Featured Image Credit: @jade.doutch/Instagram
Topics: Home, Social media
Anish Vij
Having the budget to renovate a home is one thing, but knowing what to do with it is a whole new ball game.
North Wales-based Jade Doutch managed to transform a 'rundown' £68k house into a uniquely designed black-clad crib that receives heaps of attention online and from passers-by.
The Instagram user now has 430,000 followers after showing people how she gave her small home an 'affordable' glow-up.
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It all began 20 years ago when the mum-of-one purchased the Anglesey property just before housing prices skyrocketed.
However, the 1920s three-bed semi-detached home was not Jade's first choice, as she had a keen eye on the house next door.
"Funnily enough, I went to view the house next door but I didn’t like it," she told Manchester Evening News (MEN).
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"I lived in two council houses and this was the first house that I bought myself. I had £8,000 heritage after the death of my mum and at 20-odd years ago that was quite a lot of money, so I thought I’d use it as a five percent deposit as interest rates were low.
"I bought the house but I did not know what I was doing, I was only 22 at the time and I was totally naive to the work that needed doing here."
Over the past 20 years there's been an extension, with Scandi and Nordic influences, alongside a stunning south-facing garden.
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"When I first bought it was really rundown, a little old lady had lived here for a long time and she only lived in two rooms. It needed absolutely gutting out from top to bottom," Jade explained.
“I’d always had a vision of what I wanted to do with it, but when you’re a 22-year-old with hardly any money things just had to progress very slowly.
"The first thing we did was knock a wall through from the kitchen to the dining room which made a massive difference.
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"We didn’t use the lounge at the front for two years because we had no money to do it up.
"I just went to charity shops to buy things and upcycled stuff."
Jade - who now works full-time as an influencer - revealed that she even considered to sell the house because of how long it would take to get it up to scratch.
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"About eight years ago, I was thinking of selling and moving as I wanted a fresh start, but my friend said to me, ‘Jade if your house was on the market now you'd want to buy it,’ and that was a light bulb moment for me," she explained.
"So instead, I thought I'll remortgage and extend, not a huge extension, but just something that opens the house out into the garden so it changes the layout and my lifestyle."
I bet she's glad she listened to her mate.