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Creative Mum Quoted £18k Transforms Kitchen Into Shaker Space For Just £155

  • Jill Oliver, 50, was quoted a whopping £18k to transform her kitchen
  • She decided to take on the project herself, and it cost just £155
  • Jill used MDF, colour-matched paint and new handles
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Quotes for kitchen renovations can be eye-wateringly expensive.

But when Jill Oliver, 50, a mum of two from Durham who works in education, was quoted £18,000 to transform her kitchen into an on-trend shaker space, she didn’t let the extortionate price tag put her off.

Instead, Jill decided to take on the project herself.

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Using MDF, colour-matched paint and new handles, her kitchen cost her just £155, saving a fortune.

Jill told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: "I painted my kitchen in the first lockdown with a dark grey paint as I had seen other people do this but I loved the shaker style kitchens.

"I just followed lots of home accounts and saw different people doing similar things.

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"We had quotes a while back and it varied but it would have been something like £12,000 to replace the kitchen and I couldn’t justify that kind of money when I knew I could update the plain doors to a shaker style myself.

"The £12,000 price was from a joiner we have used for years but the bigger companies were much more, some as much as £18,000!

"I started in the bedroom with MDF, making some slim panels from top to bottom behind my bedside cabinets and realised how easy MDF is to work with and cut.

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"I didn’t need to drill anything as the glues are so good these days.

"Then I did my panelling in my hall and staircase, all self-taught from watching people online.

"I was desperate to do my kitchen and after doing the hall I knew I could do my kitchen.

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"So I contacted a local timber merchant and asked them to cut a sheet of MDF into 70mm strips, which meant it would cover all the old holes where the handles had been.

"I chose 4mm deep as I tried different depths of MDF and any thicker it would have caught on the door next to it.

"I cut each length with a mitre saw, just a manual cheap one.

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"I had to clean with sugar soap, sand, then started sticking on the MDF.

"On each door I glued the sides of the MDF first, using a spirit level to make sure they were straight then the tops and bottoms.

"When I added the tops and bottom of the MDF I kept them a little bit short to create a very small gap as I knew I was going to fill these with caulk to create the shaker style.

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"Once all the MDF was on I then had to caulk all the little gaps.

"After this, I primed, then used an eggshell paint. I did three light coats with a sponge roller.

"The sponge roller gives it a nice finish.

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"I used the Valspar v700 eggshell paint for wood and metal. It was colour matched to Farrow and Ball Purbeck stone.

"Then I drilled new holes for the doorknobs.

"Something we did do that you can’t see and it doesn’t change the look but changes the feel is that we replaced the door hinges to soft close hinges so they don’t bang when they close.

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"I love to upcycle furniture and have been doing this for years.

"My kitchen cupboard doors are 18 years old!

"I buy things like vases from charity shops and paint them.

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"I just have to like the shape or style of something and know I can upcycle it.

"I also have an Instagram account called @jillyshumblehome and I have uploaded my kitchen upcycle and it has had over 300k views!

"What I think is really important is that the way the economy is going, everything is going up in price and our wages aren’t.

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"This is a great way of not spending a fortune and updating your home to a beautiful finish.

"The other thing is we talk about the environment and recycling: well, what a great way to not waste furniture, doors, vases and so on, so it’s better for the environment.

"The reason why I shared my video is that I want people to know you don’t have to be a professional decorator or joiner to achieve this kind of finish in your kitchen.

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"We are all capable of doing this.

"It cost me £30 for the MDF, about £50 for the primer and eggshell paint and about £75 for the new handles and a couple of pounds each for the caulk and adhesive.

"I have friends who paid about £4,000 at least to have their kitchens professionally painted and that didn’t include changing them with the MDF.

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"I have always wanted a big kitchen with bifold doors and an island but actually now I have done this to my kitchen it has made me realise that actually I just wanted a nice welcoming homely kitchen and I absolutely love my kitchen now.

"It’s the best thing I have done to my house.

"People are frightened to try so my advice would be try painting a little piece of furniture first to get used to painting or if you have a spare kitchen cupboard stuck in the loft then have a little practice on that.

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"On my Instagram page which is just a small account I have put full details of how I updated my doors, step by step.

"It’s saved to my highlights and I have had so many messages on Instagram telling me they are going to do this and have been inspired and that’s what I want.

"I want people to know they can do this too.

“Obviously saving the money is a huge benefit and that means I have that money to spend somewhere else.

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“But what actually means more is how proud I feel of myself, little old me transformed my kitchen!

"I’m just a working mum and wife who loves her home. My home has actually become my hobby. When I DIY I switch off from the world…. It’s my therapy!”

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Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “This saving is absolutely amazing, so hats off to Jill.

“After receiving such an expensive quote, many of us would just give up and put up with a kitchen we didn’t love, but not Jill.

“Her creativity, determination and hard work means she got the kitchen of her dreams at a fraction of the price!”

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