When Charlotte Syeda-Aguirre and her family moved into their Lambeth, south London, home in May 2024, she said the garden was their ‘biggest compromise’.

The broken patio slabs, patch of muddy grass ‘full of cat poo’ and dangerous steps made it unusable for their two young children, Ruben, six, and Marla, five.

Believing it too big a project for her and her husband, Tomal, to tackle, Charlotte approached a couple of landscapers to carry out the necessary renovation. But when she was quoted a whopping £60,000, she decided she could take on the job herself for a fraction of the cost.

So in February last year, the couple set to work on a courtyard-style nook at the rear of their two-bed terraced house.

The broken patio slabs, patch of muddy grass ‘full of cat poo’ and dangerous steps made Charlotte’s garden unusable for her two young children

The finished outdoor space, fitted with an accent wall, lights and a seating area, cost the family £10,509

Charlotte Syeda-Aguirre, 36, was quoted a whopping £60,000 by landscapers – so decided to rely on her own skills for the renovation

They finished the renovation in July 2025, and have enjoyed basking in their little sanctuary this summer

With no space for a skip or heavy-duty equipment, the couple did everything themselves, digging up the garden and shovelling mud by hand, and then carrying bags of rubble and garden waste to wait-and-load skips. 

However, they did use a landscaper to help build walls and install paving slabs, which cost them £6,400. 

Charlotte, who works in digital marketing, said that if they were to spend £60,000 on their home, they may as well be ‘doing an extension, not a garden’. 

‘It just was not possible,’ she continued. ‘Anyone can dig, it just takes a long time.

‘The kids were out there digging with us, and we just dug and dug and dug for months and months. I wouldn’t do it again.’

Charlotte added that ‘everything felt dirty and messy, constantly carrying bags through the house’.

‘My husband would be out there in the dark with a head torch on, just shovelling mud,’ Charlotte said.

Charlotte admiring her work in progress, with new walls and fencing, but with building rubble  waiting to be removed 

In February last year, Charlotte and her husband, Tomal, got to work on a courtyard-style nook in the rear of their two-bed terraced house

‘My husband would be out there in the dark with a head torch on, just shovelling mud,’ Charlotte said 

With no space for a skip, the couple had to pile bin bags full of rubble in the front garden before transporting to wait-and-load skips 

‘It was really hard on our backs,’ she admitted. However, after all the hard work, it’s rewarding to enjoy the space. 

‘Before it felt really unloved and not usable, and now hosting garden parties is my favourite thing,’ the 36-year-old shared. ‘It’s made such a difference to the way we live.

‘We were just so determined to get it done, and we finished it three days before Marla’s fourth birthday, and we then had a nice garden party.

As the garden had two levels, with three steps from a small patio leading up to the garden, the couple first started making the space completely level. This meant digging up the entire garden and removing paving slabs by hand. 

Levelling the area left the fencing higher than the new foundation, so the couple had to get the professionals in to build retaining walls on each side of the space before adding fencing on top. They also built another wall, leaving a view of the woodlands at the rear of their property, painting it in a vibrant terracotta.

‘If you feel completely out of your depth, it’s a good time to get someone in,’ says Charlotte. ‘Ninety per cent of the time, we’ve been able to do it ourselves.’

They saved hundreds on decor and garden equipment, thanks to family and friends who gifted them items and donated plants and paint.

In fact, they only spent £45 and that was on making a four-metre planter – which Charlotte said was ‘a trust the process DIY and luckily it paid off’ – to which she added a disco ball.

‘I knew roughly how to make a box and just adjusted the measurements and style to fit,’ she said.

The joy the garden has brought the family is endless, Charlotte says: ‘The striped planter with the disco ball makes me very happy when I look out into the garden.

‘The discoball was from Facebook Marketplace, which was such a great find. Our garden furniture is from Cult Furniture and our solar lights are from Amazon.

‘[Our friends and family] can’t believe we did the bulk ourselves and how much of a difference it has made not having the garden on two levels.

‘It feels so lovely when you hear nice things about something you have worked so hard on.’

In the end, Charlotte spent just £10,509 to create a stunning paved outdoor space fitted with an accent wall, lights and a seating area, which took them four months to complete.