Binky Felstead renovated her £3.6million home largely for free, with her bathrooms, interior decorations, and even a sauna being ‘gifted’ – amid the row over her begging for freebies that led to her receiving death threats.
The Made in Chelsea star, 35, has been doing up the five-bedroom Victorian home in leafy Barnes, south-west London, since she bought the home with her partner in November 2024.
Yet many of the luxury interiors – from her cream, wool carpets to her £300 rugs – as well as her pristinely manicured garden, have been handed to her for free in exchange for a post on her Instagram page.
The revelation comes as Binky’s PR team has entered crisis mode, scrambling to prevent the star’s new reputation as ‘queen of the freebies’ from sticking.
Binky, who has an estimated net worth of more than £3million, came under fire for asking a prestigious baker to make a £350 cake for her son’s birthday for free in exchange for a post on Instagram.
After Reshmi Bennett, the owner of award-winning bakery Agnes de Sucre, refused and wrote about the exchange online, more small business owners came forward revealing Binky had also asked them to work for free.
Perhaps most shockingly, Binky had asked the owner of a small, up-and-coming bakery, Funfetti London, to create her nine-tier wedding cake for free.
Binky Felstead has finally paid the baker who made her wedding cake after ghosting her for five years
The carpets throughout her home were gifted by Alternative Flooring, where the beige Wool Berber Carpet she chose costs £72.55 per square metre
The Made in Chelsea star has been doing up the five-bedroom Victorian home in leafy Barnes, south-west London, since she bought the home with her partner in November 2024
In exchange, Binky said the baker’s work would feature in her Hello! magazine wedding spread and across her social media platforms.
Binky even turned down the baker’s request to pay £50 for transportation of the wedding cake, claiming she wanted the cake, as well as a birthday cake for her daughter, to be ‘all inclusive’.
But believing the exposure would be a ‘good opportunity’ for the business to grow, the baker agreed to do the work, which Binky said she ‘loved’.
Yet for months, she was met with silence. After following up in July and then again in October, Binky finally replied saying ‘not sure how I missed this! I’ll get the Hello images and can post it too – send me your invoice!’
Both promises, however, were broken with no social media posts, Hello! pictures or payment being made.
Meanwhile, experienced illustrator Alice Peto, who has worked for Harrods and Selfridges, was asked to make Binky’s wedding invitations for free in exchange for ‘exposure’ on social media.
Prestigious upholsterer Daisy Whitehead Designs also called out Binky for asking her to make blinds for her children’s rooms for free back in 2023.
Binky has spoken out about the ordeal for the first time as she discussed the toll it has taken on her and revealed she received death threats amid the backlash.
In an interview with The Sun, Binky said: ‘What’s been hardest is the level of personal abuse. Death threats in my DMs, people calling me a bad mum, tagging brands I work with and asking for me to be dropped, it’s been relentless.
‘And it’s not just public comments, it’s the private messages too, which can feel even more intense, as they’re targeted. I think what’s really shaken me is seeing just how quickly things can spiral. Five days of that level of noise and it really takes its toll.’
She added that there were ‘moments where I felt completely overwhelmed by it all’ and that she had a ‘constant sense of anxiety sitting in my chest’.
However, she said she does not regret asking for the cake from Reshmi to be gifted as it is standard industry practice.
But she admitted she is ‘completely at fault’ for the Funfetti situation as she had agreed to a social media roll out which she did not fulfil – and has since arranged payment for the wedding cake.
Binky said that while people ‘might not like gifting’, it is widely used in the influencer world and claimed some small businesses find the exposure extremely valuable.
‘That said, I do understand why people were frustrated,’ she continued.
It was only in the past month – after five years of ghosting the wedding cake maker – that the baker was finally paid as Binky’s PR team entered firefighting mode.
Yet the Daily Mail has learnt that these freebies are only a fraction of what Binky receives each year in return for a small amount of advertising on her Instagram page, where she has 1.4million followers.
Yet many of the luxury interiors – from her cream, wool carpets to her £300 rugs – have been handed to her for free in exchange for a post on her Instagram page
Other items Binky has been gifted to help decorate her new home include a Harvey Jones kitchen dresser, a Quooker tap, which can cost up to £2,000, and even a sink incinerator, which can cost more than £400
The sheer amount of items given for free to the influencer has angered some members of the public who are continuing to struggle with the cost of living crisis
The whole renovation appears to have been done in partnership with OKA interiors – a London-based interior design firm founded by Lady Annabel Astor
The TV personality’s pristinely manicured garden is also the product of free Instagram posts
Read More
Binky Felstead is called out AGAIN amid freebie row: Textile designer now criticises ‘wealthy’ star after she was asked to help redesign her three children’s bedrooms in exchange for social media posts
Since buying her multi-million-pound home in 2024 with her investor husband Max Fredrik Darnton, the couple has cashed in on thousands of pounds worth of freebies.
