A woman managed to transform her kitchen in just 20 hours by using items she bought on the cheap or second hand - while her two-year-old was asleep. The superb upgrade was inspired by DIY stars on Instagram, including those of Mrs Hinch and Stacey Solomon.
Eleanor Bromley, a 28-year-old single mum, revealed that by using B&Q bargains and a freebie from Facebook Marketplace she was able to improve her home. Speaking to money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, she said that she got the whole lot done using bits costing just £70.
“I follow lots of home Instagram accounts and I am inspired by women such as Mrs Hinch and Stacey Solomon." She said. "I am a member of various groups on Facebook related to home improvements so being surrounded by these influences led me to come up with the idea.
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“I wanted to make it look a little different by giving the counters that wooden feel and turning the cabinets white to make the space look bigger. I had seen people using vinyl wrap in their kitchens and I realised I could save a lot of money by doing this myself.
“I bought most of the supplies from B&Q and the total price was around £70. My first purchase was D-C-Fix Whitewood Gloss White Wood Effect Self-Adhesive Film. This was £6.50 per roll and I bought seven rolls after measuring out how much I needed for the cabinets and drawers.”
Other items she used were D-C-Fix Woodgrain Artisan Oak Self Adhesive Vinyl Wrap Film at £7 per roll and a D-C-Fix Self-Adhesive Film Decorator Knife Set for £3.50. Eleanor said she was prepared to take her time with the transformation to make sure it was done properly and watched ‘how to’ videos on YouTube for tips.
She said: “My kitchen has very strange angles and it made it tricky to line up the D-C-Fix. Bubbles under the paper were another issue, and you must be extremely slow and patient. If you notice a bubble under the paper you have to peel it back and redo the section all over again!
“On many YouTube videos, I saw that they had removed the cupboard doors so that they could cover it while sitting on the floor. Quite a few of the screws were threaded, so I wasn’t able to remove them. I decided to just work directly onto the cupboard fronts while they were still attached. I didn’t find it too bad, other than straining my arms and neck a little more than I would have.
“I am so pleased with the outcome. It was a lot of work - over 20 hours on my own, mostly after my 2-year-old went to sleep! - but it feels worth all my efforts after seeing the results.”
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: “Eleanor has done a great job transforming her kitchen on a budget. Getting new countertops and a professional paint or wrapping job would have cost £100s more than the £70 she spent, and I’m also impressed she was able to do it in such a short amount of time!”
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