When faced with the eye-watering cost for a new dream kitchen this savvy homeowner opted for DIY instead. Smart move, because the new chalk paint kitchen cabinets and materials cost just under £50. And the result is incredible, you've never believe it's the same kitchen!
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Gemma Shaw, from Worcestershire, saved thousands compared to forking out an estimated £10,000 for a whole new kitchen. Spending just under £50 on chalk paint and supplies to transform her original white kitchen to a new dark on-trend kitchen.
Kitchen makeover: Before and after
'I was never a fan of my white gloss kitchen – it just wasn’t to my taste,' Gemma explains. 'I prefer darker kitchen cupboards, such as black and dark greens.'
'My biggest bugbear (with her white kitchen) was that it showed every bit of dirt' she reveals. 'As I’m quite particular, I found myself cleaning every cupboard door each time I spotted a mark. This became quite a chore, as there are 17 cupboards and drawers in total.
She didn't need a quote to tell her the cost involved with a kitchen refurb. 'My mum renovated her kitchen earlier this year for £6,000. It’s half the size of mine and she chose from a budget range, so I estimated that mine would cost at least £10,000 to rip out and replace' she told money-saving community LatestDeals.
'I love all the dark interior vibes that people are experimenting with at the moment.' And with that her mind was made up. No more white kitchen...
On-trend black kitchen
Gemma discovered chalk paint paint through a friend, and joined a forum on social media where she learnt that the Frenchic Al Fresco range could be used on gloss cabinets.
'I decided to give ours a shot,' she says. 'I wanted to switch to a dark colour and I knew it would work, as the room benefits from lots of natural light thanks to the skylights and large bi-fold doors.'
Gemma used Frenchic Furniture Paint in a shade called Blackjack. As well as a blending brush and sugar soap. Overall, Gemma used around 950ml of paint. “It goes far,” she says.
Gemma started by lightly sanding all the cupboard doors and drawers. ‘Next, I took all the cupboard doors off the hinges and laid them out on a blanket on the kitchen floor. I used the sugar soap to give them a wash’ she details.
‘I used the blending brush to paint very thin layers of the paint on each door. Using the paint as though it were about to run out,’ she adds. Explaining, ”I had read that this was the best method, in order for each layer to dry quickly and prevent drips. It also builds up a more durable coating. The white gloss cupboards and drawers took five coats in total.’
‘The most challenging part was the bit around the oven hood, as I couldn’t get the hood down by myself so I had to paint around it,’ she says.
Kitchen bar area
Isn’t this the dream?! Gemma has her won bar area at the far end of her kitchen. ‘We added brushed gold accessories to match the warm feeling of the room,’ Gemma reveals. ‘I bought the cabinet handles and kitchen tap from Amazon. I also bought a new black kettle, toaster and tea and coffee jars from Asda. In total, the cost of the paint and all the new accessories came to around £130.’
The entire project took just 24 hours to complete. ‘I spread the work over eight evenings, after I’d finished work,’ she explains. And it’s safe to say that dedication has hugely paid off.
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Gemma's extremely happy with the end result. 'The kitchen is massively improved,' she exclaims.
Gemma advises anyone thinking of starting a similar project to dive straight in. 'It mainly requires time and patience. While we are restricted on the things we can do outside of the home right now, it’s a good time to give it a go.'
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