A couple have given their ‘old-fashioned’ bungalow a total renovation – completing most of the work themselves on a shoestring budget of £16,500.
Vicki Collis, 31, and her husband Matt, 35, from Shrewsbury, purchased their three-bedroom home in November 2019 for £220,000.
The bungalow was in ‘desperate’ need of updating and had not been lived in for a few years – leaving the couple with plenty of work to get stuck into.
The couple, who were expecting their first child with very little DIY experience, transformed the house into something bright and modern by changing the tiles in the kitchen for wooden floors, painting the walls and covering the wallpaper.
According to local valuations they have potentially added £80,000 to the market value of their home with similar properties fetching over £300,000, and saved on manual work by googling DIY hacks and watching tutorials.

Vicki works as an admin assistant and said that the kitchen before renovations was outdated. Cabinets made from dark wood needed to be updated, as did the green stove. Also, tiles along the walls and floor looked tired.

Vicki Collis, 31, and her husband Matt, 35, from Shrewsbury, purchased their three-bedroom home in November 2019 for £220,000. They said the property was in ‘desperate’ need of renovation and spent £16,500 doing it up. They now claim they’ve added £80,000 to its value. The couple removed walls to make the kitchen more social with an island and centrally located in the center of the room.
They only had assistance from a builder friend for the major works – including knocking the walls down in the kitchen – and from a plumber and electrician where necessary.
Vicki, an administrative assistant said that everything needed to be done. The kitchen was outdated, there was carpet in the bathroom, and plenty of red carpets and flowery wallpaper everywhere else.
‘We wanted to create a nice family home – we moved from a new build to a renovation and were looking forward to the challenge.’
They set about transforming the property while living in it – even staying put during the bathroom renovation, which meant they had no bathroom access for several days.
Vicki shared that Vicki had also said: “Living for just a few days without any toilet was quite interesting.

Vicki and Matt retained the wood floor and the ceilling of origin in the living room, as pictured above, but removed the floral wallpaper to add light and color to the space.

The living room is pictured here. It also features soft furnishings in pink, grey, and blue. The walls were painted beige with DIY panelling in white. After pictures
‘Because our work was intense, we couldn’t take a hot bath or use the showers for days.
“Fortunately, we are close to family and were able use their facilities. We also had the opportunity to wash the kitchen sink.
They did the majority of the work, including panelling walls and installing built-in wardrobes.

The bathroom was originally tiled and had a wooden bathtub that was covered with panelling. A more attractive showerhead holder was also installed in place of the power pump for the shower-bath.

This is the bungalow’s updated bathroom. It features a new bathtub and sink as well as marble-like tiles along its walls and floors. They also included a personal touch with their plants

Photo: The bathroom looks a lot better than it did before the couple started their renovations.

Before, the room had pink flooring and floral wallpaper. They also changed the corner fitting wardrobe for one with larger mirrors.

In the master bedroom, Vicki and Matt picked a new carpeted floor in beige, furnished with a comfortable bed and used white wooden panelling on the wall to spruce the room up, pictured after

Prior to the renovation, the lounge that overlooks the gardens was dark with a dark wooden fireplace and door. The couple painted it white.

The kitchen cost the most to redo, with Vicki and Matt forking out £10,000 to open it up and turning it into a warm, welcoming cooking space, with light grey cupboards, a white worktop and an induction hob, pictured now

To maximize space, the couple chose neutral greys and beige to decorate their kitchen.
Vicki stated that Vicki’s DIY skills had improved somewhat since moving in.
Although the couple didn’t have any DIY skills at the start of their renovations Vicki stated that Matt was “handy” and they were able to quickly pick up things from Google.
“In the kitchen we changed the entire layout. We removed the back door from the house and made French-style doors to access the backyard.
“We relocated every plug and pipe so that we had a place that worked for us.
“We wanted to have a larger, more convivial kitchen and somewhere for people to gather. So we made all these adjustments to ensure that the space would be functional.”
They transformed the dated kitchen with dark wooden accents into a light, bright space – with herringbone flooring and white and grey cabinets.
They removed the three-piece bathroom suite with the patterned tiles and replaced it with a new white bathtub, toilet and sink with wooden accents.
The same treatment was given to two of the bedrooms, which included wall panelling, a new coat of paint and the removal of old carpets.
The couple created a unique DIY wooden wall for the spare room to be behind their bed.
The lounge was stripped of its wallpaper and given a new coat of cream paint. A feature wall of panelling was also added.
Couple, who will be expecting their first child next year, now want to create a nursery in their third bedroom.
They also removed the concrete slabs from the garden and replaced them with grey decking.
To match the neutral theme, they also gave the old faded red fence an attractive dark grey color.

The red carpet in the bedroom was removed and replaced with a wallpaper of pastel colors and blue. Stick-on stars were also used to decorate the ceilling. These were later removed by the couple.

Vicki and Matt made a wood panelling for the spare bedroom to add some personality and character. They also painted pink the walls.

Vicki and Matt, who are expecting their first child in this year’s inaugural season, announced it with humor during their renovations.

Before starting the renovation, the expecting parents removed the tiled kitchen floor, as shown in this photo, and then dismantled the brown cabinets units.
Vicki said: ‘We are really happy with what we have created so far – but we still have work to do to make it the perfect home for us.’
In total, Vicki and Matt have spent £16,500 on the renovations, with the majority of the home completed.
While they have not had the house formally valued, similar properties in their area are selling for between £300,000-£350,000 – which they believe their home would also now fetch.

The happy couple is pictured together in their backyard during renovations. They are proud of what they accomplished and feel they added substantial value to their home.

Before, the garden needed a major update. The couple has cleaned and painted the red fence to be easier on the eyes.

Prior to the renovations the garden was large. Vicki & Matt wanted more to the outdoor area.

Vicki and Matt transformed their garden from dreadful to a peaceful oasis with wooden decks in grey and matching grey raffia furniture. They also added planters filled with colourful foliage.

A garden shed was also bought by the couple, shown here, and it has been transformed into a hangout area for their guests, complete with a bar, and bar stools.

Cheers! Vicki toasts her new garden bar. Overall, the house renovations set the couple back £16,500, with £2,000 going to the garden

A fence that separated the garden was removed by the couple. pictured. They installed their gray wooden deck in place to create an entertaining space.

Before: The kitchen and dining room were both a seared brown and beige. Vicki and Matt wanted to rid them of.

To brighten up their home, the couple used wooden panels extensively. They chose grey and honey accents for the dining room, as shown here.


The dining room had a desk and was carpeted. Vicki and Matt designed a grey wooden panelling and got rid the carpet.