Cheap Kitchen Remodeling:
Kitchen Makeover Ideas For A
Budget Kitchen Remodel
Cheap kitchen remodeling goes in four steps:
1. Dream BIG about the look & functionality of your home kitchen remodel. Make a list of 'money-no-object' kitchen makeover ideas. In an ideal world, what would your kitchen remodel checklist / wish list look like?
2. From that list, pick your top priorities (plus a few smaller kitchen makeover ideas that would make a real difference to you).
How do you use your kitchen?
What are the essentials you wouldn't want to do without once your inexpensive kitchen remodel is complete?
What would really make your kitchen ...
- easier to use?
- more enjoyable?
- more time/energy efficient?
3 a) Starting with your top priorities, look at the parts
of your kitchen that you could reuse/repurpose.
3 b) Then, research cheap ideas on remodeling a kitchen:
- tough, easy-to-clean materials that look just as good as their more expensive cousins,
- space-saving floor plans & cupboard layouts,
- hard-working appliances,
- off-the-shelf units, customizable with quality doors & hardware,
- potential color schemes (very important).
4. Use only those
remodeling kitchen ideas that will give you the most bang for your
buck. There's a gazillion gizmos out there - resist the temptation!
Laser focus your cheap kitchen remodeling on things that will make a substantial
difference to your kitchen experience!
(Read on for examples.)
Cheap Kitchen Remodeling, Part 1:
Dream Kitchen Home Remodel
Tammy suffers from severe fibromyalgia, which makes it very difficult for her to reach into lower cupboards. She's also really, really sick of her current, builder's grade 'oak' colored kitchen ("I don't want to look at any more wood-looking cabinetry!")
On top of this, she's dreadfully short on storage space, so she needs good cabinet layout ideas. Here's her kitchen - and below are her BIG dreams for a cheap kitchen remodeling exercise - done in stages if necessary.
Oh boy ... let's see how well I can verbalize a dream! This is the fun part!!
I would like a kitchen that is 'transitional' in design. Not too fussy - I'm definitely not into scrollwork or carvings - but not overly modern either.
1. Lighter colours - beiges and creams and whites. Tone on tone. Pewter or brushed metals.
2. Cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling, because having an exposed surface at the top of the cabinets wastes space and is difficult to get to for cleaning. Some glass fronted cabinets with lights would be nice, but I like most cupboards to be solid. Hide the stuff that's stuffed in them. Also, I'd love under-cabinet lighting because that looks so nice in the evening.
3. The kitchen only has one window. With an unlimited budget I'd probably add another window to let in natural light. Perhaps one of those windows that juts out so that you can grow herbs and houseplants.
4. If money was no object, I would knock down the wall that separates the kitchen from the laundry room. The laundry room also serves as a mudroom, with entrances directly into the backyard and the garage. It is way, way too small. Aside from the fact that we're constantly tripping over boots and backpacks in there, you risk decapitation if you're reaching into the machines and someone opens the door to the garage.
So I would actually borrow some of the kitchen space to re-work that room to make it more practical for doing the laundry, folding the clean clothes, functioning as a mudroom and perhaps a pantry area as well. We use the laundry tub/sink in that room constantly so having that great big deep sink is a must.
Quick comment from Renate:
Large sinks, washing machines and dryers are loud, and they're not particularly pretty either. Knocking that wall out & integrating the laundry room into the kitchen space would
- create a messier look for the kitchen
- steal wall/storage space from a kitchen that is already squeezed for space
- add noise & traffic levels that would impact kitchen work as well as sit-down meals in the adjacent dining area.
Alternatively, would it be possible to push the outside wall out into the backyard
and extend the laundry room in that direction? This could be done whilst the cheap
kitchen remodeling is in process, or afterwards (once funds are replenished :-)
5. Ceiling-to-floor pantry cupboards.
6. A built-in desk area with some open shelving for cookbooks.
7. An oversized double sink with one of those wonderful faucets for filling up big pots when they're already on the stove. The sinks with aprons are gorgeous - I love them.
8. The appliances are stainless steel but I think it would be OK to have cabinet hardware, faucet or whatever in a less shiny metal, wouldn't it?
9.-12. A gas cook top/electric convection oven ... make it a double oven since I'm dreaming!! Nice double door fridge. Dishwasher, of course. More electrical outlets!
