Mum Renovates Her Whole Home Using Items From Tips And Skips

We love nothing more than a bit of thrifty DIY inspo - and now a mum has revealed that she created this stunning home from items she found in skips.

Penny Bennett, 40, from Nuneaton, is a sucker for a bargain and has never paid full price for any of her furniture in her three-bed terraced home since moving in 14 years ago.

Her entire home is created using second-hand furniture and items found in tips - and the results are seriously impressive.

Penny describes bargain hunting as

By renovating and upcycling thrifted items, and scouring Facebook Marketplace, Penny believes she has saved herself somewhere in the region of £5,000.

The thrifty mum said: "I've always enjoyed decorating since I was a child - I would constantly re-decorate my room or move furniture around much to the annoyance of my parents.

"My main source of second-hand buys is Facebook Marketplace - it's absolutely brilliant and there are so many bargains on there."

Penny's eagle eye has helped her snap up a £810 chair for just £50, and a second-hand Smeg fridge that she found on the side of the road, which she sold on eBay for a whopping £600.

All items in the house are thrifted or were found in tips and skips (Credit:Caters)

She said: "I paid £10 for a lamp which was £100 online, I saved £200 on a Chesterfield chair, I paid £10 for two mannequins and turned them into lamps; you just have to use your initiative."

The savvy mum calls her bargain-hunting "an addiction" and adds that she frequently "spends hours" moving furniture around the house.

Penny continued: "When I'm in the car and I drive past a skip on the road, I slam the brakes on and rummage around until I find something I want - I've nearly had cars crash into me I slam my brakes on that hard!

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"My home represents my personality - everything is big, bold, quirky and unique."

For other home-owners and renters looking to upgrade their interiors on a budget, Penny has a simple piece of advice: go for it.

"People always say to me 'I could never do that'," she explains, "but I just tell them to buy or keep one item that means something to them and build the scheme around that.

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"Buy what you like - I think people can overthink and get too wrapped up in it."

Topics: Mum, Home, DIY, Life, Interiors

Mary-Jane Wiltsher

Mary-Jane Wiltsher is a freelance lifestyle and culture journalist. Elsewhere she writes for Stylist, Euronews, PHOENIX and What We Seee.