The kitchen is one of the most costly rooms of the home to renovate, but you can make a massive difference to how it feels with some simple, budget tricks. One DIY fan has proven this to be true by transforming her drab kitchen for £300.
Related: Budget kitchen ideas – spend less without compromising on style
At 37 weeks pregnant, most mums-to-be are taking it easy. But Eloise Mitsides-Willumsen decided to show her kitchen some love in time for her baby boy's arrival. Eloise follows some DIY makeover pages online and was really inspired by other people's transformations. 'I was curious to see what I could do myself,' she tells Ideal Home.
Budget blue kitchen transformation
Before
She set to work decorating her kitchen all while trying to keep to a tight budget. Eloise applied geometric kitchen tile decals from discount store One Below over the original 'plain and dull' tiles. Then, she covered the grey kitchen counters with an oak effect DC Fix, which only cost £16.
After
'I painted the top cupboards and all the handles, used some offcuts of wood to cover the boiler pipes, painted a feature wall, and hung a floating shelf with some decorative pieces,' she says. As for the flooring, Eloise's husband lay down a new Lino floor bought from a local shop. This step really warms up the space, creating a more homely feel.
Come evening, the space takes on a whole new mood thanks to clever kitchen lighting. 'We used LED strip lighting for £15 from Amazon under the kitchen cupboards to add to the mood in the kitchen,' Eloise says.
'With the exception of a new washing machine, the total spend for the makeover was only £300,' she says. 'I am a keen home cook and share a lot of my recipes on my social media pages, and having the kitchen improved definitely helps with that and is a nicer environment to cook in!'
Eloise also shared some before-and-after shots on Facebook page Extreme Budget DIY and Life Hacks. Captioning the pictures, she wrote, 'this has been more rewarding for me than paying £20k for a new kitchen and I wanted to show that you can transform a room on a small budget.'
Her Facebook post soon attracted hundreds of 'likes' and many comments praising her for her DIY skills. 'I love the wooden floor and the navy and copper colour scheme. Also that clock on the wall really adds some character,' one commented. 'This looks beautiful, great job,' said another.
Related: DIY fan uses clever terrazzo tile hack to transform drab bathroom for £85
You can follow Eloise on her Instagram @thecypressgarden where she shares food inspiration and recipes.
At Ideal Home, we think the bold colour choice, the copper-coloured handles and addition of faux flowers are what really makes it.
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