If you’ve ever typed “kitchen renovation costs” in Google search, you’ve most likely seen numbers like $15,000, $25,000, or $75,000 that got you into panic mode. Giving your kitchen a makeover is completely unaffordable unless you’re born into money – the no. 1 reason why it’s like that is that there’s more to the project’s cost than labor and materials. Spoiler, it’s about choices. If you don’t want to break the bank, here’s what to do. Sorry, but eating out is just going to have to wait a few months… at least until the kitchen is done.
Get All The Boring Stuff Figured Out First
Unlike painting or flooring, a kitchen can’t be priced by square meter. Which means that an extremely tiny kitchen with premium cabinetry, high-spec finishes, and new appliances – plus layout changes – can cost more than a bigger, more straightforward one. Where do you want to invest? Oh sure, adding more floor space seems like a good idea, but you’ll be shocked to find out you can double your kitchen’s space by reconfiguring what you have. For example, make sure your cabinets go all the way up to the ceiling. The trouble is with thinking. Avoid penny-pinching that looks good on paper, such as replacing your kitchen doors, which can end up costing you more.
Work out where the sink should go. I prefer to have the sink in front of the window because it’s easier for the plumber to access the water lines from outside/under the house, not to mention daylight comes where you need it the most. If the fridge is on an exterior wall, you should at least consider whether relocating it would result in a cleaner layout. By placing the oven in the middle of the action, you can bring the opposite ends of the room together: it creates a bridge between the comfort of the booth-style dining area and the hustle and bustle of the meal prep space.
Look For Affordable But Expensive-Looking Brands
The supplier you’re thinking about isn’t bad, but they’re the default, you know, the one that everyone uses because that’s what they’re supposed to do. For a full renovation, the right supplier makes all the difference. IKEA products are about half the price of competitors, but if you factor in customizations, it can end up more expensive overall. Local showrooms have cheap options and you can also get replacement kitchen cupboard doors if the whole unit doesn’t need to be changed since it will be much less expensive. Frankly, it’s a level of quality that you just don’t see at big chains, so your kitchen can last up to 20 years (if you’re lucky).
Consider Doing Some Of The Work Yourself
YouTube tutorials make everything seem very simple, and the opportunity to save thousands is one you shouldn’t let pass you by. Homes are designed to fit average families. Take for example deep cabinets with fixed shelves, which are so frustrating because they create these “black holes” where the pots and pans go until the shelf finally breaks and scares the heck out of you in the middle of the night. If you’ve never actually installed kitchen units, but you’ve done other very detailed woodwork and are very proud of yourself, it should be doable.
It’s tough to stick to a project you’ve just started, even if you’re thrilled about it, but you can tilt the scale in your favor. Don’t spend too much time trying to perfect every detail. Let’s say you want to give the walls an update at a low cost: the results aren’t what you’d call professional-looking, but slapping down some paint is a major improvement. Once you feel the power, there’s no turning back. you can’t light the kitchen with lamps you would use in the living room – such as ambient lights – because it’ll look dim, so make sure your cooking space is well lit to the point of being flooded with light.
Don’t Pick The Cheapest Option For Everything
New materials are an extra burden, so if you don’t want to dig deep into your pockets, use the ones you’ve already got. Case in point: instead of ripping everything out to fix up the kitchen, you can add a new surface (veneer) to your existing cabinet boxes and have the doors and drawer fronts replaced. But… (good thing you love what you’re doing right?) it’s hard to stick to a frugal budget, and settling for the cheapest option could backfire from a financial POV if things don’t hold up to daily wear and tear – and need to be replaced in 5 years or so.
You can lay vinyl planks on top of the existing flooring as long as it’s flat and doesn’t have any loose planks. Not only do they come in all sorts of designs, but they also click and lock perfectly, so you don’t have to use glue, nails, staples, and whatnot to get the job done. The same kitchen units that you would set up at home are assembled in the factory to be shipped by freight to your home. When manufacturers make a lot of cabinets at the same time, they’re able to minimize spending and pass those savings along, so place RTA cabinets high on your list of priorities.
Sell Your Old Kitchen (Or Give It Away)
So, you live in an old house and you should absolutely be changing the kitchen. There’s barely any counter space, the fridge/freezer is poorly laid out, and you struggle with hard-to-reach storage. You love to cook. And you need the right space to do it in. You can give your budget a little nudge by selling your old stuff on Facebook Marketplace and putting the money towards the new kitchen. But you’ll need to be very careful when removing the old units because plumbing, gas lines, and electrical wiring run directly through – and underneath them.
One big challenge is payment delay. You don’t get paid immediately like you do with, say, PayPal, and if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, that could be a drag. It’s supposed to be around 5-7 business days. The money is transferred to whatever bank account you have – then you send the items, so the entire process is trouble-free for the both of you.
Head of Content & Home Living Specialist
James Christopherainenzo writes the kind of home living highlights content that people actually send to each other. Not because it's flashy or controversial, but because it's the sort of thing where you read it and immediately think of three people who need to see it. James has a talent for identifying the questions that a lot of people have but haven't quite figured out how to articulate yet — and then answering them properly.
They covers a lot of ground: Home Living Highlights, Smart Appliances and Clean Living, Pristine Home Care Techniques, and plenty of adjacent territory that doesn't always get treated with the same seriousness. The consistency across all of it is a certain kind of respect for the reader. James doesn't assume people are stupid, and they doesn't assume they know everything either. They writes for someone who is genuinely trying to figure something out — because that's usually who's actually reading. That assumption shapes everything from how they structures an explanation to how much background they includes before getting to the point.
Beyond the practical stuff, there's something in James's writing that reflects a real investment in the subject — not performed enthusiasm, but the kind of sustained interest that produces insight over time. They has been paying attention to home living highlights long enough that they notices things a more casual observer would miss. That depth shows up in the work in ways that are hard to fake.
