‘I WANTED A HIGH-END KITCHEN WITHOUT THE PRICE TAG’

A great look with clever buys and money-saving ideas

Why did you buy this house?

We wanted to set down roots and loved the village of Ixworth as it’s close to our families who live nearby. And I knew this cottage had the potential to be a quaint home once we tackled a few of the big decorating projects, such as the dated kitchen.

So you decided to make some changes…

Yes, there weren’t any issues with the actual building and the previous owners had invested in getting the plumbing and electrics re-done, but we didn’t like the galley kitchen with its dated 1960s styling. We had a relatively tight budget, so needed to be as practical as possible, while aiming for a high-end feel. James’s mum had just redecorated her own kitchen and gave us four old freestanding Neptune units and, although they didn’t match, they were the perfect shape and style. We just needed to clean them up and paint them so they would look more uniform.

How did you upcycle the units?

First, I painted them in Inchrya Blue eggshell from Farrow & Ball. It goes on really well and adds a protective coat, so the units will withstand wear and tear. Then I replaced the handles with some matching bargain buys on Ebay

You’ve gone for a bold colour

I decided to use the same paint on the walls as the cupboards, as I didn’t want too many colours in the scheme and, despite there being only one window, the room is surprisingly light. The graphitecoloured radiator from Hudson Reed was fitted vertically, and to add a fun touch, we decided to use chalkboard paint on the wall behind the breakfast bar as a place for us to leave notes for each other.

Even in this narrow room, Jessica was able to create a small area to sit and eat

Scaffold board planks from a local reclamation yard and brackets bought on Ebay have been used to create rusticstyle open shelving