Leak buster
The McElwee family moved into their first home three years ago. 20 years in age, the original kitchen was made from MDF board. Over the years leaks from the dishwasher and sink had severely sagged the unpainted cupboard shelving below the sink to the extent that nothing could be placed upon it. Leaks had also damaged the particle board flooring causing sagging.

They wanted a cost effective way to create a great new kitchen - to do this necessitated some unplanned building work, which cut into the budget a bit more than expected.

The original plan was to have toughened glass splashbacks and vinyl flooring but in the end these items proved too expensive. Instead of the toughened glass splashbacks they painted Resene Enamacryl Metallic tinted to Resene Copper Fire under all the cupboards and around the sink and cooktop, and topped this in three coats of Resene Aquaclear Satin, which has proved to be a great easy to clean surface. Best of all, the work could be done by themselves at a fraction of the cost of the toughened glass.

Instead of the estimated $1000 of vinyl, they purchased four sheets of 4mm plywood and stained it with Resene Colorwood tinted to Resene Dark Rimu, then applied four coats of Resene Qristal Clear HD Polysatin. Again this resulted in a huge saving costing just $400 compared to the $1000 for the vinyl flooring.

It just goes to show that thinking outside the square can help you make your budget stretch much further without compromising the desired look.

Kitchen splashbacks and bench	Kitchen floor
Resene Copper Fire	Resene Dark Rimu

Thanks to Stephanie McElwee of Wellington.

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