<p>A thrifty mum has transformed her plain council house bathroom into a tranquil spa - for just £200.<br></p><p>Samantha Bedford, 36, got crafty with plywood and paint to create a sanctuary in her bathroom.</p><p>The full-time mum now has her very own spa inside her home in Dudley, West Mids., with a gorgeous hanging plant feature and dreamy lights.</p><p>After using just plywood and paint from B&Q alongside bargains from popular website SHEIN, Samantha is thrilled with the result of her hard work.</p><p>The mum-of-two said: "It all started when I was listening to spa music in the bath with candles lit to set a calming atmosphere. </p><p>"Even though it still looked cosy, I knew there was potential for it to be so much nicer, so I thought that's it, I'm going for a spa kind of design that would instantly make me feel relaxed on entry.</p><p>"I get a lot of stress and anxiety on a daily basis so this was the one room I could lock and not be disturbed.</p><p>"I live in a council house so it's very basic and I had ideas of making it into some sort of sanctuary as it was just unpainted plastered walls and no flooring.</p><p>"I was wary of the limits of what I could do in a council property. I don't think they would even think of mentioning a hanging structure in their rules book, as long as everything is put right if I was ever to move, which I would, I don't see any harm in it.</p><p>"I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm not sure what your average person would spend on decorating but I would like to think I did rather well!"</p><p>Samantha started by painting the walls white with one black wall by the bath before measuring the wall that she wanted slats on.</p><p>Searching online revealed the solid wooden slats she had dreamed of would be too expensive, so she turned to B&Q for a cheaper result.</p><p>She said: "It was just working out to be too much money. I knew I still wanted the slatted design and just thought where there's a will, there's a way.</p><p>"I also wanted to spend as little as possible because I knew it was a big idea and it wouldn't come cheap unless I found ways to bring down the cost."</p><p>The thrifty mum bought four sheets of plywood and enlisted the help of her brother to cut the wood into the size of strips that she needed.</p><p>Samantha smoothed down the strips with sandpaper before painting them with fence paint based around the colour of the brown glass soap dispenser bottles she'd purchased.</p><p>She attached the slats to the bathroom wall with a friend's nail gun and had lino flooring of the same colour fitted for just £65 from her local carpet shop.</p><p>Clever Samantha utilised a broken pallet that had been going to waste in her garden to create a gorgeous hanging plant display over her bath.</p><p>She said: "I just imagined having plants dangling above me in the bath whilst I listen to my relaxing music.</p><p>"There wasn't enough space to add many plants in my bathroom so I just went with orchids and vines.</p><p>"I'd already got the wood to make a frame it was a broken up pallet that I had laying around in the garden which I cleaned by jet washing and giving it a bleach bath and leaving over night.</p><p>"I had ordered all the artificial plants from SHEIN as they were the cheapest I'd seen and I used my points from SHEIN which I got from reviewing previous orders and vouchers. </p><p>"I knew I needed a lot of plants to fill my frame and it was going to be pricey, even for a cheap site."</p><p>With her spa bathroom now complete, Samantha is thrilled that her hard work paid off and is even considering a career in interior design as a result.</p><p>She said: "I am in love with my new bathroom!</p><p>"My kids actually queue up for bath time now, they are very proud of it!</p><p>"I feel over the moon with how well it all turned out and how many people liked it when I shared it on social media. </p><p>"I think my next step is looking into college to study interior design - it has given me a lot of inspiration and confidence in myself!<br></p>
