Is a "budget" kitchen reno possible? Pics added #24

[SaraJayne]

Is there a such thing as a budget kitchen reno? Or am I dreaming? DH and I were just discussing what we're going to replace the kitchen/dining floor with this winter and I threw out maybe it would be a good time to refresh the kitchen, since the floor is going to be ripped up anyway.

Our cabinets are in great shape, but a dated oak. Is it possible to stain them somehow and then get new doors with new hardware? We'd also be adding a pantry in some currently empty space, as well as a backsplash and some new pot lights in the ceiling. We'd be replacing the countertops, too. Probably something mid-range, since we don't live in a high end house.

I love the layout of the kitchen, so that wouldn't be changed. The only appliance we'd be replacing would be the stove and possibly adding a microwave above.

I'd like to add in a wine fridge somewhere, too.

Am I dreaming thinking we can do all that for $10,000-$12,000?

 

[antree]

Yes, it is possible if you shop around. We are in the middle of doing our kitchen. I will not buying anything that is no on sale. All my cabinets cost me $500.00 because I shopped and shopped and waited and waited. I was luck and walked in to Lowes one day and they were having a clearance on some cabinets. I am looking every weekend at the home improvements stores because that's when they put their clearance items out. I was able to get my stove at Boscovs for $550.00. Check all stores and just shop around you can be amazed what you find if you take your time.

 

[Lear]

So possible, we bought new cabinets, granite counter tops and tile floors for under 10,000. Of course we put in the hard labor, but we got the kitchen I wanted (new layout.) for the price we could afford. We had bought new appliances 3 years ago when we bought our house so luckily didn't have that expense. But shop around. You can even get cabinets online. Negotiate with places, everyone is not running out right now upgrading with this housing market. So now is the time to get a deal.

 

[Evi]

I think you could refinish your cabinets add new hardware, countertop and backsplash reasonably.

 

[StephMK]

Yes, I think it's possible. If you have a Habitat store near you, they advertise tile inventory all the time. I would imagine they probably carry other items you may need but I have not been to personally check them out before. If you shop around, I think you can get some great deals & do it within your budget. Have fun shopping!

 

[SaraJayne]

Yes, I think it's possible. If you have a Habitat store near you, they advertise tile inventory all the time. I would imagine they probably carry other items you may need but I have not been to personally check them out before. If you shop around, I think you can get some great deals & do it within your budget. Have fun shopping!

Our habitat store doesn't have anything I'd be interested in. I've been there a few times in the past nad some of the stuff at our store is pretty scary.

Our backsplash would probably be glass tile, not ceramic tile.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Is there a such thing as a budget kitchen reno? Or am I dreaming? DH and I were just discussing what we're going to replace the kitchen/dining floor with this winter and I threw out maybe it would be a good time to refresh the kitchen, since the floor is going to be ripped up anyway.

Our cabinets are in great shape, but a dated oak. Is it possible to stain them somehow and then get new doors with new hardware? We'd also be adding a pantry in some currently empty space, as well as a backsplash and some new pot lights in the ceiling. We'd be replacing the countertops, too. Probably something mid-range, since we don't live in a high end house.

I love the layout of the kitchen, so that wouldn't be changed. The only appliance we'd be replacing would be the stove and possibly adding a microwave above.

I'd like to add in a wine fridge somewhere, too.

Am I dreaming thinking we can do all that for $10,000-$12,000?

IF you can get stock items like Home Depot or maybe Lowes....but realistically what happens is that one thing hinges on another and the cost can rise so quickly.
Perhaps go in and meet with someone and get an idea?
Good Luck,,,,when I did mine a few years back it took time and $$$ but we did a complete rip out and changed the entire place.........styles change over time, trends change so really think about what works for YOU and your family's "style"

 

[mzozzietj]

We replaced the floors and countertops and painted our cabinets and walls and replaced all the hardware and it was really affordable. If you are planning to replace the doors all together it may or may not be cheap depending on how old your existing cabinets are. If you have a non standard size door it can be pricey to replace them. We have a very 50ish kitchen including the antique sink/cabinet but I've always liked that look so it works for me.

 

[jacksmom]

We just did granite counter tops, new sink and fixtures, new garbage disposal, new hardware for cabinets, paint, trim and backsplash, new light fixtures, new shelving for laundry room for $4500. Sounds like a lot! But looks great!

 

[vwlizard]

If you're not ripping things out, you can do it.

I did new floors (that's were we spent the money). Are appliances were already in good shape. I hated my countertops and felt like I was always decorating around them. Finally, I got feed up and changed them so I had a kitchen that I really liked.

I have a whole "new" looking kitchen and all I used was paint and some beadboard.

I already had white cabinets (cabinets can easily be painted if you have the correct primer). I PAINTED my counters. THey were originally a gross black and white formica. They now look like beautiful dark brown granite. EVERYONE thinks they are real til I tell them. When we had our house reassessed, they listed that we had GRANITE countertops

I added bead board half way up the walls to give the kitchen some interest since there was zero architectual detail. The same beadboard carries over were the backsplash is. Dark chocolate paint on the upper half of the walls (balances all the white- but a pale blue or gray would look beautiful too). Some new curtains and accessories and VOILA - "new" kitchen.

I can't post pictures, but if you PM I can send you some.

For more info on painting your counters, check out http://magicountertop.com/

 

[SaraJayne]

We replaced the floors and countertops and painted our cabinets and walls and replaced all the hardware and it was really affordable. If you are planning to replace the doors all together it may or may not be cheap depending on how old your existing cabinets are. If you have a non standard size door it can be pricey to replace them. We have a very 50ish kitchen including the antique sink/cabinet but I've always liked that look so it works for me.

