'my crowd-pleasing new scheme cost just £500'

With tatty units and broken appliances, Claire and Spencer Douglas’s kitchen desperately needed a revamp when they first moved in, so they quickly installed a functional, but not particularly inspiring, new kitchen. Within months, Claire regretted choosing clunky wall units and a black worktop, but couldn’t face ripping out a brand-new kitchen. Instead, she completed an interior styling course, giving her the confidence to carry out a DIY makeover on a budget and finally get the light, airy kitchen she envisioned.

THE PROJECT

‘I was desperate to change our dull, dark kitchen to make it more family-friendly,’ says Claire. ‘The wall units felt imposing, and the décor wasn’t inviting – not ideal for a room you spend so much time in.’ So, in March 2022, she took the plunge and upgraded the kitchen herself. First to go were the dark worktops. ‘I knew lighter colours would bounce light around the space, making it look bigger,’ she explains. As her dream marble worktops were out of her budget, she instead looked into alternative, cheaper solutions. ‘I discovered microcement, which I could use to cover over my existing countertops and add high-end bespoke features like the waterfall ends and upstands for less than £200.’

WHAT WE DID

Before getting started, Claire researched how to apply the microcement so she could achieve a pro finish. ‘I watched lots of Concrete Lab YouTube videos on how to apply it, and it took me a week to complete,’ she says. ‘The final look is exactly what I wanted, instantly changing the look of the kitchen.’

With the worktop updated, Claire painted the base cupboards in a fresh grey-green. ‘I also wanted to add more decorative features to bring character to the room, so I put up a shelf where there were once wall units for displaying accessories,’ she says. The peninsular also received a new designer look, without the price tag. ‘I