A good kitchen remodel is one of my favorite design subjects to read about and follow along with. Ours started ten years ago and we’ve been tweaking it ever since because I love the process. It’s a big subject with many details, but I want to touch on a few areas of the remodel that allowed us to stretch our budget and, as the saying goes, get more bang for our buck. These photos were taken before we refinished our wood floors. Memories!
Here are a 7 ways we saved money and kept our costs low during our kitchen remodel while still getting the stylish look and feel we wanted.
- FREE STANDING OPEN SHELVING
We added incredibly affordable storage with a metal shelf we found for $100. It gave a great open shelving look. Everything in reach is a nice convenience, but you have to keep up with keeping objects in their place so things stay nice and tidy and of course consistent dusting is a must.
2. REMOVE A WALL TO GAIN SPACE
When we bought our home we knew we wanted to completely remodel the small kitchen area. We ended up tearing down a wall and moving a door to enlarge our kitchen footprint. We almost tripled the size of our kitchen’s square footage by doing this which was a good money saving move.
3. REUSE CABINETS
Cabinets are a huge expense when remodeling. Instead of spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on new cabinets we kept the original cabinets. They were in great condition, and only needed a slight refresh of paint. Because we saved so much money by keeping the original cabinets and reconfiguring them to the new kitchen layout, we purchased two select cabinets for pots as well as garbage and recycling cabinets to round out our cabinet needs.
Even if your cabinets are not in great condition, consider putting the energy into refurbishing them. Taking the time to tighten loose cabinets up with screws and glue, as well as sanding and painting will put money in your pocket that can be used in other areas of your kitchen.
4. ADD A USED WINDOW
Natural light makes any room feel better and larger. We wanted West-facing light so my contractor found us a window at the Restore for $50 and put it in himself one afternoon. This easily saved us a thousand dollars while giving a more custom look.
5. SHOP OVERSTOK.COM SINK & FIXTURES
The two kitchen sinks and faucets were purchased from Overstock.com for well over 40% off the original price. They ended up being less than Big Box Store prices, but much higher quality. Buying them online without seeing them in person was a little scary, so I took my time and researched them well. Reading the reviews of each item was also helpful and gave a good about of information.
6. CREATIVE COUNTERTOPS
One of my favorite aspects of our kitchen remodel is our counters. We looked at marble and quartz, but in the end couldn’t justify spending over $10,000 for the look we wanted. Instead of going with laminate we ended up buying butcher block maple from Lumber Liquidators and staining it with India ink, then sealing with Waterlox. My husband put them in himself by watching Youtube videos. I’m still in awe of him!
The Island counter tops were a great find. We were looking at the Restore for something else when we found three long wood Herman Miller desk tops. My creative mind saw the possibilities. We purchased them for $5 each and again Jeremy pieced them together to form our island counter top. Because there were seams where he connected them together we opted for a faux paint job. After sealing them they’ve held up well, and I’ve only had to repaint a few times in ten years.
7. SET YOUR PRIORITIES
Kitchens can be very expensive, but knowing what you value in your kitchen renovation will help you to better gauge where to spend and where to save. In the end you will be using your kitchen and you know what is important to you.
These seven money saving ideas could save you tens of thousands of dollars and make a kitchen renovation of your dreams a reality. Hope I gave you some encouragement that a beautiful kitchen can come from a small budget.
xo Maria
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