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

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Watch Meredith take you on a tour of her renovated “one euro” house.

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. 

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

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.

Woman spends £384k renovating "one euro" house into dream home.Woman spends £384k renovating "one euro" house into dream home.
Woman spends £384k renovating "one euro" house into dream home. | Meredith Tabbone / SWNS

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.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice