A woman who rented a run-down council house has spent £3k renovating it - using bargains from Primark and B&M - and saved £10k by doing the work herself.<br /><br />Celene Francis, 25, started renting her council house in April 2020 and has renovated the property to make it more of a home.<br /><br />When she moved in, the mum-of-one said the house was in a "dire condition" with plaster all over the floor, yellow ceilings and wallpaper peeling off the wall.<br /><br />But that didn't stop Celene from gutting the house and putting her own stamp on her new home.<br /><br />She started with the living room and main bedrooms - laying new flooring, plastering the ceilings and painting the walls white.<br /><br />Celene said that she saved a fortune as she did her DIY herself and bought furniture from shops like B&M Bargains, Primark and Ikea - estimating she's saved herself £10k.<br /><br />Celene, a student midwife and mental health support worker, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: "When we moved in the house was in a terrible state.<br /><br />"It was just full of wallpaper - the doors were purple, and the flooring was terrible.<br /><br />"The person who previously lived here was a smoker, so all the ceiling and woodwork was yellow, and the garden was overgrown - it was a mess really.<br /><br />"I am still doing bits now - I have been renovating the house bit by bit.<br /><br />"I have saved myself loads of money - I have bought a lot of items from B&M Bargains and Primark.<br /><br />"I love the H&M home section, but you walk into B&M Bargains and can get the same stuff for a fraction of the price."<br /><br />Celene has lived in her council home with her daughter Indie, three, for three years.<br /><br />After getting the keys, she said the house was in an absolute state, desperately needing some care.<br /><br />She said: "Once we moved in, I just had to gut everything.<br /><br />"We got everything out, that's why I went for all-white walls as it was easy and clean.<br /><br />"I started off doing up the main rooms, the bedrooms and the living room.<br /><br />"I painted the whole house white - I've put new flooring in, changed the kitchen completely by painting the cupboards and adding a new worktop.<br /><br />"I have done panelling and slack walls throughout the house - I have tried to keep it all running in the same theme."<br /><br />Always on the hunt for a bargain, Celene would often shop at cheaper high street brands like Home Bargains as she didn't have "money to throw" into the renovation.<br /><br />Celene said: "The hardest bits for me were the cost, I didn't have loads of money to throw at it.<br /><br />"That's why I have been doing it gradually since I moved in, and I still have some bits left now.<br /><br />"I have saved loads of money - I absolutely love B&M Bargains and Primark home section.<br /><br />"I think I spent around £150 completely changing my kitchen."<br /><br />Celene's says her top tip for anyone starting a renovation project is to have a vision of how you want the whole property to look.<br /><br />She said: "You need to have a plan of how you want the house to look before you start.<br /><br />"Have an idea about how you want your home to feel, you don't want all the rooms to be different colours.<br /><br />"You want them to flow so every room ties in, keep colours the same throughout.<br /><br />"I think people should also think outside the box, get panelling or a slat wall, something unique to your home."<br /><br />Celene's top tips:<br /><br />- Have a vision before you start<br />- Keep the same colours throughout your home<br />- Panel your walls<br />- Paint kitchen cupboards<br />- Add floating shelves<br /><br /><br />Breakdown of what changes were made <br />- Removed all wallpaper<br />- Plastered walls and ceilings<br />- Painted every room white to keep the house in one theme<br />- Removed and replaced all the doors <br />- Painted all the radiators black <br />- Added panelled walls throughout the house <br />- Refurbished the bathroom <br />- Renovated the garden and added slack fences
