DIY fanatic saves £600 on her bathroom makeover thanks to Stacey Solomon’s 79p hack

Carly Bass

Published: 9:37, 30 Jul 2021
Updated: 12:14, 30 Jul 2021

A SAVVY DIY fanatic gave her tired bathroom a modern makeover on a budget and saved £600 by tackling the job herself.

Paula Atkins, 48, from Liverpool, knew placing the floor-to-ceiling tiles would set her back a fortune so she was forced to get creative.

The entire project cost £30, which is much cheaper than high street versions at £110 — Stacey Solomon shared the hack on her Instagram page earlier this year

Looking to DIY guru Stacey Solomon for inspiration, the mum-of-two was able to achieve the bathroom of her dream using the celeb mum's 79p mirror hack - and it looks incredible.

In January 2021, TV personality Stacey shared a DIY hack on her Instagram account which involved her creating a giant mirror out of frames and mirrors from IKEA.

At the time, she said: "I'm going to try and make a giant mirror. I feel like I really need something in these big white spaces (the living room) and I love those giant panel mirrors but they're so expensive.

"So I bought these black frames and mirrors from Ikea, all together cost £30 so I really hope I can make it look nice."

FABULOUS BINGO: JOIN NOW FOR £1,000 DAILY FREE BINGO

Stacey used command strips to hang them up and made use of a spirit level and tape measure to ‘make sure I get them in the right place’.

Once the project was done she said: "I can't tell you how happy this is making me. I can't believe it. For £30 I'm soooo happy."

And Paula was just as pleased with her own results, and it's not hard to see why, because her once white and bland bathroom now looks stunning.

Speaking to money-saving community , she said: "The bathroom was looking old and tired, and I wanted to give it an update. However, as the room is tiled from floor to ceiling I knew that replacing the tiles would be costly.

"I knew we would not be able to afford getting the bathroom done professionally. When I looked at bathroom remodelling, the prices online were in the £1000s. I wanted to have the challenge to do it ourselves so we could feel the sense of achievement when it was done.

The bathroom was looking old and tired, and I wanted to give it an update. However, as the room is tiled from floor to ceiling I knew that replacing the tiles would be costly.
Paula Atkins

"When I was looking at designs for inspiration, I liked the bathrooms with wall panels on Pinterest. I wanted it to be light as it is only a small room. I had heard of wall panels before so I checked them out on YouTube and thought I could have a go at that.

"I also wanted to create a black square mirror using a DIY hack I saw on Stacey Solomon’s Instagram page. I was able to recreate what she did using picture frames and mirrors from Ikea. The mirrors were 99p each and the frames were 79p each, which I thought was great value for money. I got 16 frames and 16 mirrors for £28.48."

Paula stocked up on supplies including stick-on tiles from Amazon, which she used to cover her white boring ones.

She started by giving the entire space a good clean then got to work on making the panels for the mirror.

"The final price for everything was £360 and I actually overestimated how much I would need," she said. "I had enough left over to give my small toilet room a makeover too!"

"When I was making the mirror, I made sure all of the frames were straight by using a spirit level. The mirrors also came with sticky tabs to fix to the wall. I then measured the tiles to fit the floor, cut them to size and applied them.

We also both work full time hours and have two children who were homeschooling due to the pandemic. This means we could only fit the work in at weekends.
Paula Atkins

"The hardest part of the project was applying the panels in tricky places such as behind the radiator and around the window. We also both work full time hours and have two children who were homeschooling due to the pandemic. This means we could only fit the work in at weekends."

The only regret Paula has is not measuring the space properly before hand as she ended up buying "way too many panels for the job."

This meant she could have saved even more money, but she's still happy with the end result.

Tom Church, Co-Founder of , said: "Considering this is Paula’s first time at DIY she has done a stunning job. The bathroom has been completely transformed.

"Solutions such as stick-on PVC tiles can make a space look brand new with minimal effort and cost. What’s more, by spending just £360 on the project, Paula has saved at least £600 compared with professional jobs that could easily come with a bill of £1000 or more."