Savvy Mum Creates Dream Shaker Kitchen For Just £170, Saving Over £1,000
- Sarah-Jayne Plant, 29, wanted a shaker kitchen but without spending a fortune
- Sarah-Jayne transformed the worktops with DC Fix and made her own shaker-style cupboards with MDF from B&Q
- She even created leather handles herself rather than buying ready-made ones
Kitchen renovations are notoriously expensive, but one mum has managed to turn her kitchen from a dull room into a gorgeous Pinterest-worthy space, and all for just £170.
Sarah-Jayne Plant, 29, a mum of one from Wiltshire, created the shaker kitchen of her dreams on a serious budget.
Sarah-Jayne transformed the worktops with DC Fix, made her own shaker-style cupboards with MDF from B&Q and even created leather handles herself.
Sarah-Jayne told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "When we moved into our home I knew it was where we would stay.
"I managed to get the rest of the house feeling warm and homely but the kitchen never felt right. It felt cold and unwelcoming.
"I looked at people's Instagram and Pinterest and thought I could never afford a beautiful kitchen like theirs, so I thought I could try and recreate one myself.
"I loved the idea of a shaker style kitchen so I went to B&Q and I picked up three MDF boards at around £12 each and they kindly cut them into three-inch length strips.
"I had to cut some of them down with a handsaw to the lengths I needed.
"I slightly sanded down the original cupboards and used wood glue to attach the MDF around each cupboard.
“A few hours later I went and filled in any gaps with polyfilla.
"I gave the finished cupboards a sand before painting them with Wilko Supernova Tough & Washable Matte Paint on the bottom cupboards, which cost £17 and B&Q GoodHome Durable Artemisa Matte Cabinet Paint for £15.
"When it came to finding handles I liked, I loved the look of leather handles and you can definitely buy them pre-made but it wasn’t in my budget.
“Instead, I found strips of leather online for roughly £20 and cut them myself to size and made my unusual handles.
"The kitchen worktops definitely needed a freshen up as it was too much with all the black so I used DC Fix wood grain effect sticky back plastic.
"I used almost three rolls at £10 each. I already had the tile paint from something I had done previously - it was B&Q GoodHome durable liberty matte multi-surface paint at £22.
"The wood above the top cupboards is just simple wood strips from Proper Job at roughly £2 each. I used probably three of those. And they’re just tapped in with nails so can be easily removed.
“I also used these in my son's room to create a grownup space and it looked amazing!
"I wanted to make this room warm and cosy, and I think for my family I achieved a big impact on a small budget.
"For anyone looking at creating similar I would just say take your time, and work on one thing at once so it doesn’t become overwhelming.
"Also mistakes happen and that’s okay. This took me over a few weeks to do buying bits at a time as and when I could afford to.
"It cost me roughly £170 in total.
“It would probably have cost at least £1,500 for professionals to do it and I feel over the moon with the amount I have saved.
"I didn’t think I could do it but it goes to show you can if you put your mind to it!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Shaker kitchens are all the rage at the moment, but buying one typically costs several thousands of pounds.
“However, Sarah-Jayne has given us all a masterclass in ingenious kitchen planning and saving.
“Making everything from the shaker cupboards to the leather handles herself means she has saved thousands of pounds and ended up with a truly stylish and chic space she can be proud of!"
What to read next?
Save More With These Discount CodesRead More Money Saving Guides