‘I renovated 110-year-old home and discovered hidden surprise in kitchen’

The homeowner was gobsmacked to find something rather beneficial and useful in their kitchen during renovations – and many others said they were jealous of the find

In Wales, home renovations can easily cost six figures. But if you do embark on a project yourself, it’s likely you might come across a few surprises along the way like this couple who “won the lottery” after ripping up their old carpet.

That said, it takes a lot of patience to renovate an entire home, with the total price often over what you originally budgeted for. It happens when you uncover unexpected issues, like damp and mould, which all add up in the end. But in the off chance you are refurbishing, you might find something which will benefit your way of living – which is what happened to one homeowner.

When renovating their 1916 home, the person thought the discovery was a simple patch job, but it turned out to be even more exciting than that.

They said in a Reddit post: “I am currently in the process of renovating the kitchen in my 1916 house and came across what looked to be a patch job that I was not expecting.

“On a video call with my dad, we figured out in the basement that there was a patch of floor that didn’t make sense. To end the night, I decided to remove the sheetrock to get a look and lo & behold there is an old pantry!

“We obviously did not account for this in our initial plans, but I am dead set on reviving this corner and making use of it to add some original touches to the house, as over a 100 years of changing hands there isn’t a ton of original things like this left.”

The person shared the post in a bid to inform “fellow old house lovers”.

In the Reddit post, it also shows the dry wall and then inside the pantry where it racked up thousands of upvotes and dozens of comments.

One said: “I was immediately jealous and went ‘Ooooooooo’.” Another replied: “Lol, I did too. I have always wanted to find a secret room.”

While a third chimed in: “Seriously who covers over a PANTRY?! Awesome discovery. Love the paint colours!” Others had a theory that the owners would have covered it to have a continuous line of cabinets or counter space.

Someone else wondered whether something was left behind it. But the original poster said “just some nails in the drawer”, although they were hoping for millions of pounds.