WALKING into her back garden, Katie Lee plugged in her vacuum cleaner before running it over the lawn.
Within minutes she was done and admiring the lack of mess.
“I love the fact I don’t have to spend hours on my hands and knees doing back-breaking weeding or pushing a lawn mower over tufts of grass,” the proud council house owner, 30, from Hartlepool, County Durham, said.
“My garden is perfect 365 days of the year. I even paid for part of the designer backyard makeover by flogging my lawnmower.
“It cost me a total of £240 to turn it from dump to designer. I don't care if people tell me I’m acting posh for my council house surroundings or that it’s a waste of money. The trolls are just jealous.”
Katie is proud to be a self-confessed DIY queen and developed her painting and decorating skills after helping her husband, painter and decorator Michael, 38, at work.
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She honed them further by watching YouTube tutorials in her spare time.
“Redecorating my council house is my passion,” she said. “In these worrying economic times I am grateful I only have to pay £360 a month rent rather than battle rising interest rates or greedy landlords.
“I was actually offered three council houses before I took this one but I turned them down.
“I wanted a place we could redecorate and be happy in and I wasn’t going to accept anything but the best or in my case a house I knew I could turn into a palace. I also refused to pay more than £400 a month rent.”
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Katie had been renting privately since 2013.
“Over the past few years the rental market was out of control. We were paying £450 a month for a two-bed flat and had no boiler over Christmas two years ago.
“Those sorts of rent are outrageous. Then friends told me because I have a young son, Bobby, nine, and because Michael and I had an excellent private rental history I’d easily nab a council house.
“I was offered properties almost immediately and decided to be choosy because we wanted a home we could put love into.”
Katie turned the first three down because she didn't like the area but the fourth she and Michael decided was perfect.
“It was in a terrible condition inside with cracked walls, dodgy paint jobs, peeling wallpaper and looked like a ‘doss’ house but I knew I could work my magic on a budget,” she said.
The two bed, mid-terrace has a huge back garden and Katie and her family moved in in July 2019.
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“We saved money by doing most of the work ourselves,” she said. “We started by ripping down all the old wallpaper and replacing the skirting boards and architraves and plastering the walls.
“I searched Marketplace, eBay and local car boot sales and found someone selling boxes of walnut laminate flooring for a fiver a box because the top boards were scratched.
“We bought 10 boxes and used it in the hallway and living room saving more than £200.
“End-of-line wallpaper cost £6 instead of £40 matched our colour scheme of grey and navy.”
Katie found a three-seater and two-seater sofa and a matching armchair at a local charity shop for £70 in new condition.
“I found an old vintage chest of drawers on Facebook for twenty quid and after changing the knobs and painting it I turned it into a designer piece,” she continued.
“I found an old style drinks trolley in a skip and after tightening the wheels and cleaning it up it looks new. I’ve seen similar ones for sale for £300 and mine was free.”
Katie let friends know she was renovating and was offered a huge mirror and a nest of tables people wanted to get rid of.
"Spending money and time to turn a council house into a place isn't a waste of money – it is an investment."
“In Bobby’s room I used cubes to create a media wall for his games, computer and screens which saves space and doesn't look cluttered.
“In the kitchen, faux slate tiles which cost £120 gave the walls a modern revamp.
"I'm trolled for spending cash decorating my council house – why should posh people just live in nice homes?
“Our back garden transformation required three tons of gravel which cost £120 and artificial turf which was £280.
I carried hundreds of buckets of gravel from the front to the back but when it was done the garden looked amazing.
“I love being able to vacuum it and see all the hard work we put in on show.
“Everyone in this area is house proud. Posh people might think I am up myself because they ‘have a mortgage’. I am not bothered by those attitudes.
“Spending money and time to turn a council house into a place isn't a waste of money – it is an investment.
“After three years we will be able to buy the house at a nine percent discount and every year after that you get a further three percent discount from the council.
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“People who troll me are simply jealous. I am sure they’d like to have my DIY skills and only have to pay £360 a month in rent especially in these tough economic times.
"My family is entitled to a lovely home.”
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