Bea Levache from Kent, United Kingdom, had nothing to do during the quarantine, so her DIY-expert mom Susie asked her to help around their home. But once the 12-year-old started, she couldn’t stop.

Susie says that her daughter Bea is strong headed, rebellious, fun, and creative, so it’s pretty normal she wanted to make use of her unexpected free time. “During the lockdown, she was complaining of being bored while I was trying to catch up on some home renovations and updates,” Levache says.

“To ‘teach her a lesson,’ I asked her to measure up a wall for me that I was going to panel. I then showed her how to use the workbench and a handsaw, and before I knew it, she had completed the paneling in my office alone.”

Soon, the trainee decided to redecorate some other rooms. Her mother’s only duty was to supervise her and guide her through.

“She’s very precise whereas one might call my style ‘slap-dash’ so what turned out to be a lesson in parental expertise backfired when she showed how good and how capable she could be”

“When she got her confidence, she then would suggest ideas to me”

“For example, for the kitchen reno, we had to use what we had as the stores were shut so she recommended painting the cupboards mismatched and it looked great”

Susie told Bea to go ahead and try whatever she wanted as she had all the time in the world to fix any blunders. This reassured Bea and helped her a lot.

“She now uses the handsaw, spirit level, electric drill, sander, and tile cutter confidently,” her mother said. “She even had a go at stenciling, and her next project is to renovate her brother’s room using some carpentry skills.”

Caper, the family dog, seems pleased with the way things turned out

“She was really worried initially but with some guidance and knowing there was no jeopardy, she went ahead”

Levache is a passionate recycler, and it really contributed to the renovation. “I love to reuse and to repurpose, and I like this process to be circular, not linear, so I have quite a stash of old handles, old frames, tired old broken furniture in my shed along with paint I have from previous jobs.”

“In terms of our budget, it was actually very little because we already had timber, glue, paints and old handles, etc., so, in real terms, we spent about $100-$150 on extra items,” Susie explained. “But everything else, we either raided the attic or painted stuff from other rooms to give it a new lease of life. We had a really productive week and did countless rooms in about 10 days, and we are still going.”

Susie says they know a few people who really want to change something around their homes but are afraid they don’t have the skills and faith to give it a go.

She and Bea are delighted because they are getting messages from moms, wives, and from kids all over the world saying they’ve renovated and are loving the changes they’ve made, all because of them.

“The one thing we keep saying is, ‘If we can do it, anyone can’. And you don’t have to spend lots of money”

Now their home looks like this:

People on the Internet absolutely loved the change