When Catherine Norris, 36, was quoted £32,000 to transform her kitchen, she decided to just do it herself.
The mum-of-one, from Leicester, ended up saving herself thousands, managing to complete the project on her own for just £2,000.
And the end result is pretty incredible.
Catherine, who runs her own business, Memory Thread Co, looked for inspiration on Pinterest then kept costs down by sourcing materials from Dunelm, Amazon, and Asda.
She gave the dreary wooden cabinets a lick of sage green paint, updated the handles and knobs with copper detailing, and created a tropical nook.
Catherine told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘As a family, we all really love cooking and baking, but I hated spending time in my old kitchen!
‘It was dark and tired and sad. We got some eye-watering quotes at the end of 2019 for a new kitchen to be put in, so I started thinking about how we could refresh what we had instead.
‘I browsed through Pinterest to find inspiration and really liked the look of sage green cupboards and bright white walls with copper touches – and at the same time I wanted to create a cosy botanical boho seating area at the bottom end of the kitchen.’
The bulk of the money went towards having new flooring put down to replace the ‘horrendous’ brown carpet, which cost £1,150.
The paint for the cupboards, tiles, and door handles cost £110 from Frenchic, with Catherine speedily buying all the materials she needed before lockdown came into place.
‘The lockdown restrictions did make purchasing what we needed difficult. Instead of popping to Homebase which is just up the road we had to order everything online and some things were running out of stock fast, especially in the larger chains,’ she explains.
‘It seemed like the whole country had decided now was the time to fix up their homes too!
‘White emulsion for the walls was impossible to find, but fortunately we just had enough leftover from a previous project which we found stashed in the loft.’
The creation of a botanical-themed seating area added on some extra costs, but it makes such an incredible difference.
Catherine says: ‘I took a punt on the wallpaper without seeing a sample, because everywhere was selling out. I finally found it online from an independent shop and bought it for £65!
‘We ordered the sofa from Dunelm for £299, and most of the decor from Amazon or ASDA, all online.
‘There were artificial plants, a copper vase, a copper lamp, and a copper lantern from ASDA which totalled around £100. The mirror was £60 and the rug was £25, both from Amazon.
‘In total for everything – for the new floor (which was the most expensive thing), the paint, wallpaper and decor – we have a new and modern kitchen for less than £2,000, less than 10% of the cheapest quotes we were given late last year.’
Catherine is delighted with how the DIY project turned out, and found all the hard work was a welcome distraction during lockdown.
‘It took around a month to prep and paint everything in between working and homeschooling my daughter,” she adds.
‘I was really very glad of the project keeping me busy in the midst of all the craziness and uncertainty of lockdown, it was a welcome distraction.
“‘nd it’s a kitchen that I want to spend time in! I love cooking in there now, or sitting with a glass of something and chatting to my husband as he sorts out tea.
‘My daughter has so far made an amazing chocolate cake and a delicious spaghetti bolognaise. Fingers crossed for more food produced by the smallest member of the household soon! It’s a bright and happy room now and it lifts my mood to go in.’
Have you completed an amazing DIY project that needs to be shared?
Get in touch to tell us all about it by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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