I saved £24,000 by DIY

Aug 12, 2023

For many people, endless DIY is no laughing matter. But Victoria Emes, comedian and author, definitely sees the funny side.

‘It is trial and error and you will make mistakes,’ she laughs, admiring her Victorian terrace that has been a labour of love for the last few years. ‘You have to squint a bit sometimes – there are imperfections and it gives it character.

‘DIY is good inspiration for my comedy. I wrote a musical parody in lockdown that was an ode to discount store Homesense and I’ve done videos where I’m twerking around my washing machine. House appliances are basically middle-aged porn.’

But there's a serious side to all this, too. In the process Victoria has saved herself a fortune: she has pretty much renovated her entire three-bed Victorian terrace herself.

The east London property had been rented for years and was, as Victoria says it in her trademark colourful language, ‘a s***hole’ when she first saw it. ‘The carcass was there, it had loads of potential, but it was horrible,’ she explains. ‘The kitchen was infested by mice and I found mouse poo under the floorboards. The kitchen was so, so grim when we moved in. There was filth everywhere, grease all over the walls and my favourite: the remains of two giant rat carcasses behind the fridge.

Originally in the market for a two-bed, Victoria stretched the budget to £445,000 for a three-bed, leaving her with just £80,000 to use for a side return and all renovations.

This is where her DIY skills came into play. Her good sense of humour when things don't go quite to plan, combined with avid viewing of YouTube tutorials and pure guts, mean that she hasn't been afraid to tackle the jobs herself.

‘I’m the queen of research. I love looking for sh**. I always think there has to be a company that will do it cheaper and I always look for a DIY element,’ she says. For example, by ordering made to measure wardrobes and cabinetry from DIY Alcove Cabinets, Victoria saved at least £1,500 when compared to having it fitted and finished by a local carpenter.

She also bought her wardrobes, kitchen and chest of drawers in flat-pack format and painted it all herself. Then she bought Victorian-style tiles in a sale and took all the existing tiles off in the bathroom and retiled it herself.

‘The bathroom was hideous,’ she laughs. ‘The last person used to smoke in the bathroom, it was nicotine yellow everywhere and completely revolting.’ A new showerhead went in and Victoria fitted new taps from eBay herself.

‘The bathroom is functional and works and looks nice. In the end it cost a grand or two rather than £10,000.’

The most recent DIY project is using an outdoor tile pedestal system to build a patio. ‘This is my latest technical triumph. I had a ridiculous quote to get it done professionally so I researched it and found the pedestals.

‘They don't require a concrete bed, I just levelled out the surface and put aggregate down and laid on top. It's amazing.’

Other jobs required research to find the best value option. The parquet flooring was sourced from a really reasonable company based in Poland at half the price of anywhere else.

‘It's absolutely beautiful and came from a hotel in Poland in the 1960s. It came completely cleaned and is made from solid oak.

‘Getting it laid was more expensive than the floor in the end.’

Victoria also likes to source second-hand furniture and upcycles a lot of it herself. The 1960s dresser in the kitchen was £100 on eBay and the cast iron fireplace was £200 on Facebook Marketplace. ‘I love a bargain,’ Victoria explains. ‘I always go for second-hand, it's better value and more sustainable.’

Victoria's love of DIY and renovating on the cheap has even turned into a popular home renovation Instagram page (@victoriaemes_home) with almost 40,000 followers.

She also has a popular podcast, No Holes Barred, and is writing her first novel – when she gets a moment around the DIY.

‘People like my interiors on social media,’ she says. ‘I have a nice kitchen but I don't live in a f*** off unattainable house – it's more achievable.

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‘There is an element of interior design but in the end it's about giving it a go.

‘Don't be afraid to experiment. My home is my sanctuary – a beautiful loveliness makes me feel grounded and safe, and that's important to me.’

In association with diyalcovecabinets.co.uk

Furniture: DIY savings £750

Three Ercol-style chairs were bought for £45 each second-hand off eBay. Victoria then spent a further £5 on fabric and reupholstered them herself. Even three of the most basic Ercol-style chairs would cost £100 a piece.

It cost just over £1,000 for DIY Alcove Cabinets's ‘supply only’ bedroom storage. But to have them made on site by an experienced joiner would be upwards of £1,500.

Flooring: DIY savings £1,000

Not all of the floor needed replacing, some just needed loving back to life. So Victoria sanded the floorboards on the upstairs herself, hiring a sander for £75 for the week.

Bathroom: DIY savings £8,000

Victoria did her own tiling and also replaced sink taps and bath taps herself, so only paid for materials. Tiles were 90p a tile for white subway tiles off eBay. Labour (her own) was free.

Decorating throughout: DIY savings at least £4,000

Victoria spent £120 on wallpaper and then with careful colour-matching to an expensive brand bought a cheaper paint from a DIY store. The labour was her own – time-consuming, but didn't cost a penny!

Garden: DIY savings £4,200

Clear on what she wanted, Victoria was expecting to call in the experts, but was quoted £6,000 to create her dream patio. Instead, she did it herself, with materials and tool hire costing her £1,800.

Kitchen: DIY savings £6,000

Bespoke kitchen cabinets from DIY Alcove Cabinets for ‘supply only’ (primed, ready for top coat) was £14,000. Carpenter price for the same job would be £20,000, according to the firm.

Total savings: £23,950

MORE : Lewis Carroll ‘nerd’ spends £130,000 creating two Alice in Wonderland themed homes

MORE : ‘I’m pastel obsessed – my £190k home renovation will get rid of any black, grey or beige’

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