Lifestyle

Woman transforms old chest of drawers using sticky back plastic for just £25


What a transformation (Pictures: Laura Chiswa)

Brand new furniture can be really expensive, but one savvy mum saved a fortune by upcycling her old chest of drawers.

Laura Chiswa, from Birmingham, created a stunning marble-effect dressing table to go in her bedroom using a simple DIY hack, and it only cost her £25.

Laura, who is 28, is a single parent to a 19 month old daughter. When she moved them into a new flat she knew she was going to have to reduce costs when it came to furnishing the place.

‘I have just moved into a new empty flat, there was a lot that needed to be bought including painting and flooring which costs a lot,’ Laura tells Metro.co.uk.

‘I also needed furniture and being a single parent, I could only afford one item at a time so this hack saved me money, meaning I could buy other things that we really needed, like a washing machine.’

Laura bought all three items for just £15 (Picture: Laura Chiswa)

To save money, Laura started out by buying an old set of three chest of drawers from Shpock for £15.

‘I thought, wow what a bargain!,’ she says. ‘Because one chest of drawers costs at least twice the amount I paid for three.

‘But they just looked ordinary and very second-hand. So, I decided to buy self adhesive sticky back plastic from B&M for £6 to cover the top and the sides.

How the originals looked (Picture: Laura Chiswa)

‘It was easy to use as the sticky back was almost the same size as the chest of drawers. So all I had to do was to measure and trim with a scissors.’

If that still sounds a bit too fiddly for you, Laura has a couple of tricks that she used to make sure the process went smoothly.

The sticky back plastic was easy to apply (Picture: Laura Chiswa)

‘The trick is to peel a quarter of the adhesive plastic, stick it down in place and use a bank card or anything similar to flatten it and remove the air bubbles,’ she explains.

‘I used one coat of white paint – that I had already bought to paint the house – to cover the rest.

‘I spray painted all the handles gold and bought some gold gems from Poundland to decorate it.

Some white paint and gold handles did the rest (Picture: Laura Chiswa)

‘I also bought an adjustable dressing table mirror from Shpock listed as free for collection, so I only spent fuel money.’

Laura says she couldn’t be happier with how the chest of drawers turned out.

Laura needed to cut costs after moving into a new flat (Pictures: Laura Chiswa)

‘I love the fact that not only did I turn an old chest of drawers into something that looks brand new, I was also able to put my own stamp on it and save money at the same time.’

Laura says the whole job was incredibly simple, and that anyone should have the confidence to try the same thing – particularly if they are looking to save money.

‘I would advise anyone to have a go,’ she says. ‘The furniture doesn’t have to be bought, you could do this to your existing cupboards, chest of drawers, tables or really any other furniture.

‘ You get to have a new look, put your stamp on how you want it, and do it in an affordable way.’

Do you have a money-saving DIY hack to share? We want to hear from you.

Get in touch: metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.

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