DIY fanatic quoted £300 for designer wood panelling does it herself on the cheap – and you’d never know the difference
A THRIFTY DIY fan put her skills to use and built a stunning wood panelling feature wall after being quoted £300 for the job.
Rather than pay for a professional builder, Calsey Banks decided to give it a go herself - and you'd never know the difference.
The 30-year-old PA from Birmingham was inspired by the gorgeous panelling after seeing it on social media.
Calsey, who shares her home transformations on , managed to create the look in her spare bedroom using MDF and paint for just £150.
Calsey told money-saving community : "My inspiration came from Instagram. I had seen a few accounts that had this kind of panelling and knew that's what I wanted.
"But I wanted something to stand out and give that wow factor so I came up with this design with a little help from a few family members.
"I had seen a lot of companies that charge silly money so I thought I would do it myself. I am into a lot of DIY so I knew I could do it with no problems."
Casey used MDF strips she picked up from B&Q and no-nail glue to attach them to the wall.
Then she painted the timber with Regency cream paint by Craig and Rose Paint.
She said: “The strips cost me £5 each and the glue was £6 from B&Q, so all together in total, it cost me around £150 together including the paint and the shelf."
The panelling only took her one day to do, plus an extra couple to finish the painting.
Explaining how she did it, she said: "I purchased the strips and cut them down to size. I then attached them to the wall with no-nail glue making sure I had the same gap between each strip. I used a divider for this.
"Once they were all up, I painted the strips and the gaps. I then added the shelf to give it a little character.
"With all the cut-offs, I just attached them to the wall all in different angles to create the finishing look.
She said her family helped her come up with the modern design, but she completed the work herself with no extra help.
The handywoman loves the look of her new spare bedroom, and is chuffed that she managed to do it all herself for half of what a professional builder would have charged her.
“The main advice I can give is, don't be afraid to try it yourself,” Calsey adds.
"You don't need tools to create this look - all I used was an electrical saw to cut the MDF to size."
She added: "I'm so glad I did it myself, because not only did I save money, I put my own twist on it too, with the shelf and the cut-offs.
"I felt so proud of myself the way it turned out - I still obsess over it now.
"It was the simplest DIY I have ever done. Anyone can do it!”
Tom Church, co-founder of , comments: “Many of us see gorgeous home images on Pinterest or Instagram and are desperate to copy the look - and end up paying significant amounts of cash to builders.
“As Calsey proves with her stunning £150 spare room panelling, you can save yourself a fortune if you just do it yourself. If you don’t know where to start, there are countless tutorials on YouTube to help you on your way!”
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