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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Courtney Pochin

Mum transforms 'plain' kitchen for under £800 and it looks just like Monica's from Friends

If there's one apartment from a television show that many people have lusted after, it's Monica Geller's from Friends.

The New York property is an eclectic space, with bright kitchen cabinets, colourful walls and doors and some mismatched furniture.

Despite the show having ended back in 2004, it's still having a huge impact on people today - including on people's interior design choices.

One mum loved the space so much, she decided to recreate it within her own home, transforming her kitchen to one nearly identical to the set, reports Manchester Evening News.

Desiree Elias, 34, had always dreamed of a kitchen just like Monica's and when she bought her own home, she set about getting creative.

The mum-of-two, who works in childcare, managed to achieve her dream kitchen for under £800, completing the project for £731.

(Desiree Elias/LatestDeals.co.uk)

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She started by stocking up on accessories from Amazon and charity shops, then used budget materials such as Valspar paint and self-adhesive wallpaper.

Speaking to money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, Desiree said: "Monica’s kitchen from the show Friends has always been my dream kitchen, and my husband agreed when we bought our first home that we could make it a reality.

"Our house is pre-1900s, so our renovation went a little bit further than we planned.

"When we took down the upper cabinets, we found a giant hole in the wall behind them, so we went to the studs and did drywall as well.

It looks just like Monica's kitchen (Desiree Elias/LatestDeals.co.uk)

"The lower cabinets had also had some water damage before we bought the house. When we started pulling them out they started cracking and separating, so we had to buy new ones.

"We then thought that we might as well replace the flooring while we are at it.

"We did all the work ourselves with two wonderful friends who know how to do all the things and guided us through it, even laying flooring by flashlight at 10pm when the power for just our block went out!"

Desiree is over the moon with how the kitchen turned out, with all its finishing touches - including the iconic yellow frame around the door's spy-hole and a signed script from Friends.

She added: "I’m still in shock every time I walk into the kitchen because I can’t believe we actually did it.

"I don’t like messes or being disorganised in true Monica fashion, but all of the chaos was totally worth it.

"We have two boys who helped as much as they could when we were doing the kitchen.

"It took a lot more steps than originally planned, but we knew we were going to find some surprises in a house that was built pre-1900.

"We all worked as constantly as we could around busy work schedules and kids' school and practices, but we somehow managed to get it done in around two weeks."

Would you try something like this in your home? Let us know in the comments below.

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