A savvy mum-of-one has told how she transformed her formerly dark and dull spare room into a stunning light-filled beauty haven – and all for just £300.
Monika Bacanskaite, 22, from Bridgwater, Somerset, had always dreamed of having a dressing and beauty room – so she decided to make her own on a strict budget.
When she moved into a new home with two spare rooms, the makeup artist set about turning her dream into a reality – using bargain buys from the likes of Argos, Amazon and The Range.
‘First of all I needed a spare room, so luckily when we moved into our new family home there were two spare rooms, so of course one of them was definitely meant to be my dressing room,’ she said, speaking to money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.
Monika Bacanskaite, 22, from Bridgwater, Somerset, used her free time wisely and transformed her spare room (pictured, before the transformation) into a stylish beauty haven
The mum-of-one turned the formerly dark and dull bedroom into a stunning light-filled beauty room. Pictured, the dreamy wardrobes after the impressive transformation
The first-time mum (pictured, with her baby) kept to a budget of under £300 and was given a helping hand by her partner – especially when she had her hands full
The thrifty homeowner went on to say that the room was painted in dark navy and red colours, so she gave it three coats of paint to cover it all.
‘It took a couple of days, especially since being a first-time mummy I didn’t really have the time to do it, so my partner gave me a hand which was brilliant,’ she explained.
‘The colour I chose to paint it in was white because nI just love light colours: it gives me a clean feeling and everything goes with it in my opinion.’
Once the painting was complete, Monika started organising where everything would go.
‘I was so excited as I knew that I would be able to display my collections of makeup so they weren’t kept in drawers anymore,’ she said.
‘But this is where the trouble actually started as I had already purchased a few furniture pieces from Argos and The Range before the lockdown.
Monika bought the stools for her dressing table from The Range – one in pink and the second in grey (pictured)
The thrifty homeowner chose to paint the chic and stylish dressing room white because it gives it a ‘clean feeling’ and ‘everything goes with it.’ Pictured, the makeup corner
‘Once lockdown happened, I couldn’t visit any more shops to have a closer look and get an idea of what it would look like in my dressing room.
‘So I searched for some bits online. Amazon was great for it: they have lots of stuff that I didn’t realise they would even have – and I started ordering bits that I thought would be useful, like wardrobe rails, hangers, shelves and so on.’
Monika already had two Argos bookcases that were the perfect size for displaying her makeup, so she thought about how to connect them together to make it into one walk-in wardrobe piece.
‘I didn’t want to spend hundreds of pounds on IKEA walk-in wardrobes, so I thought I would build my own one,’ she said. ‘I bought a wardrobe rail from Amazon and connected it with these two bookcases, so that made a perfect place to hang my jackets.’
She continued: ‘I had to drill the rail into the sides of the bookcases. I added an Argos cube storage unit in the middle of these two bookcases. I store my shoes here, and it fits just perfectly.’
The spare room was initially painted in a dark navy and red colours, so Monika gave the walls three coats of paint to ensure it was all covered. Pictured, before the transformation
Monika had to drill a rail into the sides of the bookcases and added an Argos cube storage unit in the middle – which is where she stores her shoes (pictured)
The savvy makeup artist bought a wardrobe rail from Amazon and connected it with two bookcases she already had from Argos – and it’s now the perfect place to hang her jackets (pictured)
‘The last thing I added was a shelf on the top of the bookcases to make them come together as one piece and it really turned out great.’
Monika also purchased some stick-on LED lights off Amazon which she stuck to the top of the bookcase shelves – but she didn’t stop there.
‘I had my dressing table there with a mirror on a wall and it looked boring,’ she explained. ‘So I decided to make some small shelves to surround my mirror on the sides and a large one on the top.
‘We had an old bathroom cabinet that I actually took apart and painted to make the little shelves, while the large shelf on the top of my mirror was from our TV unit.’
‘The stools for my dressing table I bought from The Range. I fitted another wardrobe rail in between the bookcase and wall to have a place to hang my knee-high boots and handbags. To hang them there, I used clothes pins from Amazon.’
To make the room extra light, Monika purchased some LED vanity lights from Amazon, a rug from Wayfair and two mirrors from The Range.
She added: ‘In the end, I would roughly say I spent a maximum of £250 to £300, but that’s including the rug, dressing table, mirrors and storage units.’
Monika also purchased some stick-on LED lights off Amazon (pictured, far left) which she stuck to the top of the bookcase shelves
In total, Monika spent a maximum of £250 to £300 – including the rug, dressing table, mirrors and storage units. Pictured, the makeup table
‘I didn’t really expect it to look this good. To be fair, since staying all day at home with a baby while my partner is at work and with no one visiting us I did get bored.
‘I needed at least a small break where I could just use my imagination and create, so decorating this room kept me entertained and I did really enjoy all the process, and it was so satisfying.’
‘Once my family started complimenting my room, I felt so proud of what I had done, and I appreciate all the nice words everyone says.
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, commented: ‘If you look for quotes for walk-in wardrobes online, these can cost thousands and thousands of pounds online.
‘Instead, Monika managed to create a state-of-the-art space by savvily upcycling furniture she already had and by making strong shopping choices from Amazon, The Range and Argos.
‘If you’re keen to follow in her footsteps, inspire yourself on Pinterest and Instagram, and stock up on bargain materials from brands such as eBay, B&Q and B&M!’