Nancy Hugo CKD/Flickr

Makeover your house on the cheap. We’ve found many ways you can give your pad a lift without reaching too deep into your pocket. We’ve concentrated on simple and mega-cheap ways to improve the most important rooms in the house: the bathroom and kitchen.  

• Websites that will save you money
• Revamp your kitchen and bathroom for just £87.78!
• Freebies
• Accessories

Websites that will save you money

1. My Deco - find the perfect accessories at the best price

This website is a great place to start and it is especially useful for homeware and accessories. Much more than just a price comparison site, My Deco is crammed full of top tips and style ideas so it really is a godsend for anyone doing up their home.

Go to the ‘Shopping’ tab at the top then look under ‘Special Offers’ or select a room that you want to shop for. Once you’ve done this you can sort the results by price – choose low to high – and see what bargains are out there. It really is a useful tool that will save you heaps of time and money.

Another good thing about this website is that you can plan your own room by uploading a picture of your room and then trying out 3D furniture, paint, wallpaper, flooring and accessories. It’s such a clever way to get an idea of how a room will look before you buy anything.

2. Clearance Comet – ex-display with big discounts

This is an auction site for clearance items from Comet (not surprisingly). All of the products displayed on the website are fully operational and come with a one year guarantee. The items are in various conditions – new, end of line, ex-display, scratched, dented, used, returned and refurbished.

You should be able to get all your electricals here at really low prices. When we looked we saw some items with just one day of bidding to go with a current bid of just £1 so take a look now! Just click on the items to find out what condition they’re in.

3. Just Doors and Door Chic – revamp your kitchen cabinets with new doors

Don’t spend thousands on a new fitted kitchen. Instead, upgrade an old kitchen with new doors, handles or worktops – this will give it a completely different look without you having to fork out for a whole new suite.

Just Doors deliver to the UK mainland for free. All you need to do is measure the doors and drawer fronts that you have at the moment, then tell them on the order form and choose the colour you want.

Click here to see how to buy online. If your current cupboards are fine but the drawers are damaged, you can buy new drawer fronts from Just Doors for only £10, or buy some new handles or knobs from Door Chic.

If you do need to replace the whole cabinet, go for a cheap option and then add some ornate knobs like these to make it look more expensive than it really is.

Lark & Larks is another store specialising in replacement, made-to-measure kitchen doors, handles and worktops. The doors are really reasonably priced and in the budget range prices start from under £10. You can also opt to add a panel of glass effect acrylic to any door you choose and all products come with a two year guarantee.

Or, try Door Furniture Direct which concentrates exclusively on door handles, hooks and knobs of various styles and materials.  Check out the special offers to see if you can bag yourself a bargain.

4. TradeLeftovers

This site is primarily for tradesmen who want to swap leftover and spare materials – but do sign up. It’s completely free to register, there’s no commission and you could nab yourself a real bargain. Look at all the decorating leftovers here.

5. City Furniture Clearance

City Furniture Clearance sells used and refurbished contract furniture which has been taken back to their workshops and refurbishished. Pretty much any furniture item you can imagine can eb sold so it’s quite good if you’re after quirkier pieces.

You will have to sift through to find a gem but it is particularly good for big, decorative mirrors and antique reproduction furniture.

Have a look at the selection of mirrors here. A well-placed mirror can make a room look so much bigger – not to mention hide a multitude of sins – so use one to cover up any holes or marks on the wall. Look at the bathroom accessories here and the lighting here.

6. John Lewis – cut price quality homeware and furniture

John Lewis may not be the obvious choice for quality furniture for less but the department store has added new items to its Value range which stretches across several store departments but has especially good deals on furniture. There are bargains in home furnishings, like a lampshade for £3 and a £5 spotty ironing board cover, kitchenware and utensils from £1.25 and bath linens from £1. Plus you get free delivery on all orders over £30. For more info and to buy, visit John Lewis.com.

7. The Showhome Warehouse - for something a bit special

For something a bit special head to The Showhome Warehouse in Northamptonshire where you can pick up ex-show home and sample pieces from top stores with huge discounts. Expect savings of up to 75% on some beautiful items, so if you find yourself in the area make sure you have a look.

8. Grab some freebies

Check out the newest free item website called Snaffleup. It works exactly the same way as the others in that no money is allowed to change hands. You simply search for items by category or enter your postcode and look at items being given away near you.

