The fiance and I purchase our home back in November and naturally the first thing I wanted to do is remodel….EVERYTHING. But living on a budget doesn’t allow for that. We sat down and decided what needs to be done first and what can wait. We decided to start with the kitchen. When we moved in our stove was in a corner up against a wall (there was a HUGE burn mark on the wall from the previous owner) so this had to be changed.
Here is our Kitchen when we moved in 11/23/11:
Here is our Kitchen completed 4/6/12:
Here is what we did:
Cabinets – kept the original ones, this is typically one of the most expensive aspects of a kitchen remodel, if you are able to rehab or ‘upcycle’ them for your remodel, do so. It may sound like a huge overall but with a little hard work you can make it work. I used soap and water to clean them, then used a wood polish I found at the Dollar Store to give them a nice shine.
Hardware: I am not a fan of gold so I wanted to replace the cabinet hardware, I went to Menards to look at new options and the cheapest ones they had (that I liked and weren’t gold) were $2.75/ ec we needed 20. That wasn’t going to work for me. So instead I took all the old hardware off, cleaned them, and spray painted them with a metallic bronze that I picked up for $4
Countertop: Since we have never remodeled a kitchen before I had no idea what to expect when it came to the counters. Honestly I was afraid of what the price tag was going to be. I went to a few different stores comparing colors/types/prices etc. the best deal I found was at Menards. The counters came to a total of $368 and that included the attachment kit which includes all the items needed to self install, which we did.
Sink: I constantly price watch, there was a Granite sink that we had picked out that was $298, but it just did not fit into our budget. The one we ended up going with is an acrylic, so not as durable but for $118 with a $20 mail in rebate at Menards we couldn’t say no. Sealant for the sink: $15. We used the caulk that came with the counters for the sink, worked perfectly!
Faucet: These are expensive! As I was wondering down this aisle at Menards I was again in shock at how much these things cost. Luckily as I was strolling through the store I saw an end cap with these faucets on sale for $69 with a $20 mail in rebate. I couldn’t get it into my cart fast enough. This faucet came with a soap pump as well and retailed at $129…SCORE!
Backsplash: After discovering the DIY Network and watching renovation show after renovation show, I decided we could do this too! Again I found myself wondering through stores looking at back splash and quickly became overwhelmed. There are so many options! I decided for the sake of our relationship (DIY projects are always relationship challenging) I would use a matted back splash so all we had to work with were the 1′ x 1′ squares. Prices ranged from $2 – $19 per sheet. Of course the one I fell in love with was $10.99 and I needed 21. I was determined to fall in love with a cheaper version, so I literally crawled to the back under the shelf and dug through the pallets, at least 3 people walked past me and probably thought I was crazy. In the back I found 4 boxes that had been shoved to the back with a multi colored slightly metallic back splash and I was beaming with excitement. I had to contain my excitement until I raced to the front of the store to find out how much the were and (drum roll please) they rang up at $3.98…cha ching!
Total: $83.58
To complete the back splash we picked up a cheap bag of thin set for $12 and grout for $20
Paint: I wanted our kitchen to feel warm and inviting so I went with a chocolate color. I picked up one gallon at Menards for $12 and a pack of rollers for $9.
Remodel Total (not including appliances)
= $711.59 and we received $40 back from Menards in rebates
Luckily I am marrying a handyman who with a little assistance from Google can fix anything. By doing it our self we saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars in labor. If you don’t have a handyman, I am sure you know one. Think about doing some type of swap. If your handyman buddy helps you then return the favor in some way. Watch his kids a few times so he can get out of the house, offer to make meals, or maybe clean his house. Get creative!
Have you done a remodel lately? I want to hear about it!
Happy $avings!
-Jess
Proud To $ave 