I turned my shabby shed into a luxury hideaway and did it using charity buys and Pound Shop bargains

KELLY Haworth, 41, was the first woman to win the Shed Of The Year prize last week, thanks to her recycled £200 hut.

But the mum of four, from Bury, is not the only one to benefit from a renovation. Claire Dunwell meets three women who say . . .'we turned our shacks into she-sheds'.

New mum Abby Blakely was nearing the end of her maternity leave when she decided to create a beauty parlour – in her back garden.

The 22-year-old enlisted the help of her partner, parents and in-laws to create the pink paradise. And after ditching her job working for someone else as a beautician, she now sees her own clients in her shed.

Abby, who lives in Whitehall, Hampshire, with partner Michael Cornwell, 25, an electrician, and son Harrison, three, says: “After searching for inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram, the parlour became a family project.

“I saw a shed for sale on a website called Buildings Direct Online that cost £1,500 and we used our savings to pay for it.

“With help from his dad, Michael built it and did all the wiring and insulation while my mum Sandra, who is brilliant at low-cost interior design, helped with decorating.

“It was just an empty shell, we had to do a lot to make it presentable.”­

I MADE A DECORATIVE WALL USING £1 FAUX FLOWERS

Abby says she decorated the interior of the shed using cheap items such as faux flowers. 

She recalls: “We went to the Pound Shop and bought a load of really inexpensive flowers and built our own flower wall.

“I saw people quoting £500 online but we made mine for just £100.

“I got a neon sign from Amazon for £150 and my nail desk was just an old wooden one from Facebook MarketPlace, which my mum helped sand and repaint.”

In total, her garden beauty lounge cost £4,000 from start to finish and, after first inviting friends round for pamper nights, she opened to clients last August.

Abby says: “I had the idea to start my own beauty salon in the garden, but I hadn’t seen many other people doing it, so I wasn’t sure if it would work.

“Friends loved it when I invited them over for pamper nights.

“I do manicures, pedicures, LVL lashes and eyebrows. Now I am often fully booked.

“I love the convenience of working in my garden. I couldn’t imagine going back to working for someone else.”

I SPENT £500 TURNING SHED INTO LINGERIE SHOP

When Joanna van Blommestein bought her house with teacher fiancé Phil Lyng, 35, in September 2018, she was smitten with its outbuilding.

She has since spent £500 transforming it as a base for her lingerie business.

Joanna, 34, from Faversham, says: “I loved the cosy garden hideaway because it was private and intimate — it was  a place where I could see ladies feeling very comfortable visiting.

“The owners of the house before us had kept a washing machine and guinea pigs in there, so it needed a good clean.

“But the wooden floor was in great condition and varnished.

“A friend of mine made hanging rails out of copper piping and I was lucky that the shed already had electric and heating.

“I sourced all of the lingerie from reputable brands and borrowed a changing room screen and desk from family and friends.”

After sanding the exterior of the wooden shed, Joanna used sage green paint on the outside and painted the inside a crisp white.

She spent £150 on paint, £150 altogether for storage, blinds for the windows and lights, plus £200 for hanging rails and other DIY equipment.

She says: “I loved renovating it, seeing it turn into something pretty was very rewarding.

“It also meant I could have a go at running my own business and if it didn’t work out, I wouldn’t be tied into expensive rent and other overheads.

“I had over ten years’ experience in the bra industry that I wanted to put to good use.”

The hut is now home to Joanna’s bra-fitting business, The Bra Boss of Kent.

She says: “Clients tell me they love coming to my shed because it’s a personal service and there’s no waiting around.

“They say it has a lovely homely feel, it is peaceful and cosy.”

I TRANSFORMED UNLOVED SHACK INTO SEWING HAVEN

It’s not just sheds that can be sharpened up.

Seamstress Christine Leech, 48, converted her shabby garage into a sewing haven last year.

She moved into her house, in Ladywell, South East London, 12 years ago and the garage had been rundown until, with the help of her dad Christopher, 77, she gave it a makeover for around £700.

Christine, who is also an author, says: “My dad helped me change the doors, which cost around £500, then we put in a patio for about £150.

“Walking around the streets near where I live, I found a huge mirror that was being thrown away in a skip during a house renovation.

“I got that for free, then everything else, such as the desk, I got from charity shops.

“The green sofa cost just £40 from the British Heart Foundation.”

The garage isn’t insulated, which means Christine pays £50 per month to heat it during winter, but she says it is far more cost-effective than renting a workspace.

Christine, who is single, says: “It costs far less than renting a studio in London or having to deal with the stress of a daily commute.

“It gets messy in there but, at the end of the day, I shut the door and go back into the house.”

Christine’s love of sewing has built up a 27k-strong social media following of fellow crafters.

She says: “I run sew-along crafting classes every Friday evening.  Some of my followers suffered with loneliness in lockdown and say my sessions have helped them feel connected.

“I love the peace and quiet of working alone and everyone who comes inside thinks it’s brilliant.”