge of floors and carpets (unless you are 100% sure you are replacing the old carpet and use ground sheets to protect floors.

If you don't mind the carpets, hire a rug doctor and steam clean them. Really cheap way of refreshing carpets.

DS bought nearly all his furniture on Ebay. We looked at a new dining table and chairs that he liked - they were well over a thousand pounds. A similar used set cost £100.

@TotalOverhaul is right. Really good and through preparation for any form of DIY is absolutely the key to getting it right the first time.

Might be worth googling 'how to prepare for carpet fitting', 'how to prepare for a kitchen removal' etc, to help you along.

If the walls have small cracks in but aren't too bad, you might be better putting lining paper up. It is a type of thick wallpaper which is designed to smooth out the walls. You paint over it.

Thank you all so much for the tips! I'm excited to get started and have been watching a few things on YouTube today. I feel like I'm going to enjoy this!

@Pinkpinkpink15 Thank you for the advice and I'm so sorry to hear about your accident.
I'm going to look into plastering courses to see what I can find. It would definitely be a useful skill!

@Notablippifan a lot of good advice.

A couple from me:

• if possible do one room completely rather than having several rooms half done
• kitchen - get a fitter but you make up the cabinets.

True, but you can also use polyfilla if hanging lining paper is a bit tricky (I have done it but not for years and it was a bit tricky t line up precisely. Two person job imo.). I was amazed how well it covered and smoothes over hairline cracks. use the flexible one that doesn't crack when it dries.

Part of the learning is taking the knock backs. Doing things in short timeframes (a couple of hours) and tidying up being included in the time. There is always tomorrow or time for a cuppa.

Also only do one job/room at a time but leave all re-carpeting for last. I never dress a room until the jobs are completed, I find I have less motivation once the enjoyable bit is done.

Carpeting will definitely be the last thing we do. Our little boy is so messy we'll leave it as long as possible so he can happily destroy the current carpet 😂