Before & After
For Jess and her family, their home has always been about more than just a building to live in. After nearly two years trying to buy their dream house, they finally secured the keys in 2024. With five kids, a dog, and hopes of keeping chickens in the garden, they had long outgrown their previous space- they knew it was time for a long overdue fresh start.
“We got married in September, and the renovation work began the same week,” said Jess. The house had been neglected for years, so they took it right back to basics which involved stripping everything out and building it up again with more care. They moved in March 2025 and have been working through the rooms ever since, the kitchen being the first to be done.
The kitchen that the house came with was far from functional. “It was very old, dated and falling apart,” Jess explained. They wanted a kitchen that could handle the everyday demands of their family, while also feeling open, calm and light. Knocking through two rooms at the back of the house helped open up the space, and large sliding doors were added to let in as much daylight as possible.
The kitchen itself was purchased before the house had even officially gone through. “It sat in storage for months while we renovated. We knew we wanted something with a big island and lots of storage without the space feeling too heavy.” A lot of Rehome customers decide to store before installing, and we agree that it just makes sense. Buying your perfect dream kitchen at a fraction of its retail price is an opportunity that doesn’t come very often — that’s why when it does come, you should take it regardless of whether or not you’re ready to install yet. Even with the costs of storing, you will still be saving thousands by buying through Rehome.
Finding Rehome at Just the Right Time
Jess and her partner were determined to furnish their new home in the most budget friendly as well as the most sustainable way possible. “We really wanted to kit the place out using second hand where possible, so I started looking into pre-owned and ex-display kitchens.”. That is how she discovered Rehome. She thinks it may have been through a magazine feature, but however she found it, she was quickly hooked. Within a couple of months of browsing, she stumbled across a kitchen listing that stopped her in her tracks (pun intended) …
“It was quite different to what we had originally imagined,” Jess admits. “We had been picturing sleek, modern cupboards, but this one had a chunky, French farmhouse feel. The scale of the island was impressive, and the solid wood worktops looked like they would survive anything a seven-person household could throw at them.”
What makes this story even more special is the history behind the kitchen, as this was no ordinary Rehome story. The family who had previously owned the kitchen had reused the units themselves, repurposing them from an old tram in the Czech Republic. Now, through Rehome, the kitchen had found a third life in Jess’s home!
Bringing It to Life One Piece at a Time
Once their offer on the kitchen was accepted (they paid £3,500), Jess set about planning the reconfiguration. She took every measurement herself, using dimensions from the Rehome listing to create a layout that made sense for their new space. Some compromises had to be made in their space, but the end result was worth it all…
The original double sink unit was beautiful but too large, so it was moved to the utility room, where it fit perfectly. A smaller under-unit sink with a boiling water tap was installed in the kitchen instead.
The fridge freezer housing was also too wide, so it became a storage cupboard in the hallway, with an IKEA unit filling its intended spot. Their carpenter cleverly used leftover mouldings from the Rehome kitchen to help everything blend seamlessly. He even built a matching bin cupboard from spare materials.
Adding the Finishing Touches
Jess did all of the repainting herself over a weekend, transforming the entire kitchen by using Rustoleum cupboard paint in 'All Green'. She swapped out the handles too, giving the space a fresh identity that felt completely theirs. Our advice to anyone buying pre-owned or ex-display is to not get too caught up in how the kitchen currently looks, and to instead envisage the potential, as most elements of the kitchen can be changed relatively easily and cheaply ensuring you still save thousands of pounds over buying new, and a kitchen completely tailored to your tastes and space.
There were of course some challenges… Storage costs mounted while the kitchen waited for the house to be ready. “We had some rogue builders who went bust, which really set us back financially,” Jess says. “Work stopped for a while, and we had to refinance and bring in a new team.”. Luckily Jess and her family had saved thousands of pounds off high street price, so this didn’t set the renovation back too much.
Worth the Wait
In the end, from the moment she first saw the kitchen online to the moment it was fully installed, the process took around ten months. Without the building delays, Jess estimates it could have been completed in more than half the time. Now, the finished kitchen is everything they had hoped for. “It is totally unique.”. The fact that it was once part of a European tram workshop, then had a second life with its previous family, and now sits at the heart of Jess’ home gives us all the renovation feels. Not only did Jess and her family save a kitchen from landfill but they achieved their dream space too.
Jess’s Advice to Others Considering Rehome
“Go for it,” she says. If you measure carefully and work with a good carpenter or builder, you can make almost anything fit. “We have a kitchen that suits our family perfectly and cost a fraction of what a brand new one would have. Rehome were brilliant too. They helped organise viewings, stayed in touch throughout, and made sure everything was removed carefully from the original property.”
Her top tip?
“Measure everything at least twice. Use a floor planner app so you can see how things fit in 3D. And don’t be afraid to take a risk if it means making your home work better for you.”
With the kitchen now the heart of their home, and more rooms still to tackle, Jess and her family have built a space that is practical, personal and full of character- a space that tells a story!
