Bromsgrove dad transforms space with eBay bargains

Kenroy Malcom, was quoted £470 to build a walk-in wardrobe but managed to build it himself for just £120 using recycled materials and bargains from eBay, Wayfair and Argos.

Kenroy, a teaching assistant, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "We have a small area in between two bedrooms that we wanted to use for storage but we were unsure how to make the best use of the area.

“The original idea was to knock one of the walls down and make it a walk-in closet but I’m not looking to do that right now, so I was looking for a plan B.

Before Kenroy's transformation.

“Then I stumbled upon a sliding door on Argos which would save us space compared with a traditional door. I knew this was the best option as we could avoid swinging a door open and closed, instead just sliding one over to access the space. 

"I wanted to do this myself rather than pay someone to come in and do it for me. A friend who is in the trade estimated that a joiner would charge approximately £170 per day for labour.

"As this project would likely take a full day, and materials if bought would cost around £300, this means I would be paying roughly £470. I knew I could make this space a walk in wardrobe with a difference without paying for a professional job."

Kenroy Malcom is also a youtuber as well as a teaching assistant.

Kenroy, father to two girls, aged six and one, then brought a folding door from Argos for £32, some shelve brackets from eBay for £22 and a metal frame clothes hangar from Wayfair for £55.

Luckily, Kenroy’s neighbours also provided him with recycled wood to make the door frame.

The 33-year-old added: “‘The first thing I did was clear the space. A lot of stuff was in there that just needed to go. I originally bought the bookshelf which was in there second hand for £15. I then actually sold it to someone for the exact same price so that was the final step towards having an empty space to work on. 

“Once I had set up the support above the door, I picked up the actual sliding door. Thankfully it was pretty straightforward to set up. One of the downsides of these sliding doors is that they come in a specific size and there isn’t much you can do to alter them, but this one came in the exact size I was looking for in order to close the gap.

After Kenroy's transformation.

"It was a few centimetres short, which is why I used the timber to cover what would have been left behind. 

“Next I set up the naked wardrobe. The overall quality was good for the price, and the assembly was very straightforward. The final step was to attach the shelves, which I had made earlier in the year out of scaffolding boards. I drilled in the brackets and then attached the shelves with the help of my brother.”

Kenroy said he was ‘super happy’ with his project and was glad he came up with a ‘cost-effective solution’ to make the best of his small space.