Thrifty mum transforms bathroom into tranquil spa for just £200

A thrifty mum has transformed her plain council house bathroom into a tranquil spa - for just £200.

Samantha Bedford, 36, got crafty with plywood and paint to create a sanctuary in her bathroom.

The full-time mum now has her very own spa inside her home in Dudley, West Mids., with a gorgeous hanging plant feature and dreamy lights.

After using just plywood and paint from B&Q alongside bargains from popular website SHEIN, Samantha is thrilled with the result of her hard work.

The mum-of-two said: "It all started when I was listening to spa music in the bath with candles lit to set a calming atmosphere.

"Even though it still looked cosy, I knew there was potential for it to be so much nicer, so I thought that's it, I'm going for a spa kind of design that would instantly make me feel relaxed on entry.

"I get a lot of stress and anxiety on a daily basis so this was the one room I could lock and not be disturbed.

"I live in a council house so it's very basic and I had ideas of making it into some sort of sanctuary as it was just unpainted plastered walls and no flooring.

"I was wary of the limits of what I could do in a council property. I don't think they would even think of mentioning a hanging structure in their rules book, as long as everything is put right if I was ever to move, which I would, I don't see any harm in it.

"I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm not sure what your average person would spend on decorating but I would like to think I did rather well!"

Samantha started by painting the walls white with one black wall by the bath before measuring the wall that she wanted slats on.

Searching online revealed the solid wooden slats she had dreamed of would be too expensive, so she turned to B&Q for a cheaper result.

She said: "It was just working out to be too much money. I knew I still wanted the slatted design and just thought where there's a will, there's a way.

"I also wanted to spend as little as possible because I knew it was a big idea and it wouldn't come cheap unless I found ways to bring down the cost."

The thrifty mum bought four sheets of plywood and enlisted the help of her brother to cut the wood into the size of strips that she needed.

Samantha smoothed down the strips with sandpaper before painting them with fence paint based around the colour of the brown glass soap dispenser bottles she'd purchased.

She attached the slats to the bathroom wall with a friend's nail gun and had lino flooring of the same colour fitted for just £65 from her local carpet shop.

Clever Samantha utilised a broken pallet that had been going to waste in her garden to create a gorgeous hanging plant display over her bath.

She said: "I just imagined having plants dangling above me in the bath whilst I listen to my relaxing music.

"There wasn't enough space to add many plants in my bathroom so I just went with orchids and vines.

"I'd already got the wood to make a frame it was a broken up pallet that I had laying around in the garden which I cleaned by jet washing and giving it a bleach bath and leaving over night.

"I had ordered all the artificial plants from SHEIN as they were the cheapest I'd seen and I used my points from SHEIN which I got from reviewing previous orders and vouchers.

"I knew I needed a lot of plants to fill my frame and it was going to be pricey, even for a cheap site."

With her spa bathroom now complete, Samantha is thrilled that her hard work paid off and is even considering a career in interior design as a result.

She said: "I am in love with my new bathroom!

"My kids actually queue up for bath time now, they are very proud of it!

"I feel over the moon with how well it all turned out and how many people liked it when I shared it on social media.

"I think my next step is looking into college to study interior design - it has given me a lot of inspiration and confidence in myself!