As the cost of living crisis continues to impact households across the UK, more families are considering DIY projects as a way to save on cash.
Mum Rosie Roberts, 56, has done just that, creating a kitchen island using a cupboard and worktop surfaces - saving her around £700 in total.
Rosie wanted to spruce up her kitchen but decided to take matters into her own hands to save money amid the cost of living crisis.
After convincing husband Mark Roberts, 52, that the pair should ditch their table and chairs, she spent months searching for the perfect unit.
The unit needed to be the same height as the rest of their kitchen surfaces - but she eventually struck gold on Facebook Marketplace, finding the perfect oak cupboard for just £40.
Rosie, from Coventry, then purchased a new granite worktop unit for £30 from another seller and painted the inside and outside of the cupboard in two coats of grey.
The entire project took just days after the parts were found, and in total, cost the couple less than £100.
A brand new kitchen island would typically cost around £800, meaning the couple managed to save a huge £700 through Rosie’s clever DIY hack.
To complete the job, Rosie bought some bar stools from Amazon and shared the final result on Facebook - amassing over 4,000 likes and hundreds of comments overnight.
She said: "My husband wasn't keen at first and said to keep the idea of a kitchen island in my head.
"But I had a vision to get rid of the table and chairs we already had, and replace them with a new, unique worktop surface.
"He eventually agreed, and I was on the look out for the right cabinet unit for months.
"When I eventually found the perfect unit, I secured it for a great price, and then saw someone selling a granite surface, which was the same colour as my kitchen.
"I felt really lucky, and when we put the two together, it looked perfect.
"Once I managed to get the materials, we completed the project in few days and Mark's over the moon with the result.
"I posted a few photos of the island on Facebook and the reaction I got was incredible -
we couldn't be happier with it."
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