I was quoted £18k to upgrade my kitchen but transformed it with B&Q buys – & everyone’s in awe of my kitchen island hack

THE average cost of a new kitchen in the UK is around £20,000-£30,000. 

Whilst this figure can depend widely on preferences, the kitchen is still the most expensive room in a house to upgrade. 

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Jill Oliver, also known as on TikTok, received several quotes for her kitchen to be upgraded, ranging from £15,000 to £18,000. 

Not wanting to spend that much money, she set about making the changes herself using items and materials from shops such as B&Q and B&M. 

She told Fabulous exclusively: “I freshened up the kitchen because it felt old, dated and just not what I wanted. 

“I really liked the shaker style kitchens and I didn’t have the spare cash of about £15k to get a new kitchen.”

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Kitchen doors upgrade

Jill explained: “The kitchen started off as the light brown. Then during Covid I painted it grey, but I was fed up of it and it was too dark.”  

Instead of replacing the shiny grey kitchen doors, Jill transformed them with wood and paint.

She measured the doors, and bought MDF “pre-cut from a local timber merchants”. 

“I had a sheet ripped into 7cm wide strips and it cost about £30,” Jill said. “But I took my time in getting the measurements right for the mdf as I didn’t want to order the mdf at the wrong size and then waste all of my money.” 

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Having double-checked the lengths of the wood, she glued them onto the doors with No More Nails glue to create a border. A tube of this glue can be picked up for as little as £4.50 on Amazon. 

Jill used 4mm thick MDF for the borders, noting “if the wood is too thick, the cupboard doors won’t open properly”. 

After leaving the glue to dry, Jill then applied Zinsser Allcoat, which is an undercoat paint primer priced at £22.99, with a rolling brush. 

Then she applied a couple of layers of Farrow & Ball’s Purbeck stone No.275 Eggshell metal and wood paint. 

Building the kitchen island from a Kallax Unit has been one of my favourite DIY jobs. 

Jill Oliver

The paint can be picked up from B&Q for £31 a tin, and whilst it is on the pricey side, it has been “specially designed to give a durable and long-lasting finish on a range of surfaces”. 

Speaking about the paint and colour choice, Jill said: “I found picking a paint difficult as there are so many different kinds of paint. 

“Instead of a cupboard paint with an inbuilt primer I decided on a primer and an eggshell finish as this has a slight sheen to it.” 

All the doors and kickboards were painted in the same shade, before adding new handles, and swapping the old hinges for new soft-close hinges.

Flooring  

Having “spent so little” on the kitchen doors, Jill “decided to replace [her] flooring which was the most expensive at £1200”. 

Before, Jill had wooden floorboards that were quite orangey, and she had them taken up and replaced with a lighter wooden-effect flooring and the difference it makes to the room is outstanding!

Countertops 

Jill also swapped her stainless steel skin with a new white one, complete with a new tap for £220. She also upgraded her hob and splash back for £685, and added a integrated dishwasher for a seamless look for £289. 

Kitchen island 

Jill really wanted a kitchen island, so decided to build herself one for £230, but said the cost is dependant on what materials are used to finish the countertop. 

She bought a 2x2 Kallax unit from IKEA, and attached four legs to the bottom. 

Then using more No More Nails glue, she secured a square board of MDF to the back and sides, before adding the MDF border that her kitchen cupboards have, and then primed and painted the whole lot. 

She left the front squares open for storage. 

For the worktop, she used a 25mm thick MDF, which was then wrapped. 

Jill explained: “The wrap was from Cover styl, a friend was just starting out wrapping kitchens so he asked if he could wrap the top.

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“But you can buy good wrap online and in places like B&Q, B&M stores etc.” 

Speaking about the end result, she told her TikTok followers: “Building this DIY kitchen island/penisula from an Kallax Unit has been one of my favourite DIY jobs. 

“It feels a much more sociable space and we spend more time here now than before.

“Just to let you know the radiator hasn’t been blocked in by this. It has gaps at both sides to let the heat flow.”

To finish the kitchen off, Jill painted the walls in Valspar’s Strong White which she said was colour-matched for her, and she bought a shelf off Etsy to hang a few accessories on. 

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Jill said: “I think my favourite part is how by simply adding the mdf to flat, plain doors it transformed them into the shaker style.” 

And as for what advice she has for others inspired by her kitchen transformation, she said: “Generally I would say this is definitely not a complicated or difficult thing to do or achieve. It is just finding the confidence to give it a go.”

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