Having moved to Oxfordshire from South Africa over three decades ago to find better care for his daughter, who has Cerebral Palsy, Darrell Hilliar, recently retired, has always been a passionate entrepreneur motivated by caring for his loved ones.
Now, after deciding to shun retirement, he has launched a new business venture, Kitchen Makeovers, bringing a no-fuss, cost-effective upgrade to the heart of people’s homes.
“The kitchen is where family comes together,” said Darrell. “I’ve worked various home renovation jobs which left so much mess and incurred huge costs to customers. It was during my time as a Kitchen Installations Manager that I realised there must be a better way to create a kitchen to be proud of. I’m delighted to be bringing Kitchen Makeovers to Oxfordshire’s communities, offering a cheaper, more sustainable alternative in an area I very much call home.”
Based in Kennington and deeply rooted in Oxfordshire since 1991, Darrell and his family moved from South Africa to access the specialist help his daughter needed that was only available in England.
The move has given his daughter a life of her own where she receives fantastic ongoing support in a supported living environment, for which they are exceedingly grateful to the British Government.
Darrell explained, “With my daughter happily settled, I’m now taking my knowledge of the home renovation process into my Kitchen Makeovers business. One of the ways my business keeps costs down is by not having a showroom. I get to talk to customers in their homes, and we can visualise together what their new kitchen might look like.
Since the pandemic, people have spent so much more time in their homes, so you want it to be a place that you love. In an area that’s done a lot for me and my family, I’m proud to be transforming kitchens whilst creating local jobs – it’s definitely not time for retirement yet!”
Kitchen Makeovers’ service allows customers to transform their kitchens without incurring the cost of a complete renovation. By retaining the existing kitchen units, the company focuses on replacing key elements to give a fresh new look. Customers can change kitchen cupboard doors, drawer fronts, worktops and more. New parts are made to measure and can usually be fitted with little fuss in as little as two or three days.