The onslaught of home reno freebies began when Binky was ‘gifted’ removal services by Davis and Mac.
The whole renovation appears to have been done in partnership with OKA interiors – a London-based interior design firm founded by Lady Annabel Astor.
A year after moving into the property, Binky featured on the company’s website, boasting about the ‘facelift’ OKA gave to her Victorian home. Usually, OKA’s customers are expected to pay a £450 deposit per room with a minimum spend of £5,000.
Later, alongside a series of photographs of the home’s interior, Binky gushed on Instagram: ‘Oka have absolutely nailed the design in here and I know it will be the go-to space in our house for years to come.’
Other renovations made in the garden were also ‘gifted’ to Binky, these included a bespoke pond made by Afriponds
In the garden, Lymore Huts has gifted Binky and her family a £15,000 sauna in return for a few posts on social media about the ‘most fabulous, stunning’ hut
Binky has shared numerous social media posts from her lavish sauna with Instagram followers
Binky shows off her home sauna in another Instagram post from her sprawling London home
The home’s bathrooms have been decorated with various pieces from Fired Earth, where the Viola Calacatta marble used can cost up to £209.81 per square metre
The carpets throughout her home were gifted by Alternative Flooring, where the beige Wool Berber Carpet she chose costs £72.55 per square metre.
The home’s bathrooms have been decorated with various pieces from Fired Earth, where the Viola Calacatta marble used can cost up to £209.81 per square metre.
In the garden, Lymore Huts has gifted Binky and her family a £15,000 sauna in return for a few posts on social media about the ‘most fabulous, stunning’ hut.
Other renovations made in the garden were also ‘gifted’ with Binky, later showing off the products in a transformational advertisement video.
This included a bespoke pond made by Afriponds, where projects can reach up to £55,000, outdoor lighting by Lighting Legends and design by designer Henry Agg.
Other items Binky has been gifted to help decorate her new home include a Harvey Jones kitchen dresser, a Quooker tap, which can cost up to £2,000, and even a sink incinerator, which can cost more than £400.
The sheer amount of items given for free to the influencer has angered some members of the public who are continuing to struggle with the cost of living crisis.
Binky previously insisted, while she was in her fame heyday on Made in Chelsea, that she has ‘always worked for her money’
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Bennet, who first raised the issue of Binky’s freebies, said: ‘Maybe it is the state of the economy but people are sick of seeing so-called privileged, television stars get things for free.
‘They go about flashing their lifestyles when they are often funded by small businesses. It’s bad enough that they sell this story that “you’ll benefit from the exposure” because no one, no cake baker, is going to benefit from that.
‘These influencers won’t even tag it as ad or gifted as it seems they don’t want to declare it as a freebie so they don’t have to declare it as income.’
Ms Bennet called for a crackdown on those influencers who fail to tax the items they receive as gifts through HMRC. There is no suggestion that Binky has engaged in any wrongdoing in relation to tax.
She added: ‘It just doesn’t sit well and it makes me feel really icky that I have to work so hard and I am scrolling and seeing all these holiday photos of these influencers who don’t pay for their holidays. I don’t go on holidays because I have a tax bill to pay.
‘It is great that the influencer workspace is mainly occupied by female creators but they need to behave responsibly.’
The under fire Made in Chelsea star, 35, reached out to the owner of Funfetti London in 2021 asking her to make her wedding cake for free
It was only after Binky was called out by an owner of another luxury cake firm for requesting freebies, that her wedding cake maker was finally paid
Binky previously insisted, while she was in her fame heyday on Made in Chelsea, that she has ‘always worked for her money’.
‘I believe I’m a grounded person and enjoy working and making my own money. I can do what I want with it,’ she said back in 2014. ‘I’ve always worked for my money. I feel lucky, I’m not arrogant with it.’
Following the initial cake row a representative for Binky told the Daily Mail: ‘This was a standard contra enquiry from Binky’s PA, offering social media exposure in exchange for a birthday cake.
‘Binky was not directly involved in these email exchanges, and is currently away on a family holiday. We completely understand that this type of collaboration is not for everyone and respect the decision to decline.
‘It is, however, disappointing to see a private and friendly enquiry shared publicly, and contra deals like this are widely used within this industry and usually mutually beneficial.’
Binky’s team has been contacted for a further response.
