DIY-whizz transforms bland home into a shabby-chic wonderland & saves £3K by painting charity shop furniture
A MUM claims she’s saved £3,000 by painting cheap charity shop furniture, and turning her home into a shabby chic heaven.
Elaina Sanches, 48, started DIY and crafting six years ago after having to give up her job as a carer for the elderly when her son Luke, 12, was diagnosed with autism.
She has now transformed the kitchen, bedroom and downstairs bathroom of her four-bedroom home in Maesteg, Wales, in a pastel-filled, chintzy kitsch 'real life doll’s house' which she admits 'isn't for everyone'.
The single mum-of-one estimates she’s completed the entire transformation for just £100 – spending as little as £4 on each piece of furniture which she revamps in her own quirky style with just a lick of paint.
Elaina, who is originally from Brazil but moved to the UK in 1996, said: “Five years ago I started crafting when I couldn’t work because I needed to look after my son, Luke.
“I needed to find something to get on with while he was at school. I didn’t know how to paint or decorate anything so my boyfriend taught me how to.
“I began looking in charity shops and bought bits of cheap furniture that looked a bit rubbish and painted them in my own style.”
She first decorated her kitchen five years ago when she couldn’t afford to buy a whole new one, and transformed it from its old plain design.
The mum started by painting the walls with pink paint, and moved on to painting the cupboards with £20 chalk paint, which she then distressed and pasted flowery wallpaper onto give them a ‘Cath Kidston’ look.
The kitchen table, which was an old pub table, cost her just £7 and she also revamped a mini cupboard for £6 – both were painted and distressed with chalk paint.
Elaina said of her renovations: “I can now do it with my eyes closed and save thousands of pounds by upcycling the second hand furniture - the three room transformations probably cost me about £100 all together.
“A lot of people like the design and style - people go crazy about the kitchen and say that it makes them happy when they see my pictures.
“Some say it’s ‘too much’ but my style is not for everyone which is fine - people like different things.
“The rooms do look similar to a doll’s house with fairytale girly themes. It reminds me of when I was a child because I played with lots of doll’s houses."
Her most recent project was the downstairs bathroom, where she took the carpet out and painted the floor before adding other charity shop finds for extra décor – completing the makeover last week.
The lounge includes several tables that she has bought from charity shops and painted and distressed, including the TV stand for £8, a corner table for £4 and two other tables costing £7 and £4.
In Elaina’s bedroom, she has revamped her bed stand, bedside table and drawers with the shabby chic effect, but with more neutral white paint.
She admitted her most ‘expensive’ charity shop revamp was a grandfather clock in her hallway – which cost just £25 and involved her painting it, then decorating it with wallpaper and flowers.
Elaina said revamping a piece of large furniture can take her just one day to do, but the smaller things can take her a matter of hours.
She used to see lots of expensive shabby chic furniture in shop windows, which inspired her to put her own twist on it and create her own.
And she has racked up 23,000 fans on Facebook, who love her home’s unusual style.
Elaina does furniture makeovers for lots of her friends too, who sometimes bring her pieces to spruce up and she now plans to redecorate another bedroom in her home with all white shabby chic furniture.
She added: “I love crafting, it’s good for the mind and I can switch off while doing it every day.
“I’m big on eco friendly stuff like recycling so I enjoy upcycling this furniture.
“Some of my friends think I’m crazy for doing it, but others love it and are really supportive.
“I also run a page on Facebook where I have over 15,000 likes and people are inspired by my work.
“People ask where I get my ideas from and I guess it’s just from my country. because we craft lots in Brazil from things like cans and bottles.”
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