A COUPLE shared how they are renovating their Italian home on a budget after buying the abandoned house for just £19,500. Kristina Knighten, 38, and Paul Cordier, 46, explained that they have been sourcing items from the local dump to repurpose in their home . The couple said they never expected to settle down in one place but fell in love with the Lake Iseo region after visiting on holiday six years ago.
They were shocked by the affordable housing market and went back a year later to buy a two-bed "fixer-up" for £19,500. Kristina and Paul hired a contractor for around £59,000 to replace the roof and flooring. However, Paul will be finishing the remainder of the structural work by himself to save money.
Read More On Homes The Londoner has also been able to find some gems from the local dump, including a brand new sink, some butchers blocks to use as tables, and materials to build a kitchen. "He started making regular trips to the dump, he started dropping things off and coming back with other things." Kristina recalled.
"He came back with a sink in perfect condition, it was a style we really like - for free." However, she revealed that not every dump trip contained jackpot finds. Most read in Fabulous "He also came back with a toilet and bidet.
I'm not a huge fan of that one," Kristina said. Paul also built a kitchen worktop from repurposed wood, which Kristina described as "sturdy and lovely." The pair revealed that they are trying to stick to a budget of £85,000 to £93.