Our house is 14 years old and was built as a spec house, so I'm pretty sure our cabinets are standard builder grade.

 

[TnTWalter]

Gel stain and new hardware plus the organizers from lowes like trash bins, pots and pan drawers, etc. Will feel like new cabinets without the price tag.

general finishes gel stain...super easy and stunning. And you save thousands.

I remodeled my kitchen for around $10-12k (cant rem now lol) ..... I love it. My granite makes me smile every day (went mid range) That, the cabinets plus changing ny big ugly island light box to two chandeliers were biggest bang for buck changes.The only thing I didnt change was the wood floor. I splurged on range and counters. You could do that Formica 180x granite-like counter and a less expensive range.

gardenweb has an active kitchen board but most are not budget so be prepared.

good luck

 

[scrapquitler]

Is there a such thing as a budget kitchen reno? Or am I dreaming? DH and I were just discussing what we're going to replace the kitchen/dining floor with this winter and I threw out maybe it would be a good time to refresh the kitchen, since the floor is going to be ripped up anyway.

Our cabinets are in great shape, but a dated oak. Is it possible to stain them somehow and then get new doors with new hardware? We'd also be adding a pantry in some currently empty space, as well as a backsplash and some new pot lights in the ceiling. We'd be replacing the countertops, too. Probably something mid-range, since we don't live in a high end house.

I love the layout of the kitchen, so that wouldn't be changed. The only appliance we'd be replacing would be the stove and possibly adding a microwave above.

I'd like to add in a wine fridge somewhere, too.

Am I dreaming thinking we can do all that for $10,000-$12,000?

It is absolutely possible. If you just do the doors instead of totally new cabinets you can save a lot of money. If you can do some of the work yourself, you can save a lot of money, too.

I think you are smart to remember that you shouldn't put a high-end kitchen in a mid-range house. It's just not worth over doing it.

We did a super budget renovation of our kitchen when we moved into our house. We were totally cash strapped and the kitchen was UGLY. We removed wallpaper and carpet Painted and put in sheet vinyl on the floor. Painted the cabinets, put in new (laminate) countertops that we purchased pre-made at Home Depot, new kitchen sink/faucet,, new lighting. We did almost all the work ourselves, it cost us about $1000 and made a world of difference. Of course that 'temporary' renovation to buy us a bit of time was about 12 years ago, and now we are at the point that we really really need to do a REAL renovation with new cabinets, etc.

 

[crjack]

A great site to check out is the kitchen forums on the gardenweb(www.gardenweb.com).

You will find pictures and so much helpful info on any DIY project and great ideas to pull from.

There are lots of high end kitchens on there but just as many more budget friendly projects and DIY stories complete with gallery photos.

We actually found out that a frequent poster lived in our state and she was very helpful with giving us referrals for product sources and installers when needed.

Good luck. It was messy but so worth it for us.

 

[SaraJayne]

A great site to check out is the kitchen forums on the gardenweb(www.gardenweb.com).

You will find pictures and so much helpful info on any DIY project and great ideas to pull from.

There are lots of high end kitchens on there but just as many more budget friendly projects and DIY stories complete with gallery photos.

We actually found out that a frequent poster lived in our state and she was very helpful with giving us referrals for product sources and installers when needed.

Good luck. It was messy but so worth it for us.

Thanks for the site recommendation.

The mess is what scares me!

 

[TnTWalter]

Yes! gardenweb is the forum to read. WARNING....It is ADDICTIVE.
AND be prepared...many remodels are $50k+++

forgot...EBAY....and shopping around on internet

I got all my brushed nickel cabinet hardware for like $21 for lots of drawers and cabinets...on ebay.

I also got my awesome delta pulldown faucet and giant single bowl sink for much cheaper online....

I got my 'splurge' range + hood on closeout for half off....drove 4 hours to get it!

Shop around!

Trish

 

[lakelandgal70]

We are going through a kitchen reno right now and that included cabinets, counter tops, all new appliances and tiled floor not only in kitchen but also in dinning and living room. I had a budget and came under that. We had someone else do it but I feel we saved our marriage going that route lol

 

[jodifla]

We remodeled our kitchen for about $5,000. My husband built new beadboard doors for our existing cabinets, which we painted white, we got all new appliances, new laminate countertops, added a kitchen island by husband designed and built and added a beautiful granite countertop, and changed our kitchen from a L shape to a U shape.

 

[tlbwriter]

You might consider this to update your cabinets. They have a product for countertops too but it has a weird kind of bumpy texture. If you're open to laminate (and already have it), you could even have the laminate replaced, which would be less expensive than other countertop options.

 

[bjscheel]

I would think you could do it with that budget. This spring we tore the kitchen down to the stud walls, insulated, new drywall, all new cabinets, paint, slate backsplash, stove, fridge. Everything but the floor (next year). I would say it was about $8000 and we did it ourselves. The countertop is formica-type. I bought the cabinet pulls on eBay. If you can re-stain your cabinet doors, that would be good, because we found that most of the cost of the cabinet is the door. The doors alone are expensive!

I would recommend doing the floors last! We didn't worry about dragging things over it, splatting things, whatever, because we knew we would be replacing the floor later.

It was a huge mess, especially tearing out powdery old insulation and plaster and lath walls. I absolutely hated doing it, but it's over now!

Here is the thread where I asked for advice on the Disboards, and then on page two are my before and after pics.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2678658&page=2