'My kitchen MAKEOVER'

Colour fan Holly Tarling used vibrant shades, dark flooring and a pop of pattern to transform her dull kitchen on a shoestring

- CASSIE PRYCE

This is the first house my partner Roger and I have had together,' says Holly. 'We were really excited to move out of a rented flat and buy it after saving for the deposit, despite knowing we'd have to do lots of work ourselves.

Everything in the kitchen was old and rather dull, in shades of beige and brown, and the fittings were outdated, too. However, it was a good space and there was plenty of room to fit in a dining table and chairs.

Making plans

A large pantry-style cupboard was taking up too much room and we already had enough storage in the units, so we removed it to give us a better idea of the space. The units were sound and we really couldn't afford to replace them, so we looked into the option of painting them, which seemed a possibility. The oven was fairly new so we kept that and the washing machine, plus we bought our fridge freezer from our flat - but everything else had to go.

First steps