Kitchen Remodel On A Budget

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It’s amazing what some paint and a hammer can accomplish for a kitchen remodel on a budget. Our kitchen was circa 1970’s and was in desperate need of updating. If you’ve priced home reno projects you know that a kitchen makeover can cost a lot of money. We are so excited to reveal how we took our kitchen from outdated to updated without blowing through our entire savings account. Of course, this means it was all DIY projects, but if you’re up for the challenge you really can update your kitchen on a budget.

Kitchen BEFORE any work started…yikes

We had a list of things we wanted to do in the kitchen that I shared here. In a nutshell we wanted to do the following and, fortunately enough, I was able to do a lot of our shopping on Amazon.

KITCHEN REMODEL ON A BUDGET

Note–affiliate links are included in this post. While this doesn’t cost you anymore the brand sends me a few pennies to support this site.

• Remove wallpaper border–DONE $0
• Remove wallpaper.–DONE $0
• Remove two of the four upper cabinets. One of each side of the kitchen.–DONE $0
• Remove the pan rack.–DONE $0
• Move bookcase.–DONE $0
• Paint walls white–DONE $50 paint + supplies
• Paint countertops–Done used Giani Countertop Paint $79.95 
• Paint remaining cabinets —DONE Nuvo Abstract Ash paint $69.95
• Replace cabinet hardware–Done, Satin Nickel Knobs $22.95
• Move fridge about two feet to increase counter space.–DONE $0
• Paint overhead light fixture–Done, used Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk Paint from a previous project$0
• Replace light fixture above sink.–Skipped, couldn’t find a replacement that we liked 🙁
• Add shelves for a coffee corner–Done, used wood/paint we had. $0
• Add wine rack–Done, used wood/paint we had. $0
• Replace trash bin.–Need to do
• Reorganize kitchen cabinets/drawers to make the best use of space.–DONE $0
• Miscellaneous items including brushes, paint tape, etc. $40
• Tentative kitchen remodel on a budget: $350
• Not budgeted, but we replaced the kitchen faucet. Pfister 1-handle pull-out kitchen faucet. $131.25
• FINAL KITCHEN REMODEL on a BUDGET TOTAL: $394, looky there…only $44 over budget.

Kitchen cleaned up and wallpaper border removed.

I’m beyond THRILLED that we were able to do this project so inexpensively. Like I mentioned earlier some paint and a hammer can go a very long ways to updating a space. The first step in this process was to remove that wallpaper border. That took a few days and a lot of work to peel it off the walls. Afterwards, we filled any little holes with plaster and sanded them. Then we were finally able to paint the kitchen. After a fresh coat of paint it was already looking great.

KITCHEN CABINETS

I knew going in that I wanted to update or replace our cabinets and countertops. After pricing out new cabinets we quickly decided that painting the cabinets would be the way to go. Alan was completely opposed to painting them, I was completely opposed to draining our savings for new cabinets. After much debate back and forth Alan agreed to try painting the cabinets. (By the way, if you want to test your marriage communication skills start some home remodel projects….whew, suprised we made it).

There was a lot of work involved with painting the cabinets and I spent a lot of time researching the best way to paint them. To start we degreased the cabinets and drawers then we lightly sanded and wiped them down. We painted the first coat, let it dry for a day and then painted a second coat. After the second coat, we let the cabinets dry for four days before we reattached the doors and started using them.

KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS

Since we were going to paint the cabinets we went all in and decided to paint the countertops as well. So, for a fraction of the price we were able to update the countertops and the cabinets. It’s been about six months since we painted both and the countertops are holding up incredibly well. Sadly, I’m noticing some nicks in the paint on the cabinets where we open and close the kitchen drawers. I’m thinking we’ll need to touch up the paint once a year. In my opinion, it’s still completely worth it.

BEFORE cabinets 

AFTER Cabinets

Painted countertops look great! I wrote about the process here. 

KITCHEN CEILING FIXTURE

After we completed the counters we painted the ceiling light fixture which was a quick and simple job with Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk Paint.

We LOVE using Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk paint. It easily covers, dries quickly and looks great!

KITCHEN COFFEE CORNER

Alan made a coffee corner using wood we had laying around in the garage. I love having a dedicated spot for all my coffee needs. Yes, we use a very simple and inexpensive Mr. Coffee . We have a Ninja Coffee Bar system but that is on loan to a friend right now (we are generous like that).

WINE RACK

Alan was also able to craft a wine rack out or repurposed wood as well. Thank goodness he’s so handy.

KITCHEN REMODEL ON A BUDGET BEFORE PHOTO

We are SO EXCITED to reveal our Grey and White Kitchen Remodel on a Budget!

Note: When we update the dining room we will be replacing the flooring.

There are still a few things we want to do in the kitchen but at this point its 95% done. We’d like to add some shelving next to the sink and a piece of wall art.

PIN KITCHEN REMODEL ON BUDGET TO PINTEREST