Clever mum of a child saves nearly £6,000 by creating a chic bathroom – spend just £300 on bargains

A savvy mother of a child has revealed how she transformed her drab bathroom into a chic, monochromatic space for just £300 – using specialist paint.

Rhian Joiya, 40 from Rhondda Cynon Taff, has wanted to give the room a makeover for many years but couldn’t justify the £6,000 she was asked to pay.

Instead, she decided to do the job herself, and after doing some research and making some smart decisions, she was able to complete the transformation for a fraction of the quoted price.

Rhian, a bailiff, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘The bathroom hadn’t changed in the eight years I’ve lived here.

‘The tiles were beige with a brown strip in the middle and the rest was plain white.

BEFORE & AFTER: The bathroom, which looked dull and tired before Rhian did her amazing DIY transformation, is now chic and stylish

“I really enjoy long baths with my candles, so I wanted to create a chic but relaxed look.”

She revealed that she asked some local professionals about her options for renovating the space.

When they came back with quotes between £4,000 and £6,000, she couldn’t justify the price given the small size of the room.

Rhian continues: ‘I tried to narrow it down a bit and asked what the price would be for black taps and a scribble-effect shower screen. But even that was £500.

“I started to think DIY would be the best option, and then a friend introduced me to French paint.

“I joined a forum and saw loads of people using it on tiles. I realized it could be a good money-saving way to upgrade my bathroom without spending thousands of dollars on a professional renovation. Then I decided to look for a way to save money on the crittal shower screen.

“I did some research online and found that I could recreate the critical effect with black tape.

“This matched well with my other idea, which was to spray paint my faucets black instead of buying new ones, so once the vision was done, I got to work!”

Mother-of-one Rhian Joiya put off redecorating her bathroom because it seemed too expensive – until she did the job herself and showed impressive creativity

She bought French paint from a local hardware store and chose Blackjack on the radiator and side of the shower panel, and Swanky Pants on the wall tiles and blinds.

Rhian: ‘I then bought adhesive tiles from Dunelm. While I was there I also got a black mirror and a toilet roll holder.

“Next was a cabinet under Habitat’s sink. Then I got three prints and a set of three shelves from Amazon.

‘In B&Q I picked up black spray paint and black electrical tape. Then I got three black picture frames from B&M and accessories from IKEA and Primark. Finally I have white spots from Screwfix. In total I spent just under €300.

DIY: Flexing her creative muscles allowed Rhian to create an expensive look, but on a wallet-friendly budget

‘I paid £60 for an electrician to replace four yellow spotlights with bright white lights. This was the only paid work and I was then ready to do the rest of the work myself.’

That work included priming and spraying the bath and sink faucets, along with the bath handles and door handle, and soaping the wall tiles with sugar before lightly sanding them all over.

Rhian explained, “Painting came next. I applied three coats of gray paint to the wall tiles over the course of 3 days. I painted the ceiling white and used a white grout pen to refresh the look of old grout between the tiles.

Rhian used tape to create the crittall effect shower screen, then used French paint to paint the taps black to match

‘I then painted the radiator black with three coats of French paint. At this stage I was ready to work on the floor. I prepared it by soaping it with sugar, then I applied the adhesive tiles by starting from the center and working out.

“Then I measured and applied the electrical tape to create the Crittall effect shower screen.

‘My father then drilled into the shelves, toilet roll holders and towel holders.’

Now that the project is complete, Rhian says she is “very happy and proud,” having saved thousands and transformed the room into a relaxing space.

Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.nl, said: ‘Rhian really saved an impressive amount of money with her makeover. Her bathroom now looks relaxed and stylish. The electrical tape hack for the Crittall shower screen effect is particularly impressive!’