My budget glow up using scraps added £20k to my house

WITH summer just around the corner, many of us have spent the last few weekends attempting to turn our gardens into an outdoor haven.

The jet wash might have been out, or maybe you’ve turned your attention to those empty pots lining the fence.

But when Michelle Purcell (@michelle_purcell_interiors) moved into her home 18 years old, she knew it was going to take more than a few flowers and a lick of paint to fix their backyard.

They’d tried to upgrade it on the cheap, adding a wooden pergola and some bog-standard garden furniture, but after two years this was beginning to give in.

So, they headed three different professionals for a quote.

But after being left stunned by the extortionate prices - one wanted as much as £25k to remove the decking and lay a path - they decided to tackle the project themselves.

Using scraps from their loft conversion and a few bargain buys, the pair now have an outdoor space to be proud of.

And despite spending around £5k, the pair think they may have added on an extra £20k to the value of their home.

The 49-year-old interior designer from Cheshire said: "We always think, ‘Right, we can do this cheaper’.

"And that's a part of my job as well, ia always thinking ‘how can we bring the money right down’.

"We weren't compromising on style or quality, but saving a lot of money."

The pair, who had previously lived in a Victorian terrace house with a yard, but no garden, but thrilled to finally have some outdoor space.

But they were aware it needed some serious work put into it.

They initially built a wooden deck and small pergola in one corner, but realised after just a couple of years that it was beginning to decay, due to the cold and wet winter weather.

"For the first 10 years - when you’ve got children, it's all about cost-saving anyway, so we just did cheap wood decking and we built a wooden pergola as well.

"But it didn't last. Year upon year with the British weather, we were replacing rotting decking, staining it, breaking our backs.

"And the wooden pergola just rotted and it gave up the goat, so it was looking really tired and shabby.

"That's when we thought, ‘We need to put some money into this’."

So the pair set about tearing down their old pergola and giving the space a refresh - with the help of Michelle's dad, a former civil engineer, their two sons, now 17 and 20, and their friends.

They also kept costs down by roping in their sons’ friends to help move their materials to and from builders' yards, providing payment in the form of pizza.

But what was their inspiration for the outdoor space?

The ‘urban jungles’ they’d spotted during their travels to San Francisco - many of which had an industrial style, black steel pergola.

So, their first mission job was to find and build one of these.

That part was simple, with the pair opting for an easy-to-assemble aluminum pergola shell, bought directly from Suns Lifestyle for around £3,000.

Explaining what they did next, Michelle added: "We also decided to make a raised decking area to make it feel like an oasis - to feel like you’re escaping.

"So then we ordered hardwood decking this time, which is a lot more money - it's about a third more money than a normal deck.

"But we knew this was not going to crumble year upon year when it gets rained on."

Michelle and her partner also added modern panelling to the front of their fence to match the new decking area, and some raised flowerbeds in matching wood.

To keep costs down, they headed to builders' yards to see what was being given away for free.

But the penny pitching didn't stop here, as they vowed to furnish it on the cheap too.

Michelle claims that reusing old items that had around the house really helped, including her idea to turn an old IKEA sofa into a comfy outdoor seating set.

And while most would think sticking a sofa outside wouldn't work, Michelle had a genius idea to make it waterproof using a bargain Amazon buy.

She had high praise for the Scotchgard Fabric Water Sheild, priced at £11.70 on Amazon - and claims that just two coats made their sofa both damp and mould-proof.

"We did this around Covid times so the delivery on things was ridiculous anyway, and expensive for outdoor furniture.

"And they’re not really comfortable at all, I don't think it.

"But this is a really comfortable sofa, the colour fitted in, and it's done us great."

Despite then having the patio of their dreams, the pair decided to keep going, wanting to fully embrace the ‘outdoor indoor’ feel.

So, they built an outdoor kitchen on the cheap too - and a coordinating designer-style dining table that saved them more than £700.

The base of the kitchen was some free concrete breeze blocks and then topped with a marble-style countertop.

Michelle then added some cheap tiles to work as a backsplash and a shelf to hold their fresh herbs to be added to any dish they whip out in the space.

The dining table, inspired by Made.com's Bosco Garden Dining Table priced at a whopping £825, was made from leftover purlin planks from their loft conversion, and the industrial-style black metal legs were easy to find online for £90.

Sharing the DIY project online, Instagrammers have raved about the finished result, with one writing: "This is the most gorgeous table too. I love it."

Someone else put: "Good call, looks great."

When asked how she feels about her garden now, Michelle was quick to add: "We’re made up with it."

She also revealed she spends every morning on the patio, rain or shine, under the cover of her pergola.

But what are her top tips for those wanting to attempt a garden glow-up of their own?

A post shared by Michelle (@michelle_purcell_interiors)