An inside story of DIY panelling with home renovations content creator, Judith Madukwe
One of the biggest home renovations trends of 2023 was DIY Panelling, with homeowner enthusiasts across all facets of the home renovations space trying their hand at their own panelling projects. Many were complete beginners, picking up their first mitre saw with little know how but they were still able to inspire others along their DIY journey.
Judith Madukwe pictured in her home
So what should aspiring ‘do it yourselfers’ keep in mind when embarking on their own home panelling project? Well we caught up with Judith Madukwe, a home DIY and renovations content creator, to share her panelling project story. Judith took on the complex task of panelling her entire home which she documented on Instagram for thousands of other DIY lovers:
Photo credit: Judith’s stairs from @ChampagneHouse_ProseccoBudget instagram
CM: For those who do not know, tell us a little bit about yourself?
Judith: I’m Judith. I'm 44 and a mum of 2 amazing kids. I work full time as a derivatives lawyer for an asset manager, but love all things home renovation, DIY and styling.
CM: Have you always been into Home DIY and renovations?
Judith: Oh yes!! I used to watch a show called Changing Rooms back in the day and was obsessed with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and his bold designs! I then moved onto shows like Grand Designs which focused more on the entire construction of a home which definitely sparked my interest in renovations. I also liked watching other UK shows, like Homes under the Hammer, Location, Location, Location and Love it or List it. During one stage in my life, I dated a guy from the US and during my trips there, I would binge watch My Dream Home and other shows by the Property Brothers whilst he was at work ! Lol. I just love to see a before and after and it's always fun to watch how people create and bring a design to life.
CM: What made you decide to do the panelling in your home yourself?
Judith: To be honest, it was simply because I couldn't afford to hire someone to do it for me. The quote I received was in the 1000s, and I just thought ...."no thanks, I'm not paying that much". I then watched a few videos online I figured that I knew what a 45 degree angle was, and how to glue a piece of wood to my wall. So decided to give it a go myself. I soon found out that panelling wasn't necessarily as simple as that!!
Photo credit: Judith Madukwe painting the stairs after panelling from @ChampagneHouse_ProseccoBudget instagram
CM: How did you learn? and how long did it take to finish the project?
Judith: My project took a whopping 11 months!!!!! Lol. Now don't let that put you off because it honestly didn't need to be. However, as a full time employee and full time parent, I didn't always have the time to work on it. I would sneek in a 2hr or so slot here or there, late in the evenings after coming home from work (which is why alot of the [instagram] stories I would do would often be recorded past midnight). Sometimes I would do some work on the weekend, especially if I needed to use my saw to cut the wood panels which would make alot of noise, so I reserved that for the day time. Sometimes I would become busy with life and panelling just wasn't a priority for me.
In terms of how I learnt how to do the panelling.... well I learnt as i went along and made mistakes along the way which i also learnt from. I used to see videos pop up on my Instagram feed of other home content creators doing theirs. They made it look so easy and definitely inspired me to do my own. I then went over to Youtube and watched some of their "How to" videos before I started. However, when I then started my own project and stumbled across numerous problems, I watched several youtube videos by @TheHome ImprovementChannel which seemed to answer ever question I had! I also relied alot on my followers. I would ask them questions in my stories because I honestly had no clue at times about what I was doing, especially when it came to panelling the stairs. My followers really came through for me, gave me great advice and came along the journey and kept me going.
Photo credit: Judith’s finished panelling from @ChampagneHouse_ProseccoBudget instagram
CM: What would you say the main challenges were?
Judith: Oh, definitely panelling the stairs. My word!! The calculations would drive me insane lol. I just couldn't work out what angle to cut the top dado rail to connect to the bottom rail. So I reached out to my followers and they were so helpful. One lovely lady even reached out to another content creator for me, and then sent me her response along with a picture of what the dado rail should look like when finished. Her response was invaluable and brought the end to days if not weeks of stress!! That's one thing I love about the Home Renovation Instagram family; everyone is so helpful and lovely. It really is like a little community.
CM: Would you do anything differently?
Judith: No, not at all. I absolutely loved the project. Learnt so much and found it quite therapeutic. I'm already thinking about what I want my new project to be for 2024.
CM: Bonus question: What is one thing in your home that you could not live without?
Judith: My wardrobe room. It's small and needs to be decluttered, but it's my little sanctuary.
Follow Judith Madukwe on instagram @ChampagneHouse_ProseccoBudget for more DIY and home renovations content.
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