Couple renovating €23k abandoned house in Italy - with items from the dump
A couple bought an abandoned house in Italy for €23k and are renovating it on a budget with items from the dump.
Kristina Knighten, 38, and Paul Cordier, 46, never expected to settle down but fell in love with Lake Iseo, Italy, after visiting on holiday six years ago.
The couple were shocked by the affordable housing market and went back a year later to buy a two-bed "fixer-up" for €23k.
Kristina and Paul have spent around €70k so far to replace the roof and flooring but will now being doing most to the work themselves to keep costs down.
Paul, originally from London, has also been able to find some gems from the dump - including a brand new sink, some butchers blocks to use as tables and materials to build a kitchen.
Kristina Knighten, 38, and Paul Cordier, 46, never expected to settle down but fell in love with Lake Iseo, Italy, after visiting on holiday six years ago.
The couple were shocked by the affordable housing market and went back a year later to buy a two-bed "fixer-up" for €23k.
Kristina and Paul have spent around €70k so far to replace the roof and flooring but will now being doing most to the work themselves to keep costs down.
Paul, originally from London, has also been able to find some gems from the dump - including a brand new sink, some butchers blocks to use as tables and materials to build a kitchen.
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FunTranscript
00:00Rating things my husband has brought home from the dump in Italy.
00:03If you're new here, we're renovating our home in Italy on a very tight budget,
00:07and are doing everything in our power to keep costs down.
00:10Free materials are always a bonus, and the dump is full of them.
00:13First up is this Belfast-style sink.
00:15This is actually the exact style we wanted for our kitchen,
00:18so to get one in pretty good condition for free was definitely a welcome surprise.
00:21It's also made by a local manufacturer, so I give this find a 10 out of 10.
00:26Next up are these butcher's blocks.
00:28Their best days are certainly behind them, and the one on the right is all wonky on top.
00:32While they won't be serving their original purpose,
00:34we've found them handy to use as beverage tables for the backyard,
00:37so I give these an 8 out of 10.
00:39Next is this tabletop and pieces of a doorframe.
00:41While the table is kind of ugly, it's also pretty strong and sturdy,
00:44so Paul's hodgepodged them together into a very practical workshop table,
00:48so I give this a 9 out of 10.
00:50Next up is this china cabinet.
00:52Technically, we saved this from ever going to the dump in the first place.
00:55This was part of a larger piece of damaged furniture that we found in my sister-in-law's property.
00:59My partner salvaged this part of it and screwed it up here to be a glassware cabinet for our outdoor kitchen.
01:04It successfully served its first night at a party we threw the other week.
01:07This is a 9 out of 10.
01:08And finally, we have this used toilet and bidet.
01:11My initial thought was, that's gross,
01:13but what's really the difference between this toilet and any other you'd use at a hotel or restaurant?
01:17However, I'm not sure why he grew up with a bidet,
01:20as we already agreed we'd sub the traditional Italian bidet out with a shatafa,
01:23something we became accustomed to while living in Vietnam and the UAE,
01:26and something I find more practical and a better use of space.
01:29But we'll keep the toilet.
01:30I'll give it either a 4 out of 10 or a 6 out of 10,
01:33depending on whose job it ends up being to clean it.
01:37Come with us to the dump in Italy to find materials to build a kitchen.
01:40If you're new here, we're currently renovating our house on Lago di Iseo on an extremely tight budget.
01:45During the renovation, we've been living in my sister-in-law's apartment,
01:48which also needs renovation but is habitable.
01:51We've made her apartment functional and comfortable enough,
01:53but I do love to cook, and the kitchen was just a constant rotation
01:56of whatever tables or surfaces we had available.
01:59Improving the kitchen has been on my partner's to-do list since we moved in,
02:02and we're finally getting around to it.
02:04This was my first trip to the dump,
02:05but my partner's been making trips there pretty regularly since we moved in,
02:08and the guys there seem to recognize him.
02:10He told them he was looking for strong wood,
02:12and they showed us this office furniture that had just been dropped off.
02:15Not the most beautiful, but strong and functional.
02:18We strapped the wood to the roof of the Panda and headed out,
02:20but not before looking around for any other treasures.
02:23We left the toilet this time and took the pot home.
02:25I think it could make a nice planter.
02:28When we got home, my partner mapped out the design,
02:30measured up the parts, and got to work sawing and drilling.
02:33The whole project only took him about a half a day to finish, which was really impressive.
02:37Look at how much better the space is.
02:39I finally had some space to do some proper cooking,
02:41and tried my hand at these stuffed Algerian flatbreads I've been wanting to make.
02:45They turned out pretty good, and this place feels even more like home now.
02:49In other news, my request to have TikTok change my region to Italy
02:52so I can join the creator fund have been denied.
02:55TikTok basically said, the answer is no, and please stop asking.
02:58So instead, we've set up an account for my partner,
03:00and we'll start posting some videos over there as well.
03:03If we can get to 10,000 followers,
03:05we can finally start making some of that TikTok money to put toward the renovation.
03:08I've linked to his account in the description.