13. Lots of counter space. I think our kitchen is too narrow to properly accommodate an island, but I thought a peninsula with more functionality would be nice. Perhaps something that has 2 levels so that you have a work surface plus an elevated 'table' surface for eating breakfast, doing homework, etc.. Or maybe a peninsula where the back of it serves as the back of a banquette with a round table and extra chairs.
14. Having enough room/surfaces for more than one cook would be nice, because I enjoy cooking and baking with my children.
15. Floors and surfaces need to be easy to keep clean and tough enough to withstand 2 teenagers, their friends, our very large dog and all of the nasty stuff that gets tracked in and deposited on the floor.
16. Easy-to-clean backsplash is a must in this house.
17. Lots of task lighting.
Have I missed anything?
That really was fun!! Really, none of these things are impossible. Well, maybe messing around with windows would be cost-prohibitive for us. But the rest could actually be done if I had a viable design. We don't have the money for it, of course, but we could do it in bits and pieces. Ahhhh ... I might still be in dream mode!
Tammy (Canada)
Cheap Kitchen Remodeling, Part 2:
Priorities For Small Kitchen Makeovers
Cheap Ideas On Remodeling A Kitchen:
How To Find Your Priorities
1. What bothers you most about your current kitchen?
- Things not where you need them?
- Worktop too high/low?
- Low quality cupboards or appliances?
- Difficult to keep clean?
- Spaces/things hard to reach?
- Poor lighting?
- Not enough space to work?
2. How do you envision your perfect remodeled kitchen?
- Make a detailed kitchen makeover wish list. (Pretend you can afford whatever you like.)
3. If you could only have three items off your wish list, what would they be?
Out of all her kitchen makeover ideas, here's Tammy's shortlist:
1
More storage
2
More counter/working surface
3
I'd like to say accessibility but
that may be hard to work in. Maybe dedicated storage that's easy to get to, like appliance 'garages' for stand mixers or
something like that.
The following cheap kitchen remodeling ideas could address Tammy's priorities:
1. "More Storage"
1.1 Clearout
One way to start your cheap kitchen remodeling process could be to go through the stuff that's been accumulating in your kitchen for years/decades, and subject it to a rigorous clearout.
Unless you do a lot of speciality cooking and baking, you won't need much more than some top quality knives, decent-sized chopping boards, a few seriously good pots & pans, and enough crockery and cutlery.
If you have many largeish kitchen implements that serve only one function each, consider swapping them for one or two multi-functional machines to save more space.
Once you're clear about
- what you're keeping, and
- where you want to keep it (more about this below)
1.2 Smart Storage
- Cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling (as Tammy suggested): Use top compartments for the things that only come out once or twice a year.
- The top cabinets could be part of a whole 'storage wall': The illustration for Tammy's kitchen (below - sorry it looks a bit weird!) shows that she would lose a worktop (she can make up for it by enlarging the peninsula). This would minimize trips between different countertop areas.
- I've included three cupboard doors with frosted glass - the frosting would hide clutter, but Tammy could also install lighting in the cupboards to balance the task lighting above the countertops on the other side of the kitchen.
- Narrow, full height pull-out cupboards are a great kitchen remodel
idea, especially for food storage. Have a look at
Mary's
inexpensive kitchen remodel
below; it contains one of these 'cargo' pullouts.
What I like so much about these pullout cupboards is that even though the storage space is very compact, you can instantly see & access everything without having to rummage around!
2/3. "More Counter/Working Surface" & "Accessibility"
I've combined Tammy's last two priorities for cheap kitchen remodeling convenience, because there are three kitchen makeover ideas all included in the sketch below.
- Tammy could massively increase her workspace by widening her kitchen peninsula to accommodate back-to-back cupboards underneath that can be reached from both sides.
- The peninsula could end in a 'demilune' shape (drop-leaf or fixed) with bar stools tucked underneath, in case someone wants to sit while cutting the veg or kneading the dough.
- The hob/cooktop (blue) could be on the peninsula, the pot rack within easy reach. The oven (also blue) - and the microwave - should be built in at a height that's convenient for Tammy (i.e. above hip height).
Cheap Kitchen Remodeling, Part 3:
Reuse & Recycle Wherever Possible
Cheap Ideas On Remodeling A Kitchen:
Stuff You Can Do With Cupboards
- rearranged/rehung
- given new doors and/or hardware
- retrofitted with lighting (inside and/or underneath)
- painted
- topped with a new counter
- refaced (inside and/or outside): Cyndy did this in her gorgeous budget kitchen remodel
- stained: have a look at Kim's very successful, cheap kitchen remodeling adventure.
