Renovating a kitchen on a budget can be fun a challenging. Here are some TIPS to help you along with the process.
FIRST: GOALS
Evaluate your goals for your kitchen. Do you want it to simply function so that you can live in the space or do you want it to last at least 20 years? Or do you land somewhere in between and want it too to look nice and function just fine for 5 years until you have the time and funds for a larger project.
Truth is, a kitchen renovation should never be taken lightly - it’s expensive and a pain in the butt! So, make sure your goals are clear and align with your budget.
In the Rocky Bay Home project, I was very clear that I didn’t have the funds, time or energy to deal with a large-scale kitchen renovation. My goal: to get the walls where they needed to be, define layout and spend the least amount of money as possible.
We opened up the wall between the kitchen and dining room but left half walls so that we didn’t need to mess with the flooring.
SECOND: MATERIALS
Materials matter for both budget and the finish look.
TILE: I wanted to use some leftover tile that I had for the backsplash that would upgrade the kitchen and I was willing to spend money on the installation. But I wasn’t willing to rip up perfectly good terra-cotta brick floor tiles - even though I really hate them. There is literally not one flaw in them, and it would simply be too wasteful and painful on my budget to rip them up and replace. So, we actually found the exact same tile and patched the space that was left empty from removing the island and the floor of the new pantry. It killed me to pay for tile I don’t like but it was the path of least resistance. Who knows, maybe they will come back in style, after all so much from the 80’s is back!
PAINT: Paint is relatively inexpensive with a huge return on investment. I painted the base cabinets BM Newburyport Blue that I love and wanted to try it out. It’s not perfect but good enough.
HARDWARE: I love hardware and believe that it’s an opportunity to dress anything up. I’m happy to have you look at my hardware - not my cabinets! This hardware is from Restoration Hardware. On sale it was $6.00 for each knob and the pills were $10.00. My price on hardware is higher than that from my wholesale distributor so I went with a reputable retailer.
COUNTERTOPS: Formica. Need I see more? Yes, it’s plastic and not even remotely environmentally friendly but it will last as long as I want it to and the price is right! I paid $1,400 for the kitchen Formica, it would be $9,000- $12,000 if I had used quartz or granite. Why put beautiful stone on pathetic cabinets?
The Formica is light grey with a square edge for a clean and low-key look. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it, but I can afford it.
This house is supposed to be fun and cost efficient, so my goals were modest. I purchased a stainless-steel table from Amazon for $400 so that there would be a surface that hot pots and pans could go on but now I’m thinking that the kitchen could use to be warmed up, so I think I’ll have a wood top made for it. This is also supposed to act as seating for the kitchen. I’m still a little unclear about how this will work so I think I just need to get in the space and figure it out.
Think creatively and be flexible in your decisions. Being willing to change your mind and fix issues that arise will serve you much better than being stuck on a specific idea.
One last bit of advice… you can plan and plan but honestly, surprises happen so be prepared to be a little flexible. Enjoy the process!