There is actually a category just for kitchen stuff, so do take a look and see what you could get for free. We’ve just been on and found a kitchen cupboard and seven foot work surface being given away!

Another website always worth a look is Gumtree. Just go to the website and under ‘Stuff for Sale’ click freebies for a list of free things in your area. Click on the items you want then email or call the owners to organise a time to collect – but be quick as they tend to go quickly.

The other two sites are Craigslist (choose your city, then look under ‘for sale’ and choose the ‘free’ tab) and Freecycle (you join your local network to find the items being given away near you).

9. BBC Homes

Get some interior design inspiration from the BBC magazine. It’s full of great images of all kinds of design ideas for every room. Also, check out the rules of design section which has some great advice on bathroom design.

Get a new kitchen and bathroom for less than £84

See how you could completely change the look of both your kitchen and bathroom by kitting them out with new accessories – and all without spending a fortune. In fact, we spent less than £100 getting everything we needed!

See how much we got for our money in various well known stores here:

ITEM	STORE	DETAILS	PRICES FROM
Bathroom:
Bathroom paint	Homebase	Mid-sheen 2.5L	£11.29
Venetian blind	Grattan	Free delivery	£10
Chrome plated 5 piece bathroom set	Argos	Towel rail, toilet roll holder, toothbrush holder, soap dish holder and towel ring	£9.99
Bath mat	Sainsbury’s	Suede bath mat	£7
Kitchen:
Replacement cabinet doors	Lark & Larks	Prices depend on size of cupboard.	Around £35 (from £5.10 each)
D handle  x 4	Lark & Larks		£9.76 (£2.44 each)
Wall tiles	Wickes	Florina grey ceramic wall tiles	£4.74/pack of 44 tiles
TOTAL			£87.78

All prices were correct on 9 November 2011.

How to revamp your kitchen and bathroom

Try a lick of paint

Paint your old kitchen cabinet doors to cover up any scuffs and make them look brighter and cleaner. Add some new door knobs or handles and they really will look brand new!

Painting the kitchen or bathroom walls is a really simple, cheap way to give a room a new look. Keep the colours fairly neutral and use pictures and bright accessories to give the room personality instead.

Try going into a big DIY store like B&Q where they mix up paint for you – they will sometimes have leftovers or unsold paint that you can get on the cheap or even for free! If not, try Wickes for a huge selection of paints and woodstains at good prices.

Fix up your windows

A new set of curtains will really freshen up your kitchen. Get your hands on some bargain fabrics from Curtain Factory Outlet, Cheap Fabrics and Cheap Curtains.

If you don’t want to stick with blinds, why not ditch them and get a window film like this silver etch effect film instead. It allows 70% of natural light through, while still giving you complete privacy – and prices start from just £14.

Replace small items for a big change

Replace old taps instead of buying a whole new bathroom suite. Click Bathrooms has a good selection of a variety of shapes and sizes, all at reasonable prices.

Or if your kitchen or bathroom is small you can lay down some new flooring without spending a lot of money. Try Wickes for some cheap vinyl floor tiles.

Get new accessories to update your kitchen and bathroom.

We love the funky and contemporary accessories from Beth Stevens. We particularly like the crazy range of chopping boards on offer and the vibrant Normann washing up bowls.

Buy matching items to bring the whole look together. Matching sets are available pretty much anywhere but there are usually good sets in big department stores like Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Heals.

We had a look online at Marks & Spencer and saw this retro enamel utensil pot for £7.50 with a matching set of tea, coffee, sugar canisters for £15.

Buy accessories that provide extra storage and look good at the same time.

Go to Organise My Home for some great storage items at low prices. Another website full of great looking storage solutions is A Place for Everything.

Tiles, tiles and more tiles!

Ask friends if they have any old tiles left over from their own home improvements. Once you have enough, break them up to make a mosaic.

If you want to buy new, go to stores like B&Q, Tile Click and Wickes for great prices .

And if you can’t afford to replace your old tiles you can alter the way they look quite dramatically with tile paint and transfers.

Buy transfers at Benporium which sends items by first class post to the UK for free, or Tile Transfers which has a clearance section here. Alternatively, try bidding for cheap ones on eBay. Look at the tile transfers here.

Useful links

• B&Q
• Cheap Curtains
• eBay
• Just Doors
• M&S
• Russell Hobbs
• Tile Click
• Wickes