Susie Levache’s daughter Bea ran out of things to entertain her during the lockdown. So the Kent, United Kingdom mom decided to put her to work.

“During the lockdown, she was complaining of being bored whilst I was trying to catch up on some home renovations and updates,” Levache told Bored Panda.

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Never tell your mom you’re bored if she’s a DIY expert!

Learning a lesson

Like most parents, Levache had plenty of things her daughter could help with. But she had no idea the 12-year-old would take that chore list so seriously.

“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.”

On a budget

According to My Modern Met, over the course of a week, the duo spent just $125 to do their renovations. They repurposed items, used supplies they had on hand, and used lots of creativity.

“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,” Levache 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.”

Levache was happy to have the help too. She started off by empowering her daughter with the skills to use tools such as a handsaw, electric drill, and tile cutter.

“I’ve pretty much been trucking through our house renovation solo,” Susie tells My Modern Met, “so when I had help and Bea took a very active role in the room updates, it was wonderful to go from solo to a team!” she told the outlet.

The student becomes the master

Now Bea can largely work on her own – and she’s finding her creative voice as well, needing less and less guidance from her mom.

“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,” Levache told Bored Panda.

The updates to the family home have given it a whole new look. And playing a role in changing one’s surrounds can give a person a sense of agency in uncertain times.

As a result, the mother-daughter duo is now thrilled to be fielding inquiries from around the world on how to replicate their project and the binding experience.

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

But snacks are important:

If you’re feeling brave and creative (or even if you’re not but need some motivation to change your surroundings without breaking the bank), their home is the perfect source of inspiration.

You can visit the Instagram of the family home and see some more of their finished projects at @bananashed_home.

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Source: Bored Panda, Instagram – @bananashed_home, My Modern Met