Before & After
When Nina and David first took on their home, it wasn’t really a home at all. The couple converted the property from a derelict auction house, transforming what had once been a commercial building into a warm, characterful home. The renovation was completed just over a year ago, and for most of their time there, it has been just the two of them.
It certainly wasn’t a small feat for a team of only two- It was a huge project, and one that required imagination from the very beginning. Converting a commercial property into a home is not simply a case of redecorating and every space must be carefully considered in order for it to feel domestic, comfortable and personal.
For Nina and David, the kitchen was always going to be a central part of that transformation. But unlike many Rehome renovation projects, there wasn’t an old kitchen to remove or update, just an empty space and a blank canvas.
Starting From Scratch
Because the property had previously been used commercially and was derelict to begin with, Nina and David were working with an empty room. Renovating is difficult enough in any ordinary home, but without a layout to work from, and nothing to compare to, the challenge intensified. Whilst it sounds daunting to many, this gave Nina and David the opportunity to design the kitchen around their own lifestyle and the way they wanted to live in the space.
Rather than buying a brand-new kitchen, Nina was keen to reuse one if possible. For her, this was about much more than saving money and was instead about reducing waste and making more considered choices throughout the renovation.
“We believe in minimising the ecological footprint of property development and so wanted to reuse a kitchen if possible.”
This is exactly the kind of thinking we love at Rehome. So many high-quality kitchens are removed from homes, showrooms and renovation projects long before they have reached the end of their life. They may no longer suit one property, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be reimagined and re-loved in another. For Nina, buying pre-owned wasn’t a compromise but instead part of the design brief.
Finding Rehome
Nina had discovered Rehome some time before this project, while searching for kitchen options for a previous development.
“I found your site a while back when I’d been looking for kitchen options for a previous development and was delighted to find you had an even bigger range of kitchens to choose from when designing this project.”
By the time she was ready to source a kitchen for the auction house conversion, she already knew where to look. Like many Rehome buyers, Nina had a clear idea of what she wanted, and she knew she needed a kitchen large enough to split across both the main kitchen and pantry. It needed to be a traditional style so that it could be adapted and repainted, and it needed to offer enough cabinetry to give her flexibility with the layout.
That meant waiting for the right one. Whilst many Rehome buyers find their dream kitchen instantly; some others wait for ‘the one’. As we add new products to our site daily, the wait is usually only a few weeks, and given the remarkable savings, we think the wait is totally worth it.
When the perfect fit does pop up on our website, it can open up possibilities that simply wouldn’t be achievable with a brand-new kitchen at the same price point.
Seeing the Potential
When Nina first saw the kitchen, it wasn’t exactly the finished look she had in mind.
“The kitchen was pretty dated with chrome inlay strips, but it met the criteria I’d set, including being shaker style, made of wood and with a warm wooden interior.”
This is one of the most important things to remember when buying pre-owned- whilst it’s easy to look at the colour, handles, worktops and styling, those things can usually all be changed for very little. What really matters is the quality, condition, style and amount of cabinetry.
Nina could see that underneath the dated details was exactly what she had been searching for, but it was one luxury feature in particular that sealed the deal…
“It had a large number of cabinets to reconfigure and perhaps most importantly had a freestanding breakfast cupboard, which was top of my wish list.”
A freestanding breakfast cupboard is an addition that can make a kitchen feel instantly more luxurious, as well as functional. It adds character as well as storage solutions, and for Nina it became one of the standout elements.
Reworking the Layout
Reconfiguring a pre-owned kitchen can sound daunting, but Nina approached it in a practical and thoughtful way using simple tools on her computer to work out where each cabinet could go and how the kitchen could be split between the main kitchen and pantry.
This is something we always encourage at Rehome and is now even easier than ever to do with our virtual and in-house design team. A pre-owned kitchen does not have to be reinstalled in exactly the same layout and many of the most successful Rehome projects come from buyers who are willing to think creatively and treat each cabinet as an individual piece.
