When Charlie-Anne Bradburn, 23, moved into her home in Nuneaton, the kitchen was ‘outdated and falling apart’.
She quickly decided to give the space a revamp, but was told that getting a new kitchen floor would cost her upwards of £1,000.
Rather than just biting the bullet and dropping a load of cash on the project, the military student nurse decided to get creative.
‘I can only imagine how old the floor tiles were, but I thought they were ready for the bin,’ she told LatestDeals.co.uk.
‘My vision for the kitchen was to create a modern vintage style look, with a touch of quirkiness.
‘I didn’t want an all-white kitchen that was too clinical looking, as I do like patterns.
‘But I also didn’t want to add anything too dark to the floor either.’
Charlie-Anne had already upgraded the space with brand new cabinets, wall tiles and an over-the-sink drainer, but her budget was squeezed when it came to sorting out the flooring.
‘I was quoted over £1,000 to replace the old tiles, as the floor would have needed re-leveling,’ she said.
Charlie-Anne looked online for cheaper alternatives, then found a Dizzy Duck Designs fan group on Facebook, that shares tips and inspiration for using tile stencils.
That was the light-bulb moment.
‘I decided that painting my tiles would be the cheapest way to give them a new lease of lifem’ Charlie-Anne explained. ‘The bonus was that it would be a fraction of the cost of getting new tiles laid.’
Charlie-Anne spent around £100 on her floor tile makeover kit, choosing the Morello Tile Stencil (£37.98 for 2 x single stencils measuring 17.5”/444mm); paint from the Frenchic Al Fresco range in Dazzle Me! for the base and Swanky Pants for the design (both £17.95 for 750ml); and a bottle of Polyvine Heavy Duty Extreme Dead Flat Varnish (£28.58 + VAT for 1 litre) to seal her handiwork.
That means she managed to transform her kitchen for a tenth of the cost she was quoted by professionals.
She said: ‘Firstly, I filled-in all the chips in the tiles with some grout that I sourced from a family friend for free.
‘It was nothing special and I winged this part to be completely honest but it worked out fine.
‘The next day I sanded down the filled parts to give it a smooth finish and even it out. I then deep cleaned the whole floor, including the grout, with sugar soup, using a scrubbing brush to ensure I had a clean surface to work from.
‘Once this step was complete, I lightly sanded down the entire floor again to help prepare it for the paint.’
Charlie-Anne added four coats of Dazzle Me!, leaving two hours in-between each coat for the paint to dry.
‘About two days later, I started stenciling using the Swanky Pants shade of paint,’ she said.
‘The hardest part was cleaning the stencils between applications.
‘This should be done after every third or fourth time it’s used so there isn’t any paint build-up. This helps to keep the design nice and crisp and prevents any bleeding.’
The process all went smoothly, and after leaving the design to dry for two weeks, Charlie-Anne sealed it all in with interior varnish to protect the floor from fading, mildew, mould, and fungus
Charlie-Anne loves the end result, and would recommend the DIY project to anyone who’s keen for an interiors upgrade.
‘I’m so pleased that I chose to do this,’ she said. ‘Frenchic paint is fabulous.
‘It’s proving to be very hardwearing. I applied three coats of varnish and so far – three weeks later – I’ve had no chips, even though I’ve accidentally dropped pans and all sorts on it.
‘My top tip would be to just be patient and enjoy the process – it’s totally worth the end results.
‘I wanted to elevate the room and the floor did just that. It has saved me a fortune and it only took me seven days, doing it little by little with amazing results.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/12/22/woman-quoted-1000-for-new-kitchen-floor-does-diy-paint-job-for-100-instead-13792681/
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