“I spent £384k renovating a “one euro” house - now it’s my dream home with spa and wine cellar” - watch video

A woman turned an abandoned "one euro" house into a £384k dream home, with a spa, outdoor kitchen and wine cellar.

Meredith Tabbone, 45, began researching how to get an Italian citizenship in 2016 and discovered her dad Michael's great-grandfather, Fillippo Tabbone, came from Sambuca di Sicilia - a small village in Sicily. 

After reading an article on people bidding on “one euro” houses in Italy in 2019, Meredith decided to bid on one of the properties on a "whim". Bids started at just a euro, but she threw in a random offer of £4,400 for a 1600s disused building in Sambuca di Sicilia in Sicily, Italy. She found out she had been successful in May of that year.

The building had no electricity or running water, and the roof was thick with asbestos. Meredith spent £661 to remove the roof in an environmentally-safe way. In August 2020, Meredith bought the home next door for £27,000 and knocked through to create a four bedroom, five bathroom property - complete with a spa, outdoor kitchen and wine cellar.

After five years of hard work, Meredith's holiday home was finally completed in April 2024. Meredith now spends four months of the year in Italy.

Meredith, a financial adviser, from Chicago, Illinois, US, said: “The house was in very bad condition - but in many ways, it was everything I expected it to be and more. It had such interesting architectural detail - you could really see the history coming through the walls. It was worth it. It turned out well.”