A woman from Liverpool has given her “old” kitchen an upgrade thanks to high street purchases and bargains she found on Facebook Marketplace.
Cecilia Effa, 28, an editor from Liverpool, bought a home that was 140 years old. Despite her new kitchen being “characterful”, Cecilia wanted to update it while maintaining its original features.
After paying for a decorator to paint the cupboards, Cecilia set to work buying accessories to completely transform the space. As reported by LatestDeals.co.uk, Cecilia told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: “We wanted to keep the old cottage style feel to the kitchen, but thought it could do with a more refreshing colour, so we came up with the style of rustic meets modern.
READ MORE: Woman transforms 'dated' kitchen for £76 using bargains from B&Q
"First up was painting the cupboards sage green - the only thing we didn’t do ourselves. It was £1,000 to have the cupboards repainted. They are a lovely, real wood and we didn’t want to take any of their original loveliness away besides the colour. We had to freshen up the walls which had a lot of cracks and peeling, so a couple of days was spent repainting all the walls white and sanding to make them perfect.
"Next, we thought it would be too much work to remove all the tiles, so we focused on the decorative tiles that were dotted around the kitchen, primed and painted them the same green - they were originally brown! The edging of the tiles were faded, so we bought copper spray paint and had a tough job spray painting clean lines - but the copper made such a huge difference."
Next up was the decor. Cecilia browsed Facebook Marketplace before heading to high street stores to see what goods people were selling online. She continued: “I found copper pans from a lovely lady in Leeds for a rustic statement piece. They were only £30 for four and she also gave me a gorgeous big old jam pot for £10.
"We found the Persian carpet for £15 on Facebook Marketplace, too. Next, we added some shelves by cutting up old pieces of a bed headboard. We sanded, prepped and stained them, and used them for shelving. The staining was only about £5.
“My boyfriend also made us a gorgeous huge chopping board and engraved our initials on them. I got a couple of decor bits from Amazon such as the garlands, and caddies for spaghetti, rice and chilli from The Range. The hexagon shelves were £60 from Etsy and the vase was from Tesco for £8.”
Cecilia is made up with the finished kitchen. She explained: “I love the style of the kitchen, and it makes me want to cook in it each night. It's my favourite room in the house. My tips are that Facebook Marketplace should be your first port of call for anything from carpets, decor, shelving - anything!”
Cecilia has some more advice for anyone wanting to take on their own renovation challenge. She said: “Keep good wood around - you never know when you’ll want a lovely new shelf or anything. Lots of people throw away wood but it can be repurposed into some fantastic bits.
"If you like rustic, cottage-style chic, think of nature - that was the theme. My boyfriend makes fun of me for going to the garden and coming back with a stick of apple blossom that I found on the floor - but it looks so beautiful in a jar and is the prettiest, most natural decor you can find.
“When you get flowers from friends or loved ones, press them! You can buy a flower press or just put it in the back of a book you don’t mind getting a little dirty - they look beautiful in a frame and you’ve kept something that someone gave you out of love.”
In total, the kitchen cost just over £1,200, including the professional painting of the cupboards. Cecilia said: “We have saved a huge amount, not just with the kitchen but by having the tools and doing the rest of the house ourselves. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment knowing we’ve done it - there’s no feeling like it!”
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