Clever makeover alert - this dated kitchen was transformed for a bargain £100

Sometimes it doesn't take a whole heap of money to give a kitchen a new look – with some vision and creativity you can turn a dated design into a stylish scheme to be proud of. If you're deliberating over kitchen colour schemes or wondering how to save thousands on your kitchen then take a leaf out of this homeowner's book.

For just £100, Hannah Giles, 27, from Portree, Isle of Skye, turned her old kitchen into an ultra-chic room with deliciously dark cabinetry. Showcasing her work over at @_housenumber7, Hannah revealed how she went about updating the space.

'My favourite transformation is definitely our kitchen, as I think it has made the biggest difference to our home and it's the first space people see when they walk in,' she told My Local Toolbox. 'We managed to give the room a whole new lease of life on a small budget.'

Budget kitchen update

After buying her first home, Hannah wasn't in a position to buy a brand new kitchen. 'I couldn't fork out thousands and in total, the kitchen revamp cost under £100, which I am very proud of,' she says.

So, how exactly did Hannah go about it? 'First I drew up a few moodboards and decided what look I wanted to go for. Looking on Instagram and Pinterest helped me shortlist a few ideas.'

'Facebook Marketplace is brilliant, too and you can find so many gems on there, from soft furnishings all the way to full-blown kitchens. I think it’s important to set a firm budget, as it's so easy to get carried away and end up spending a lot more than you intended.'

Before

Although the old cabinets and felt dated, they were still in good condition and the kitchen layout worked well. 'We actually left it the way we got it for a while until we decided what we wanted to do,' says Hannah. Once she had her vision for the room, however, she got stuck right in, starting with painting over the colourful tiled splashback.

'My style is a bit of a mixture and changes all the time,' says Hannah. 'I'd say I’m definitely mostly influenced by Scandi, mid century and Japandi interiors.'

After

The biggest change has to be the painted kitchen cabinets, which look completely different now that they're in such a dark colour and elevated with new gold handles. 

'This was definitely the most time consuming part,' recalls Hannah. 'I took all the doors off so I could paint them lying flat to avoid any drips. I gave them a light sand and scrubbed them with sugar soap to start with, to make sure there was no grease or anything that would affect the paint. Then, after a couple of coats I sealed them with a top coat.'

When it came to the splashback tiles, Hannah decided to paint the existing design. 'I liked the shape of them, so it would have been wasteful to rip them off and replace them,' she says. 

'If you’re buying your first home or are working on a budget, don’t feel pressured to spending bags of money on it – it's so easy to get caught up in what other people have when we are scrolling through Instagram.'

'It's important to take the time to prepare wherever/whatever you’re working on,' advises Hannah. 'Sanding, filling and scrubbing things down seems like the most time consuming and boring step of decorating, but it makes the biggest difference to the outcome of your project. If you put the extra work in at the beginning the end result will look so much better!'

'Covering the kitchen worktops with vinyl was the fiddliest bit and definitely tested my patience,' she continues. 'I used about £15 worth of vinyl for our countertops. Upcycling and shopping secondhand is a great way to transform a room and not only is it easier on your bank account, but it's so much better for our planet, too.'

We love the finished design and couldn't agree with Hannah more when she advises not being swayed by other people when it comes to deciding what to do in your home. 'Interiors are so individual and you don’t have to stick to one style,' she says. 'If you want to paint your kitchen units orange or change your walls to black, just go for it! As long as you love it that’s all that matters.'