If you’ve been working from home in a precarious laptop-balanced-on-sofa-cushions setup, prepare for some home office envy.
Clare Francis, 41, and her husband Martin, 40, managed to create a pretty dreamy home office in their garden – for under £2,000.
Clare, who is a sculptured cake specialisty and runs a company called Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare, was keen to make herself a dedicated workspace in lockdown.
Stunned by the high prices of garden sheds and summer houses, she knew she’d had to get creative.
So Clare and Martin bought a £1,100 caravan on Ebay, then spent just £800 turning it into the perfect place to focus on work, using supplies from Homebase, Ebay, and Amazon.
Clare said: ‘My husband decided to look at caravan options as they are already insulated and have electrics and plumbing.
‘We started looking through Ebay and won a three berth caravan for £1,100.
‘We collected it and Martin began stripping it all out, taking out the bathroom and half the seating, which wasn’t needed for the cake room.
‘Martin laid the floor and added Floor Pops peel and stick floor tiles from Homebase. He used the self-adhesive Gothic range, which cost £15 a pack and we needed four.
‘We then added the kitchen cupboards and worktop that we already had from my previous workshop. Martin adapted them to fit the caravan – he is very resourceful.
‘He added under-seat lighting from Amazon for £25, new cupboard handles again from Amazon for £15 and painted straight on to the cupboards with leftover Farrow and Ball Hague Blue.
‘We added the top coat with matte varnish and the white paint was Dulux wood paint.
‘The wallpaper was from Homebase. It was from the Superfresco range and cost £20 a roll. We bought two.
‘The sink was from Amazon at £30, the self-adhesive tiles at the back are from Amazon costing £50, the curtains were from ebay costing £30 and the nets were £10.
‘We changed the seating to an L-shape so I could use the space better and added a small additional worktop for £50.
‘I paid a lady to recover the seats which cost £150.’
Clare is delighted with the finish of her new workshop, and now has the perfect workspace to create her amazing cakes.
‘My husband is currently still on furlough so it’s been good for him to do some jobs around the house,’ she added.
‘This project has taken him four weeks from start to finish.
‘I couldn’t justify spending £3,000 on a cabin plus putting foundations in, then insulation and electrics.
‘It would have been closer to £5,000 once it was finished.
‘The total cost of the caravan was £1,900, and I absolutely love the workspace now it’s so organised and compact.
‘The caravan cost £1,100 and the decoration cost £800.
‘I did the decor and Martin did the hard work!
‘I’m really happy with the amount of money we saved investing in the caravan so that we can have a lovely family holiday next year also, all being well.
‘Cake-wise I have a much larger area to work in, one area to decorate the cakes and another for modelling cake toppers.
‘It’s my own little den to escape the kids!’
Have you completed a DIY project you fancy showing off?
Get in touch to tell us all about it by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/11/couple-turn-old-caravan-into-amazing-home-office-for-just-800-13256961/
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