How A DIY Homeowner Turned Old Kitchen Into Stunning Rustic Space For £1,200
- Cecilia Effa, 28, wanted to revamp her 140-year-old kitchen with a charming rustic look
- She paid a decorator to paint the cupboards and used budget finds from Facebook Marketplace, Tesco and The Range
- She also picked flowers from her garden and made shelves from old pieces of wood.
Did you inherit an old, dated kitchen? Then you’ll love the personality-filled transformation of this one.
Cecilia Effa, 28, an editor from Liverpool, bought a new home that was 140 years old.
Her new kitchen, while characterful, was dated, so Cecilia set about revamping it while maintaining its original features.
She paid a decorator to paint the cupboards an on-trend sage green and used budget finds from Facebook Marketplace, Tesco and The Range to accessorise it.
She even brought back flowers from her local park to give it the personalised touch, and made shelves from old pieces of wood.
Cecilia told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: “My boyfriend and I bought the house in October; it has six bedrooms which seems crazy but was a steal of a price!
"It's 140 years old so we loved the older features such as the wooden kitchen, and didn’t want to change that much of it.
"We wanted to keep the old cottage style feel to the kitchen, but thought it could do with a more refreshing colour - so we came up with the style of rustic meets modern.
"First up was painting the cupboards sage green - the only thing we didn’t do ourselves.
"It was £1,000 to have the cupboards repainted.
"They are a lovely real wood and we didn’t want to take any of their original loveliness away besides the colour.
"We had to freshen up the walls which had a lot of cracks and peeling - so a couple of days was spent re-painting all the walls white, sanding to make them perfect also.
"Next, we thought it would be too much work to remove all the tiles, so we focused on the decorative tiles that were dotted around the kitchen, primed and painted them the same green (they were originally brown!).
"The edging of the tiles were faded, so we bought copper spray paint and had a tough job spray painting clean lines - but the copper made such a huge difference.
“The worktops are real granite so we kept them, and then neatened everything up with lots of sealant.
"Next up was the decor, which is all cheap Facebook Marketplace finds.
"We thought copper went great with green, so I found copper pans from a lovely lady in Leeds for a rustic statement piece - only £30 for 4 and she gave me a gorgeous big old jam pot for £10 also.
"We found the Persian carpet for £15 on Facebook Marketplace also.
"Next we added some shelves - my boyfriend is super handy with wood and all sorts, so we cut up old pieces of a bed headboard, sanded, prepped and stained them, and used them for shelving. The staining was only about £5.
“He also made us a gorgeous huge chopping board and engraved our initials on them - he’s very handy with wood.
"I got a couple of decor bits from Amazon such as the garlands, and caddies for spaghetti, rice and chilli from The Range.
“The hexagon shelves were £60 from Etsy, the vase was from Tesco for £8 and that’s about it - I had lots of other little bits lying around.
“I feel like I can breathe again because it's a big project and none of the other rooms are finished yet.
“It will most likely take years! I love the style of the kitchen, and it makes me want to cook in it each night.
“It's my favourite room in the house.
"My tips are that Facebook Marketplace should be your first port of call for anything from carpets, decor, shelving - anything!
"It's great to take what someone else might throw away, and recycling is the way forward.
“Somebody somewhere has something that you want that they no longer want.
"Everyone is happy when you use Marketplace - they get cash, you get the item, you didn’t have to pay new prices, nothing is thrown away, it’s recycled and the world is a much happier place.
“Keep good wood around - you never know when you’ll want a lovely new shelf or anything. Lots of people throw away wood but it can be repurposed into some fantastic bits.
"If you like rustic, cottage-style chic, think of nature - that was the theme.
"My boyfriend makes fun of me for going to the garden and coming back with a stick of apple blossom that I found on the floor - but it looks so beautiful in a jar and is the prettiest, most natural decor you can find.
“When you get flowers from friends or loved ones, press them! You can buy a flower press or just put it in the back of a book you don’t mind getting a little dirty - they look beautiful in a frame and you’ve kept something that someone gave you out of love.
“The total cost was just over £1,200 was the total cost for the kitchen makeover, but £1,000 of that was the repainting of the cupboards, which would have been a huge job for us to do.
“We have saved a huge amount, not just with the kitchen but by having the tools and doing the rest of the house ourselves.
“I feel a huge sense of accomplishment knowing we’ve done it, there’s no feeling like it!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Cecilia has turned her kitchen into a really beautiful, personalised space that’s blooming with colour and individual touches.
“I love her tips: Facebook Marketplace has always been my go-to when it comes to getting what I need for a hugely reduced price."
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