Edinburgh woman Jade Shand decorates Lochend flat kitchen for just £40 after being quoted £400 by decorators

An Edinburgh woman who saved up for two years to redecorate her flat has managed to transform her kitchen for the bargain price of just £40.
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Jade Shand returned from a year living in St Andrews, where she worked as a nanny during the pandemic, to find her Lochend flat in need of a makeover.

"I’ve been here for six years in January and during that time the roof collapsed and it was a bit like the flat of horrors,” she said.

Jade Shand gave her kitchen a whole new look for just £40Jade Shand gave her kitchen a whole new look for just £40
Jade Shand gave her kitchen a whole new look for just £40
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"Nothing went well and I never really felt comfortable in it. I moved back and just felt like I’d fallen out of love with the flat.

"During the pandemic, I saved up money in case I lost my job and I said that if I didn’t, I’d spend it on doing up the flat.”

The 32-year-old tackled her living room first – which saw her lay down new flooring and sell all of her furniture – and then moved on to the kitchen.

But when she was quoted £400 to paint the skirting boards, walls and cupboards, Jade decided to take on the project by herself.

Jade ShandJade Shand
Jade Shand
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"I was told they would need to be sanded down and special paint would have to be used and it just sounded like a big faff,” she said.

"I know decorators are in high demand just now and must be very busy but I just thought I would be able to do it for cheaper.”

Having roped in the help of her younger brother Lee, who chose the ‘English sage’ shade for the cupboards, Jade stocked up on supplies from her local Wilko store and got to work.

“It only took me about one day. I painted it and left it overnight and everything seemed to dry really nicely,” she said.

Before: Jade fell out of love with the cream kitchen and brown cupboardsBefore: Jade fell out of love with the cream kitchen and brown cupboards
Before: Jade fell out of love with the cream kitchen and brown cupboards
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"I’m not a professional so I’m sure there are bits that will need redone but I’m quite impressed by how it’s all turned out.

"People have commented on how good it looks so I’m really pleased. It was a complete fluke – I think I’ve just been lucky.”

And Jade is now looking forward to giving her bathroom a new lease of life as well.

"It needs completely ripped out and done again so that’s a job I’ll definitely not be doing myself,” she said.

After: It looks like a whole new kitchenAfter: It looks like a whole new kitchen
After: It looks like a whole new kitchen

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