Transforming our kitchens with paint has become a staple for those looking for small kitchen ideas on a budget, and for this homeowner, it made a difference – so much so that their husband thought it was brand new cabinetry!
Not only does the makeover look good but it also saved thousands of pounds, with no need to call in the professionals.
Painted kitchen makeover
‘I've had my farmhouse-style kitchen for over 20 years,' says Deborah Kirby, who runs a dog boarding business. 'It's well made and all the cupboards, drawers and doors are still in great condition, but I still dreamt of a new kitchen and have often looked at new designs in magazines and shops etc. However, when the kitchen you have is in good condition, it doesn’t really make much sense to rip it out.'
Updating the kitchen herself was the answer and all it took was an introduction to Frenchic paints for Deborah to give it a go.
‘For a long while I've thought about how I could give my kitchen a facelift and bring it up to date,' she told the money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk. 'A friend of mine had recently introduced me to the Frenchic line of paint for kitchens and furniture, so I joined their Facebook group to learn more.
'I then needed a new fridge, followed by a new microwave. To top it all off, my oven ended up being condemned, so I decided to redecorate on top of getting new appliances – all as cheaply as possible. When my husband went away on holiday, I decided the time was right to give it a go.'
Before
The old wood cabinets were perfectly functional but Deborah was desperate to update them.
'I started by washing them down with sugar soap and using a bit of elbow grease,' she says. 'I removed the cabinets and drawers next to the oven when it came time to paint them, but I couldn’t remove the oven hob or cupboard sides. However, the end effect was still just as good for the areas where I kept them in place while I worked on them.'
After
A lick of paint later and the units look completely different, making Deborah's kitchen feel lighter and brighter. ‘I visited a local garden centre that stocked the Frenchic paint,' she says. 'I knew I wanted a light colour as we have a porch area covering the kitchen window which stops natural light from coming in. I settled for the shade Swanky Pants, a light grey, for the units. Then I picked out the shade Ole Blue Eyes for the trim and kickboards.'
After sanding down the units, the paint went on, with Deborah using three 750ml paints, which cost £19.95 each. 'The paint goes on so well,' she says, 'it dries in one hour and I was able to do a second coat two hours later. There is no smell with this paint either, which is fantastic when working in a food prep room.'
With the units painted, Deborah decided to give the worktops a quick refresh too. 'I bought three rolls of D-C sticky back plastic to cover them, at £6.50 per roll,' she says. ‘So, with about £60 spent on paint, £8 on brushes and sugar soap, and £20 on sticky-back plastic, I got a new kitchen – which is what the husband thought when he got back from holiday!'
‘I have been asked what the hardest part of this kitchen makeover was – well that was keeping it a secret from my husband, making sure that when he FaceTimed, I kept the camera away from the kitchen!
'On his return I knew I'd done a good job because he had to actually ask if it was a new kitchen – I could see him panicking at the cost! The impact was so much he couldn’t tell most of the old units were still there and the tops had just been wrapped.'
Having saved money by doing it herself meant Deborah could afford to buy a new fridge and range cooker. 'I bought these from a shop that deals in ex-display, slightly marked white goods and saved over £800 on these appliances,' she says. 'For example, the oven retails at £1,400 but I only paid £800.'
‘Recently I visited my local Sue Ryder charity shop and they have Frenchic paint on sale for just £7.50 – I was so giddy, I wanted to buy the whole box full of colours for future upcycles!’
If you're thinking of updating your kitchen, take a look at the kitchen trends 2023 to get some inspiration.
