Mum transforms 'smelly and mouldy' kitchen and saves £19k on designer cabinets
When a mum-of-two on a very strict budget was looking for a second-hand kitchen to transform her home, she almost gave up. After searching for six months, the cheapest she was quoted was £8,000 for a new kitchen.
Determined to find something cheaper, Becky Lane started trawling through social media in the hope of finding a bargain, and was gobsmacked when she saw a large bespoke kitchen on Facebook Marketplace listed for just £1,000 in April 2023.
It included almost everything she could need - including all the units in solid wood, an island, twin ceramic sinks and quartz worktops - all in the minimalist, 'shaker' style she wanted.
The kitchen was in need of an update (Maketheheadlines)And better still, she couldn't believe her luck when she later realised after a quick Google that it was a designer brand, worth somewhere in the region of £20,000. Becky first moved into her home in Surrey in 2021, and said the kitchen was "mouldy and smelly", and had already given it a mini makeover to "get by" - but ultimately it needed a bit of an update.
The marketing manager, who shares her DIY tips on Instagram on her account @house.of.lane, said: "I was looking on eBay and Facebook all the time just to see if I could find a used kitchen and I knew I wanted the shaker style. But it got to a point where I'd given up and started to look at quotes for kitchens but they were still so expensive so I thought, I'll just keep looking on Facebook."
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Becky was looking for a bargain (Maketheheadlines)
She spotted the advertisement on Facebook marketplace (Facebook)On the day of her brother-in-law's wedding, she saw a kitchen pop up on Facebook Marketplace and leapt at the opportunity. She got in touch with the seller, who said he had someone else interested. Becky added: "But I pushed and said he was only 10 minutes away and that I'd drop everything and come. I just took a massive pun. I didn't know what I was doing.
"I looked at the shape of their kitchen and drew it out with pen and paper then tried to work out a floor plan of how we could use it to recreate our kitchen. It was just a real rough sketch."
Becky couldn't believe how good the deal was (Facebook)
It underwent a huge transformation (Maketheheadlines)Becky and her two-year-old son Freddie rushed to the property, which she said looked like a "building site", making it hard to imagine the kitchen, which was in bits, in her own home. But she loved the look of the doors, which the sellers said were painted in Farrow & Ball.
She continued: "The house looked like it was worth at least £2million so I could tell it wasn't going to be a B&Q kitchen. I knew it was going to be really high end.
"I later Googled the kitchen and found out it's actually from a bespoke company that does footballer's kitchens! Brand new a kitchen like this is easily between £20,000-£50,000 as it's solid, high-end wood. I couldn't believe the bargain!"
For £1,000, Becky got multiple solid wood units, quartz worktops, a huge dresser, two Miele ovens, a rapid heat hob, an extractor fan and two Villeroy & Boch sinks, which on their own are worth around £500.
The kitchen looked incredible (Maketheheadlines)
The designer kitchen would have been worth over £20,000 (Maketheheadlines)Despite being in a rush because of her brother-in-law's wedding, she was adamant that they were going to have the kitchen. Becky explained: "I sat getting my hair done and called around until I found a man with a van. Luckily, we got it home and then spent the next few months fitting the kitchen.
"My husband and a handyman we used did it all - including the painting, tiling and other snagging jobs." They also added a tiled splash back, tap, and shelves, and also paid for a handyman, electrician and Quartz professional to cut the tops to size.
To make the kitchen even more her style, Becky also swapped the kitchen handles, which she thought looked dated, for £2.50 ones from Screwfix. All in all, they ended up spending £2,250 on the bespoke, designer kitchen, and they also managed to save money by selling the units, dresser and the spare worktops they didn't need on Facebook marketplace.
Speaking to MakeTheHeadlines.co.uk, Becky said: "The builders at the seller's property told me they had no idea why they were selling such an incredible kitchen. But it's 10 years old so perhaps they might have just got bored with it. But it's in excellent condition. When I pulled out the drawers, they looked immaculate, they didn't smell and all the cupboards were pristine inside.
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"I couldn't believe it and would say it's easily one of the best bargains I've ever found!" Becky shared her incredible find on Facebook, saying: "I know it's a popular topic here, the kitchen is 10 years old but well looked after so I couldn't tell and super clean inside.
"Honestly, I can't believe what we got for £1,000. I knew it was the perfect shape and general layout to what we needed but also a lot larger than our kitchen so we had room to play by cutting it down to size."
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