After having her social housing renovated, Celene Francis wanted her home to look as glamorous as possible.
At the same time, the mother, who worked as a mental health worker in South Yorkshire, wanted to keep costs as low as possible.
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Instead of hiring professionals to do the jobs, Celene learned her own skills and saved a fortune in the process.
So far, Celene, 25, has transformed her bedroom and hallway, and has just started work on the kitchen, which is already much better than when she moved in.
She previously spoke about her social housing: “It was terrible. I think the person who lived there before was a heavy smoker. Everything was yellow, the doors were painted purple. It was just a typical run-down house. The garden was overgrown, I couldn’t even see it.”
More recently she revealed on her TikTok page @61thecouncilhouse, that she is re-tiling her kitchen.
The mother-of-one said she was offered £500, including all the supplies needed to make it work.
However, Celene did her own research into the amount of glue, a bag of grout, black finish and white tiles from Wickes and it came to a total of £160.
As she showed all this to the camera, she said, “We’re literally going to do the whole kitchen with this. We’re going to do it ourselves.”
In another video, she showed how an Amazon find completely transformed her hallway.
The video, which has been viewed more than 11,300 times, was captioned: “Who said you can’t turn a social housing unit into a cozy home?”
It had a wooden floor with black details, including a mirror, a radiator, artwork and a wooden side table, which was decorated with a plant and a black candle.
Many other DIY enthusiasts responded in the comments to share their thoughts.
One of them wrote: “A DIY queen.”
While someone else said: “This is so beautiful.”
Others were curious where she got her decorations and for the wooden side table she replied: Amazon.
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How can I get social housing?
To apply for social housing, you must complete an application form and submit it to your municipality.
To find your municipality, you can simply use the municipality finder on the government website.
Once you have access to your municipality’s website, you will find guidelines there for completing your application.
After you register, you will likely be placed on a waiting list.
Please note that even if you are placed on the waiting list, this does not guarantee an offer of social housing.
Your local authority can also advise you on how to continue living in your current home and resolve any issues, such as problems with a private landlord or mortgage.
You are eligible for application for social housing if you are a British citizen living in the UK, provided you have not recently lived abroad.
Each municipality has its own local rules about who is eligible to be placed on the housing list for its area, but these rules are based on a system of ‘points’ or ‘bands’.
For example, you will probably be the first to be offered a home if you:
- are homeless
- living in cramped conditions
- have a medical condition that is aggravated by your current home
- trying to escape domestic violence
Once you are high enough on the municipality’s waiting list, you will be contacted as soon as a home becomes available.
In some municipalities you can submit an application from the age of 18, in other municipalities you can submit an application from the age of 16.
EU workers and their families and refugees may also be eligible.
You will be allocated social housing through a points system. Depending on your housing needs, you may be given low priority.
Once you are high enough on the waiting list, the municipality will contact you about available housing.
There is no limit to how long you will be on the waiting list.
Celene previously told Fabulous about her upcycling tips and tricks.
She recommended Facebook Marketplace for second-hand items.
The savvy shopper said you can upcycle by “painting and giving new handles” to different items.
