FROM sofas to lamps and bookshelves, any homeowner will know just how pricey it can be to really make your house a home.
But one woman named Ellie has proven that you haven’t got to spend a small fortune to make your visions achievable – as she managed to decorate her humble abode using bargain buys and freebies.
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The money-saving whizz, who shares her interior design bargains on her TikTok page @haveyouseentheirhouse, posted a clip revealing her favourite charity shop and Facebook Marketplace finds – and how she styled them.
She begins by sharing a snap of a Facebook Marketplace advert of two grey sofas in “very good condition” that were up for grabs for free, before revealing she was quick to snap them up.
“The find of my life – two good as new sofa.com mid-century style sofas – FREE!” Ellie says.
Next she explains how she was “over the flipping moon” after getting her hands on a free of charge wooden storage cabinet – despite admitting she cheated a little as it was from someone she knew.
However, the savvy homeowner then shows how she upcycled it by giving it a lick of peach pain to coordinate with the orange-coloured walls in her very stylish living room.
Next, she take a snap of a trendy velvet mustard-coloured tassel lamp.
“Can’t believe I found this brand new M&S lampshade for free on Facebook!” Ellie enthuses.
“I’d been eyeing it up on their website for months – meant to be!”
Amongst some of the other bargain finds eagle-eyed Ellie managed to snap up include antique brass candle stick holders that she bagged for just £5, a “cute little lampshade” which was £1 from British Heart Foundation and a large gold mirror which was a £5 tip shop find.
Elsewhere, Ellie goes on to say that the art and frames on her gallery wall are all “charity shop treasures” – including the gold frames above her bed which cost her just £1.50 in Cancer Research.
She continues: “All of the frames on the stairs were collected from charity shops – didn’t pay more than £2 for any of them.”
You’ve got to nurture it, search for things you want and it’ll give you good stuff when you open it, it’s like an algorithm
Ellie
Not stopping there, Ellie notes how she snapped up a £10 unit on Facebook Marketplace which was “stained and battered.”
However, after giving it a fresh lick of paint, she says it now looks “good as new” and perfectly slots into the corner of her living room.
Next, Ellie explains how she has a “weird-sized” chimney breast in the front room, before adding: “I’d been looking for ages and none fit, and then just like magic…”
She then shares a photo of a fireplace mantelpiece that was advertised for just £20 on Facebook Marketplace, which she speedily nabbed – but not without haggling for a deal.
“Got it for £15!” she says.
“Needs to be styled so it doesn’t look so busy in here – trust the process.”
Then there’s Ellie’s striking green front door.
“I was so thrilled about this one, brand new, got it for £140 – saved a fortune as the ones I liked that were similar were over £1000 – perfect fit for our 100-year-old doorway too,” she explains.
Not stopping there, Ellie says she also snapped up a vintage velvet door curtain for £6 from the tip shop, and a mirror which was free from the bin shed at her old flat.
“How could anyone put this in the bin?” she asks.
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It wasn’t long before Ellie’s post went viral, racking up a whopping 89.2k views and hundreds of comments from very impressed social media users.
“You are the bargain queen!!” enthused one person.
A second praised: “Amazing finds! Those sofas – so so good!”
A third agreed: “Your living room is a dream!!.”
Meanwhile, a fourth commented: “Think my Facebook marketplace is broken. You have a beautiful home!”
Ellie encouraged: “You’ve got to nurture it, search for things you want and it’ll give you good stuff when you open it, it’s like an algorithm!! Thank you SO much.”
And another social media users commented: “My issue is I want my house to look like this asap but I know it’s a process!!
“This is all beautiful.”
Ellie responded: “I felt the same a year ago, it comes together so quickly if you keep an eye out!!!”
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