Makeover magic

Children attending Barwic Parade Nursery in Selby, Yorkshire, couldn't believe their eyes as they returned after the summer break. Their nursery had been transformed.

Mismatched curtains, a worn brown carpet and hessian-covered walls have been replaced with fresh paintwork, a plush stain-resistant blue carpet and Venetian blinds. Perhaps best of all are all the colourful new toys, equipment and furniture.

It's a dream come true for nursery teacher Melanie Hind, who wrote of her desire for a 'cheerful, bright and inviting' nursery when she entered Nursery World's Nursery Makeover competition.

'The nursery looked tired and sad,' she says. 'There were three different sorts of curtains and two carpets joined together. There was also a mix of colours, with mustard featuring quite strongly - I suppose that was a popular choice when the nursery opened 25 years ago. Most of the fixtures and fittings have been here since then, and despite doing a lot of fund- raising we could never have hoped to raise enough money to make over the whole nursery at once. The children now say we have a new nursery.' Makeover expert Anna Ryder-Richardson from BBC-TV's 'Changing Rooms' came to open the refurbished nursery. She couldn't resist playing with some of the 5,000 package of new resources, kindly donated by Galt, Abingdon Carpets and Lego.