One savvy Mum transforms dated kitchen with DIY job – all for under £90!

After moving into a new home Sara McCrae, from Kinglassie, Fife, was keen to transform her dated kitchen. But as we know, new kitchens don't come cheap and Sara needed to keep things on a tight budget.

So Sara decided to tackle the DIY project herself. Painting the kitchen units, wrapping the worktops in a sticky back plastic and replacing fittings to transform the existing kitchen.

A job well done, we think you'll agree, and all for just £85!

More inspiration: Grey spray-painted kitchen cabinets and new splashback transform this family kitchen

Sara's kitchen before

'I moved into the property three weeks ago. I’m a single mum to two children and just opened my own nursery in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Money is very tight,' Sara tells Latest Deals.

Sara watched YouTube DIY videos, bought budget buys from the likes of B&M and Amazon to keep the budget to a minimum.

'I loved the beams on the roof so tried to create a vintage, cottage look. I got ideas from Pinterest.'

She soon got to work painting the trad kitchen cabinets and transforming the worktops – all with bargain buys!

'The paint was furniture paint from Homebase, £15, the wrap was from B&M and cost £30. Handles were from Amazon, £11, the light was on sale from £90 to £20 from Homebase. The blind was £6 from Lidl.'

Wondering how you can do this yourself, without the trip to the shops? You can buy specially designed Rust-Oleum kitchen cupboard paint from Amazon. Plus, Create Your World sells an identical oak-effect vinyl worktop wrap to this on Amazon too, that comes highly recommended by reviewers. We've also found very similar brass shell pull handles for a budget-friendly price from Amazon, plus a similar retro-style light on Amazon for a slice of the price. Finally, when it comes to the blind, this one from Ruby Deals on Amazon has over 4,000 positive reviews.

Sara's kitchen after

Of all the savvy things Sara bought, she revelas one clear favourite! 'My best ever purchase was my white grout pen from B&Q for £7. It transformed the whole look.'

'I watched the wrap being done on YouTube. I siliconed the edges at the tiles to seal the wrap. I finished off by doing the wallpaper. I’ve wallpapered in the past so I found it quite easy.'

'I also painted the walls and ceiling with a white emulsion, that I had left lying around. I had to paint the doors twice after doing a light sanding.'

Kitchen complete, what advice would Sara offer to fellow DIY enthusiasts?

'My best tip would be to make sure you sand the front of the cupboards. It doesn’t have to be lots, just to take the grease off the outside. Honestly, anyone can do this!'

Related: Love It or List It couple transform kitchen on a budget – thanks to Kirstie's bold ideas

Sara is feeling very chuffed with how her kitchen turned out. Saying, ''I absolutely love it and feel so proud that I’ve done it all by myself. I’ve never done anything like this before,' she adds.