NSW woman reveals how she renovated her kitchen

An Australian homeowner has revealed how she completely updated her kitchen for less than $800, stunning social media.

A homeowner has revealed how she completely updated her kitchen for less than $800, stunning social media.

Parker Pastidis, 33, completely renovated her kitchen for $770 after a bet with her partner Luke that she couldn’t do it for under $1000.

The couple purchased a home in the Northern Rivers, near the New South Wales and Queensland border, in 2023 but the property was initially built in 1992.

“It has great bones but we purchased it knowing it needed some updates,” Ms Pastidis told news.com.au.

“We focused on affordable projects first but when we got a $27,000 quote for the kitchen — just for cabinetry — we decided to wait on a full remodel as our priority is paying off the mortgage as quickly as possible and not drowning in unnecessary expenses of a renovation.”

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The couple updated most of the home, including converting the garage into Ms Pastidis’ paramedical tattoo clinic, putting in new floors and textured walls. However, these changes made the pink kitchen stand out even more.

Ms Pastidis said she didn’t have any renovation experience before this point, aside from painting rooms. But, she knew if she wanted a beautiful home than she’d have to do it herself.

She even took a Venetian plastering course because she wanted that look for their home, and plastered every wall in the house and bathrooms which saved them $20,000.

Parker Pastidis renovated her kitchen. Picture: Supplied

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So, Ms Pastidis turned her attention to the kitchen.

Initially, the kitchen had pink bench tops and a ’90s stove top and range hood. The oven and microwave were also older. There were also tiles in the kitchen.

The woman updated all of this for $770 — excluding her floorboards, which were not covered in her total price.

“The cabinetry was in fantastic condition, there was no mould or damage to it over the years,” Ms Pastidis said.

“So we kept the cabinetry and layout to avoid major costs. I painted everything with Dulux Renovation Range paint and found affordable appliances online.”

The kitchen before. Picture: Supplied

The updated kitchen. Picture: Supplied

The couple paid $169 for a new stove top and $99 for a new range hood, adding they were able to find a “basically new” oven on Facebook Marketplace for $25.

“We added budget-friendly timber-look shelves from Kmart that where under $13 each and new door handles from Temu setting us back $25,” she said.

There was also an LED lighting strip added below the cabinets, which cost them nothing as it was left over from her partner’s job as an electrician.

All products were from Bunnings, Kmart, Facebook Marketplace, and Temu.

She said that her partner loves the transformation, which took place over a weekend, and they were proud of how they kept it at a low cost.

She said it didn’t need to last forever, but just until the couple scraped together the money to have the kitchen they wanted.

Many other social media users were shocked at the low price point, saying they couldn’t believe it cost that much to do the complete overhaul.

The updated garage with Ms Pastidis’ paramedical tattoo studio. Picture: Supplied

Some of the products Ms Pastidis used to update her kitchen. Picture: Supplied

“As an ex-cabinet maker, people don’t understand how cheap you can renovate a kitchen if you get decent second-hand stuff,” one social media user said.

Another added: “Parker you’ve done an excellent job. Looks fantastic with what you spent. Keep doing this. Can see a new little segment here. Fantastic work girl.”

“In 2017 I got quoted $18-20k for the exact same layout of our kitchen (half the size of yours), excluding appliances, plumber, electrical and floors and the lowest price for materials,” one said.

Another said: “I love it — and everything cheap too! I find it wild people can’t believe you can do things cheap lol. It looks awesome.”

Ms Pastidis said you can be on a budget and still have nice things, you just have to get creative.

She said she’d happily take the bad comments if it meant someone else was inspired to upgrade their kitchen on a budget.