DIY Pro Transforms Bland Kitchen Into Stylish Shaker Space For Just £235
- Ben Wright, 36, was fed up with his bland kitchen
- Using budget supplies from B&Q, The Range and Wilko, he created an on-trend shaker kitchen
- The whole project cost Ben just £235
If you’ve been planning a kitchen renovation but dread spending thousands of pounds, take inspiration from this genius - and seriously affordable - home transformation.
Ben Wright, 36, who lives with his wife Roxanne, 37 and four kids aged between nine to 18 in Torquay, was determined to transform his bland kitchen, but didn’t want to spend a fortune.
Ben took matters into his own hands and created a stylish shaker kitchen with classy wooden worktops and a pantry using budget supplies from B&Q, The Range and Wilko.
Ben, a multimedia designer who shares his DIY creations on Instagram at @br_creative_diy, managed to complete the entire project for just £235.
Ben told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "Having recently completed my first major DIY project, I had gained a newfound love for DIY and reclaiming materials.
"After years of use, our kitchen had become tatty and boring. We decided the kitchen was next on the DIY hit list.
"The design of the kitchen needed to hit two major criteria - a classic design which will stand the test of time and to do it as cheaply as possible while reclaiming some kind of materials along the way.
"I started by giving my kitchen cupboards a new lease of life by using MDF to give them a shaker-style feel.
“I used a few coats of B&Q cabinet paint in Toronto and some new shaker handles from The Range.
"Storage had always been a bit of an issue in the kitchen with limited space so I decided to build a food store and pantry where the fridge was.
"I built the pantry by making a stud wall and an MDF shaker style door for it.
"The worktops are what took the majority of the time. I sourced a few old scaffolding boards from a local scaffolding firm that were destined for the scrap heap.
"I sanded them down and gave the rest of my house a two-inch coat of dust in the process - pro tip: sand your scaffold boards outside if you’re going to do something similar!
"I joined them together using wood glue and a pocket jig. I filled the gaps and sanded again until I was happy with the finish.
"I used Wilko medium oak dye to give it a warm tone and finished them off with Rustins Danish Oil.
"It was important that whatever I used on these benches needed to be food safe.
"I’m so happy with how they turned out and really feel they’re the star of the show!
"I had a few tiles left over from my first project which I used as a splash back under a cooker hood I picked up from Facebook Marketplace, which was dirt cheap!
"Another issue we’ve always had is where to put the bin.
"I made a nifty little bin drawer on the most annoying feature of most kitchens, the ‘around the corner cupboard’.
"This way, the bin is stashed away and we shall no longer lose stuff in the void that is the ‘around the corner cupboard’.
“You may be thinking, where the heck is the fridge freezer?
“My fridge freezer has been retired to the dining room where he’ll live out the rest of his days.
"The plan is to convert the dining room into a kitchen slash diner to make him feel more comfortable.”
Ben is over the moon with how his project turned out, and is even more chuffed that he drastically improved the look and feel of his kitchen for just £235.
"I’m delighted with the fact that we have a classic-style kitchen with French country realness as well as completing the whole project with just £235,” he adds.
"The worktops cost me £30 for the wood and the finish cost me around £15. I spent around £30 on MDF for the cupboards.
"The paint cost me £20. The sink cost me £25, the pantry cost me about £30 to make and the paint for the walls was £20.
"The handles cost me £18. The rest of the budget was spent on knickknacks and accessories.
"It took me just over three weekends and a few evenings after work.
“A couple of tips would be: shop around! Look on preloved sites and Facebook Marketplace for things people have written off. I got the wood for my worktops for £30!
"Sheer elbow grease and time went in to making them usable but it saved me hundreds of pounds on solid wood worktops.
"Another great tip is to find a couple of good podcasts to whack on to keep you company while you work.
"I got hooked on The Ghost Story Guys and The Poisoners' Cabinet. The hum of the sander would have been a lonely place without those podcasts!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “New kitchens can cost tens of thousands of pounds, so it’s no surprise that many people believe it is simply unaffordable to renovate theirs.
“However, Ben has proven that it’s possible to give your kitchen a new lease of life for a fraction of the usual cost.
“By cleverly sourcing materials from Facebook Marketplace and working around what was already there, Ben has given his family a stunning new kitchen for an unbelievable price.”
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