DIY Mum Creates Incredible F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Kitchen For Under £750
- Desiree Elias, 34, recreated Monica’s iconic colourful kitchen
- She enlisted the help of friends and bought items from thrift stores to keep the project affordable
- Desiree used budget materials such as self-adhesive wallpaper and plywood
It’s been over 17 years since Friends ended, but it’s still one of our favourite shows, regularly being crowned as one of the UK’s most streamed series.
So it’s no surprise that the series still influences several aspects of its fans’ lives, from their humour to their fashion choices.
And for one DIY-loving mum, the series even inspired her home’s interior design.
Desiree Elias, 34, a mum of two from Urbana, Ohio, had always dreamed of a kitchen just like Monica’s in the hit TV show.
When she bought her own home, she set to work transforming the plain kitchen into an amazing colourful kitchen just like Monica and Chandler’s.
Desiree, who works in childcare, stocked up on accessories from Amazon and thrift stores, and used budget materials such as Valspar paint and self-adhesive wallpaper.
She also enlisted the help of friends to help her complete the project for just $1,000 (£731).
Desiree told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "Monica’s kitchen from the show Friends has always been my dream kitchen, and my husband agreed when we bought our first home that we could make it a reality.
"Our house is pre-1900s, so our renovation went a little bit further than we planned.
"When we took down the upper cabinets, we found a giant hole in the wall behind them, so we went to the studs and did drywall as well.
"The lower cabinets had also had some water damage before we bought the house.
"When we started pulling them out they started cracking and separating, so we had to buy new ones.
“We then thought that we might as well replace the flooring while we are at it.
“We purchased unfinished lower cabinets and luxury vinyl interlocking flooring.
“The next step was to insulate in the dark because of a bad storm and being the only house on the block to lose power.
“We then put down new floor by flashlight due to the storm, and primed and painted the walls.
“Then we installed new lower cabinets and did a temporary counter top out of plywood.
“We then painted all the lower cabinets in rushing stream blue and added knobs and drawer pulls.
“We painted the iconic Friends purple door along with two other walls, then paint the pantry door.
“We painted one of the old upper cabinets yellow as well as a built in shelf.
“Then we moved the electrical and repair plumbing with some difficulty, feeding the wires through old rock walls in a not very well lit crawl space.
“Then we connected the dishwasher and stove.
“After that, we hung the textured brick self-adhesive wallpaper and one yellow wall cabinet.
“We soon realised we did not order enough and had to wait for two new rolls to come.
"It took five in total to complete the look.
“We then built the open shelves and bar area from blonde plywood.
"Our friend built the upper shelf and breakfast bar in their basement for more room and easy access to tools.
"He used a table saw and set up jigs to make them all the same size, then he used wood glue and a Kreg Jig to assemble them.
"He found the studs and hung them using the Kreg Jig again to hide the screws and to not have a hanging board.
“We then installed the countertop, sink, breakfast bar area and open shelves.
“We had to buy the pendant light, the Friends frame with the sticker, the textured wallpaper, flooring and unfinished cabinets.
"One small lamp shade was found on Amazon and the big one above the sink was found at a thrift store for $1 (73p).
"Even with all the exciting surprises and unplanned parts of the remodel, we came in just under $1,000 (£750).
"We did all the work ourselves with two wonderful friends who know how to do all the things and guided us through it, even laying flooring by flashlight at 10pm when the power for just our block went out!"
Desiree is over the moon with how her dream kitchen turned out, and says it helps her channel her inner Monica Geller.
“I’m still in shock every time I walk into the kitchen because I can’t believe we actually did it,” she adds.
"I don’t like messes or being disorganised in true Monica fashion, but all of the chaos was totally worth it!
"We have two boys who helped as much as they could when we were doing the kitchen.
“It took a lot more steps than originally planned, but we knew we were going to find some surprises in a house that was built pre-1900.
"We all worked as constantly as we could around busy work schedules and kids' school and practices, but we somehow managed to get it done in around two weeks.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “If phrases like 'we were on a break’ and ‘how you doin?’ instantly make you smile, chances are that like millions of us, you’re a fan of Friends.
“Just looking at Desiree’s amazingly colourful kitchen makes me feel like I’m watching a new series of the show!
“I love that she managed to do this for under £750 - it just shows that if you get some friends to help you with DIY, and you stock up on budget materials, you really don't need to spend a fortune transforming your home.”
What to read next?
Save More With These Discount CodesRead More Money Saving Guides