Woman transforms dull kitchen into dream space for just £200 using paint

Leanne Ward spent just £200 to completely transform her dull and outdated kitchen into a chic space she now loves to use – and she mostly used paint to do the job

Leanne’s kitchen was dull and dated before the transformation (

Image: Instagram@sixtysevenbelmont and Joseph Joseph)

A woman who completely transformed her dull and outdated kitchen into her dream living space spent just £200 on the entire job – and mostly used paint to do it.

Leanne Ward, 33, had wanted to redecorate her kitchen from the moment she and her husband Ash moved into their Derbyshire home and had initially thought the room needed to be “ripped out” and rebuilt from scratch.

But after spending eight months frustrated with how dated the kitchen looked, Leanne decided to start looking for budget-friendly ways to modernise the room and ended up painting over the cupboards and the tiles on the wall instead of spending a fortune replacing them.

The cupboards had dated glass doors (

Image:

Instagram@sixtysevenbelmont and Joseph Joseph) But now they have a chic open feel (

Image:

Instagram@sixtysevenbelmont and Joseph Joseph)

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Speaking to Joseph Joseph about her savvy DIY skills, Leanne said: “When we moved in, the kitchen was the one area that I thought we were going to have to rip out and start completely from scratch.

“Our plan was to live with it whilst we saved, then look at removing the adjoining wall and making a kitchen diner space – I think I lasted around eight months before looking at budget-friendly ways to update it.

“I took inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest originally, just focussing on the tiles and cupboards for a quick fix, and when I could afford to buy more and collect more ideas, I then moved onto the tile trim, the worktops, floor etc.

Leanne used paint to complete most of the work (

Image:

Instagram@sixtysevenbelmont and Joseph Joseph) The old tiles looked tired and old fashioned (

Image:

Instagram@sixtysevenbelmont and Joseph Joseph)

“Even if you can afford to only do a little bit at a time, small changes can still make a big difference.”

Leanne, who posted her home renovation journey on her @sixtysevenbelmont Instagram account, also used paint to re-do the kitchen floor and said the job worried her at first because she wasn’t sure if the paint would last.

But 18 months on, the paint “hasn’t budged” and Leanne is more than happy with her finished kitchen.

She added: “My favourite part of the kitchen has to either be the open shelving or the Terrazzo effect floor, I think both were integral parts of the design that has made the kitchen feel more modern.

The woman would encourage others to ‘just go for it’ (

Image:

Instagram@sixtysevenbelmont and Joseph Joseph) The floor is her favourite part of the kitchen (

Image:

Instagram@sixtysevenbelmont and Joseph Joseph)

“The end kitchen unit had glass doors originally with old-fashioned lead trim, but by simply removing the cupboard doors and painting the inside black it has created a more on-trend ‘open shelving’ area for me to display accessories and plants.

“The floor was the last job I did, I was a little nervous about painting over the original tiles but knew it would make all the difference to the overall feel of the kitchen. I saw a couple of people on Instagram who have done similar so decided to take the risk, it’s been done 18 months now and it hasn’t budged.”

Here’s how Leanne completely transformed her kitchen on a budget of just £200:

And Leanne’s top tip for decorating your own space would be to “just go for it” – as she insisted that it’s “only paint” and you can always paint over any mistakes or remove them with sandpaper.

She said: “Just say ‘go for it’. At the end of the day, it’s only paint. Some ideas don’t always work (believe me I have had a few disasters) but there isn’t much that can’t be painted over or sanded back.

“Sometimes it can be scary to make drastic changes or there are limitations with rental properties etc, however, they are ways to update a space that aren’t permanent. Artwork and soft furnishing are a great way to bring colour and pattern into a space without commitment, also there are some great products on the market such as removable wallpaper and vinyl.

“There are always ways to create a happy space without breaking the bank.”

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