Cheap Kitchen Remodeling, Part 4:
Bang-For-Your-Buck Kitchen Makeover Ideas
Cheap Ideas On Remodeling A Kitchen:
The Winners Are ...
1. Placement
- Installation costs for a sink can be high, so for cheap kitchen remodeling purposes, it's best to leave the sink in place & arrange the rest of the kitchen to fit in with that.
- Ideally, your fridge, hob & sink should not be too far apart.
- Your dishwasher is best placed near the sink.
- Keep things you use often at just-below or just-above worktop height. For example:
- Keep tools (e.g. knives) near your right hand (if you're right handed)
- Keep ingredients (e.g. spices) adjacent to where you'll be using them (hob/microwave)
2. Quality of Most Used Items/Areas
- If you do a lot of ready-made meals, you'll want a quality microwave in the perfect spot.
- If you prepare your meals from scratch, a set of excellent knives will be worth their weight in gold (keep a good knife sharpener nearby, too). Same goes for convenient storage of (superb) pots, pans & casseroles.
- If you bake a lot, you'll want a decent-sized countertop that is perfect for rolling out dough. (You'll also want that countertop to be super easy to clean up afterwards!)
- Speaking of countertops ...
- Shiny dark worktops show every little fingerprint!
- Some countertop materials (e.g. marble) are susceptible to acid damage (vinegar, lemon juice)
- Tiled counter tops can be a pain to clean, especially if the grouting is in a light color
- Good lighting makes food prep more fun (this need not be expensive at all!)
Basically, nothing that breaks easily is much fun in a kitchen. Focus your cheap kitchen remodeling on the things that work best for you. In other words, the best cheap kitchen remodeling strategy is to ...
... splurge on stuff that matters
and skimp on stuff that doesn't.
Reply from Tammy:
I LOVED your ideas!! A couple are so simple but I just couldn't 'picture' them for myself. Moving the fridge and using that wall as a pantry/storage wall looks amazing. And increasing the size of the peninsula makes so much sense when you see it in a drawing.
First, I agree, I'll have to go through the stuff that I've collected over the years and decide what I should keep and what has to go. There was a designer on a local television show that recommended that you empty your kitchen junk drawer (everyone has one!) into a box. Every time you use an item from the box, it can go back into the drawer because, obviously, it's a useful and needed item. Seasonal items, like the turkey baster, can either go back in the drawer or can be stored separately.
At the end of ONE MONTH, anything that's left in the box is deemed to be 'junk', and goes to charity. I really liked that idea and think it's worth a try. I might try something similar - maybe a 6-month use-it-or-lose-it rule for my closet.
Anyways, I really, really like your ideas and can't thank you enough for this. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders because you've shown me that there are solutions that don't have to cost a fortune or disrupt the household for months on end. Looks like it's my turn to do some planning!
I've just found a very useful resource for cheap kitchen remodeling - a website all about countertops. Check out countertopspecialty.com's comparison of kitchen counter top materials, as well as their dedicated page about laminate countertops (a clear favorite in cheap kitchen remodeling).
If you're ever tempted by what looks like a fantastic bargain on granite countertops, read up on how to choose quality granite before you buy. The article on decorating-country-home.com teaches you how to test the material, too!
- Try cheap kitchen remodeling in French or Italian styles:
- French Country Kitchen Design can be done with recycled materials for an authentic look.
- If you're after some 'lite' French cheap kitchen remodeling, here are a few style tricks from French Country Kitchens.
- Frugal French country kitchen ideas are great for a budget kitchen remodel: French Country Decor On A Shoestring!
- Oh, and for window treatments with attitude, check out the page about French Country Curtains. Together with a change in color, they can be part of a very effective cheap kitchen remodeling exercise.
- Tuscan Kitchen Design is simple and lovely, and perfect for cheap kitchen remodeling.
- Also, check out my Tuscan-Style kitchen makeover ideas for a traditional Southern US kitchen. (Probably not a budget kitchen remodel, but not very expensive either!)
- Neutral Color Schemes - The
Book:
Learn about using neutral color palettes (something Tammy was looking for in her cheap kitchen remodeling). The book will help you understand what makes neutral color schemes look their best, and what happens when you inject 'real' color into neutral color palettes. It's FREE, too!
Yet to find the information you're looking for? Type a word or phrase into the search box below:
Return from Cheap Kitchen Remodeling Ideas to Small Kitchen Design Ideas.
Return from Cheap Kitchen Remodeling Ideas to the Dream Home Decorating homepage.
