Ashleigh Taylor had no idea that when she posted images of her transformed outdoor living space to Facebook it would garner such a huge reaction.
But the country NSW local put it down it being an affordable, yet stylish transformation.
“It turned out way better than I expected,” the 24-year-old told news.com.au
Ms Taylor, of Leeton, a small town in southern NSW, shared a video of her new area along with a series of photos to the popular Facebook group Kmart Hacks & Decor — which has since been flooded with hundreds of comments and more than 4,000 likes.
Ms Taylor said she used simple tools and basic DIY skills to give her “cold and empty” outdoor area a much-needed makeover.
And as for the styling — she used $20 Kmart dog beds to help complete the look.
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“At first I just wanted to sand it and give the deck a lacquer, but I love interior design and because I finally had my own space to do it, I wanted to give it a go,” she said.
Ms Taylor created a huge L-shaped couch and coffee table in just one day after nabbing wooden slabs she had collected for free.
“I stacked them on top of each other and trimmed them back to line up with my outdoor step.”
To create the backs, she then cut another pallet in half and attached it to steel.
“I made the pallets myself because I knew I couldn’t afford all the furniture I needed to design the area,” Ms Taylor told news.com.au
“I had some spare pallets where I worked and took some home and made a bay which worked out better than I thought.
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“I had about 50 women private message me asking how I made the pallets so I created a new group and sent them a ‘how to’ video,” Ms Taylor said, adding that she had no idea her post would get such positive feedback.
“I love these Kmart pages and I am constantly going though them and my partner said I had to post my makeover.”
“It’s just a really cosy area. It came up really well and we have spent every night out here since.”
To help complete the look, Ms Taylor said she was originally going to use baby cot mattresses until she stumbled across pet beds from Kmart. She bought five for $100.
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“When I went to Kmart I noticed they had waterproof dog beds that were good to go and it worked out perfectly,” she said.
The savvy homemaker went onto say that anyone could recreate the space using pallets which can often be picked up for free from local businesses likely to receive shipments.
“This took very minimal tools and skill to make,” she wrote in her Facebook post
“I promise you will be able to replicate if you want.”
Almost 1,000 people have commented on Ms Taylor’s transformation, describing it as “clever” and “amazing”.
“You are very clever and creative. It looks great. Well done,” one group member wrote.
“Impressive,” said another.
“Wow looks fabulous,” a third person added.
Ms Taylor said the entire makeover cost her roughly $500 and while she is a huge Kmart fan, not everything was bought from the retailer. She purchased her hanging pots from The reject Shop and Target and two papasan chairs from Bunnings.
The 24-year-old had embarked on her creative project after losing her job in hospitality due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I had just bought my house at the start of the crisis and I lost both my jobs the same day my house went through — doing this transformation just gave me something positive to put my energy into, it gave me something new to focus on.”
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