Full-time nurse and mother upcycles kitchen for £100 in two weeks

A single mother has revealed she upcycled her entire kitchen in two weeks – giving the space a stunning makeover for a budget of just £100. 

Clare Bryson lives in a two-bedroom house in Perth, Scotland, with her two children, who are four and six. 

Although she doesn’t have any formal background in design, the full-time advanced nurse practitioner previously helped build a house with her ex-husband in 2010. 

After moving into her own home in December last year, Clare set about transforming it – starting with her kitchen, where she put down new vinyl flooring, covered the worktops in marble-effect wrap and painting the units and handles.

With accents of rose gold and marble print, on-trend dark units and a chandelier bought for £10 on eBay, she transformed the dated space into an Instagram-worthy room.

In total, the thrifty mother spent £16.99 on Zinsser Bulls eye 1-2-3 primer, £20 on Bedec multi-surface paint, £25 on tile paint from B&Q and £7 on spray paint from Wilko, along with three worktop wraps which were £6 each from B&Q. Pictured: The kitchen after the transformation

Clare Bryson, a full-time advanced nurse practitioner, transformed her kitchen in Perth, Scotland, in two weeks for just under £100. Pictured: the kitchen before the transformation

Clare Bryson, a full-time advanced nurse practitioner, transformed her kitchen in Perth, Scotland, in two weeks for just under £100. Pictured: the kitchen before the transformation

The mother-of-two managed to complete the space in just two weeks, while also painting the rest of her home within six weeks, all while holding down a full-time job. 

Clare said: ‘I’ve always been interested in upcycling furniture, property development and interior design – especially on a budget. 

‘I’m quite creative and love the challenge of making something look beautiful with little cost. 

‘When we moved into the house it was full of nicotine, grease and damp and as I didn’t have much of a budget to do it up or put in a new kitchen, I decided to upcycle it.’  

She started off by removing the kitchen doors, sugar-soaped them and then sanded them down before priming with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer. Pictured: The kitchen during the transformation

She started off by removing the kitchen doors, sugar-soaped them and then sanded them down before priming with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer. Pictured: The kitchen during the transformation

Clare also sugar-soaped the kitchen tiles, before adding white tile paint from B&Q, as well as removing all door handles and spray-painting them with copper/rose gold spray from Wilko, covering the worktops with wrapping from B&Q

Clare also sugar-soaped the kitchen tiles, before adding white tile paint from B&Q, as well as removing all door handles and spray-painting them with copper/rose gold spray from Wilko, covering the worktops with wrapping from B&Q

How Claire revamped her kitchen on a budget 

Wilko spray paint

Worktop wraps 

B&Q tile paint

 Zinsser Bulls eye 1-2-3 primer

Bedec multi-surface paint  

Vinyl floor 

£7 

£6 each 

£25

 

£16.99  

£20 

Leftover 

Clare turned to Facebook and Instagram for DIY on a budget inspiration and to find the best products to use – and then set to work. 

She started off by removing the kitchen doors, sugar-soaped them and then sanded them down before priming with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer. 

The mother then painted the doors with three coats of Bedec multi-surface paint in the colour anthracite (satin), making sure to lightly sand them down in between coats.  

She said: ‘This took a couple of weeks doing one side at a time and waiting for each coat to dry.

‘I then tried painting the fridge, washing machine and boiler in this – they came up great with a couple of coats and I was happy to experiment as they were just second-hand white goods.’

Clare also sugar-soaped the kitchen tiles, before adding white tile paint from B&Q, as well as removing all door handles and spray-painting them with copper/rose gold spray from Wilko.

To jazz things up, Clare covered the worktop surfaces with wrapping from B&Q and even bought a second-hand chandelier for £10 on Facebook.

She also added a splash of white paint to the walls which she had left over from previous DIY projects.

Clare bought a second-hand chandelier for £10 on Facebook and was able to get a 70% discounts on a vinyl flooring too - thanks to January sales and her NHS discount - which she had fitted around the entire house

Clare bought a second-hand chandelier for £10 on Facebook and was able to get a 70% discounts on a vinyl flooring too – thanks to January sales and her NHS discount – which she had fitted around the entire house

The mother then painted the doors with three coats of Bedec multi-surface paint in the colour anthracite (satin), making sure to lightly sand them down in between coats

The mother then painted the doors with three coats of Bedec multi-surface paint in the colour anthracite (satin), making sure to lightly sand them down in between coats

Although she doesn't have any formal background in design, Clare (pictured) previously helped build a house with her ex-husband in 2010

Although she doesn’t have any formal background in design, Clare (pictured) previously helped build a house with her ex-husband in 2010

In total, the thrifty mother spent £16.99 on Zinsser Bulls eye 1-2-3 primer, £20 on Bedec multi-surface paint, £25 on tile paint from B&Q and £7 on spray paint from Wilko, along with three worktop wraps which were £6 each from B&Q.

The entire kitchen cost just under £100 and Clare was able to get a 70% discounts on a vinyl flooring too – thanks to January sales and her NHS discount – which she had fitted around the entire house.

She added: ‘I did take a bit of a pause in the middle when half the ceiling fell down though. I just re-plastered it with some Knauf fill and finish plaster that I already had.

“It’s been hard work but I’m really pleased with the finished result, I had a vision of the finished result in my head and it’s lived up to my expectations.”

Clare has also launched her own Instagram account (@blondybuilder) where she regularly shares upcycling projects and renovations.