“It just takes a bit of patience playing around with available units until you have a design that works for how you want to use your kitchen.”
Nina’s patience paid off as by carefully planning the layout, she was able to make the cabinetry work across two spaces, creating both a main kitchen and a pantry.
A Helping Hand
Although Nina worked out the design herself, she did use a fitter to help with the installation and adaptations. This proved especially useful where units needed to be altered to suit the new layout. One example was the pantry, where Nina wanted to include a butler’s sink. To make that work, the fitter cut down some doors to create a shorter unit underneath.
This is where buying a wooden kitchen can really come into its own. High quality and built-to-last timber cabinetry is often much easier to adapt, repaint and repair than lower-quality alternatives. With the right fitter, small changes can make a pre-owned kitchen look as though it was designed for the space from the beginning.
Repainting
As is often the case, one of the biggest transformations came from repainting the kitchen. Nina took on the work herself, painting the doors by hand rather than having them sprayed. Although she says she would consider spraying next time, the hand-painted finish gave the kitchen a completely new identity.
“I did the repaint myself and by hand, rather than spray, which I would consider next time.”
For Nina, the most important stage was the preparation. She used Zinsser BIN Aqua primer, which she highly recommends and says that should you choose to repaint the kitchen yourself, spending time priming the doors is vital.
“The most important stage was priming the doors to ensure the paint would hold up well to daily use.”
It might not be the most exciting part of the process, but a kitchen is a hardworking space, and the finish needs to be durable enough for everyday use. For the main kitchen, Nina chose Coat Paints’ David Rose, an almost black blue that gives the cabinetry a dramatic and sophisticated feel whilst remaining timeless. For the pantry, she chose Coat Paints’ Tobacconist, a stylish olive green that brings warmth.
We are just obsessed with the result- a kitchen that feels bold, individual and completely different from the one Nina first saw listed on Rehome. The craftsmanship, cabinet style and layout potential were already in place, and repainting and reconfiguring simply allowed Nina to make it a space that was completely tailored to her… without the high street cost.
The Challenges
Like many renovation projects, timing was one of the main logistical challenges. Nina found the kitchen earlier in the project than she needed it, which meant paying for storage until the property was ready for installation. This is often the reality of buying pre-owned- the right kitchen may appear before your project is quite ready, but because every kitchen is a one-off it can be worth acting when you find the right match. Rehome can help you find and organise affordable storage so that even with the cost of savings, you will still be saving tens of thousands compared to the kitchen’s high street RRP.
From seeing the kitchen on our website to completing the finished space, the process took less than two months.
A Magazine-Worthy Kitchen
The finished kitchen is so successful that it went on to feature in Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms magazine as well as many more publications, a brilliant recognition of just how much can be achieved with a reimagined pre-owned kitchen
For Nina this project was never about simply compromising with a second-hand kitchen, it was about taking a well-made kitchen with plenty of life left in it and seeing its potential to become something completely suited to the home.
Nina’s Advice
Nina’s advice to anyone thinking about buying a pre-owned kitchen is to focus on quality and flexibility.
“If you can afford it, a wooden kitchen is a good investment as it copes with any adjustments more readily and is easier to repaint.”
She also recommends choosing a kitchen that is slightly bigger than your space if possible.
“Ideally find a kitchen a little bigger than your space to give you more choice in the layout. You can always sell or recycle further any spare units.”
We couldn’t agree more. Extra cabinetry gives you options, especially if you are splitting a kitchen across more than one area or adapting it to a new floorplan. As Nina says:
“Have a play and you’ll hopefully be pleasantly surprised just what you can achieve with a recycled kitchen.”
Today, Nina and David’s kitchen feels as though it was always meant to be part of their converted auction house. It is proof that buying pre-owned does not mean compromising on style. With the right kitchen and a little imagination, it can often lead to something far more personal.
