A savvy couple saved $10,000 on their kitchen renovation — by teaching themselves DIY on TikTok.
Amber Morris, 26, and her husband Dan, 28, moved into their newly bought four-bed home in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, in July.
The property was built in 2002 and needed “a refresh” and they wanted to start by brightening and modernizing the kitchen.
But after being quoted $11,000 for contractors to renovate the kitchen, they decided to give it a go themselves.
Dan, a systems engineer, and Amber, a social media manager, bought vinyl wraps for their work desks for $50—instead of replacing them.
They repainted everything themselves using a spray gun purchased on Amazon for $50 and installed their own sink, faucet and fan.
They saved $105 by getting a custom paint mix at B&Q, inspired by a Farrow and Ball color they liked.
The total cost of the new kitchen came to $713 – and it’s barely recognizable thanks to the new light and airy atmosphere.
Amber said: “We knew we wanted to make the kitchen brighter because it was quite dark.
“But $11,000 was stupid money to pay for it — so we decided to do it ourselves, even though we’re desk people, not do-it-yourselfers.”
They watched TikTok videos and got tips from their parents to learn how to do everything.
Amber said: “Before this, the most we’d ever done was paint a wall.
“We worked out what we needed to buy to make it ourselves and crossed our fingers that it would come together.”
The couple started working on what they would need to renovate the kitchen as a DIY project and got to work.
They started their mid-July project by spending a weekend painting the walls and repainting the cupboards with a spray gun after picking up their custom color at B&Q.
They paid $375 for their sink and faucets because they had a specific style they wanted, but installed it themselves to keep costs down.
Dan said: “The sink was quite solid – we had to cut some of the cabinet underneath to fit it.
“The exhaust fan was the same – we had to cut a new piece of wood.”
While the painting went smoothly, the vinyl wraps on the workbenches were not straightforward and they had to redo them to get them perfect.
Dan said, “It definitely took patience.”
Amber added: “The vinyl around the hob was particularly difficult.”
But the end result was a completely transformed kitchen space, lighter and brighter for the couple and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Emmy.
Amber said: “There was definitely a point where we thought we couldn’t do it.
“We thought it would probably be a loss of $750. But $11,000 was ridiculous.
“We thought, even if it’s not perfect, it might be a fun thing to do together.
“We’re proud that we managed to do it better ourselves.”
Follow @danandamber couple updates on social media.
COST:
Countertop Vinyl: $50 (Kitchen Wrap)
Cabinet paint: $48 (B&Q) – chose a color from Farrow and Ball, then mixed it at B&Q.
Wall paint: $53 (B&Q)
Sink and faucet: $375 (Victoria Plum)
Exhaust fan: $100 (Appliances Direct)
Gloves: $38 (Amazon)
Spray gun: $50 (Amazon)
Total: $713
Saving $10,287 on an original offer of $11,000
#saved #10K #renovating #kitchen #watching #TikToks
Image Source : nypost.com