Renovating our Kitchen on a Budget

Budget Kitchen Reno

I did some updating to my kitchen and decided to do a complete post on it from start to finish.  

When we first bought our ranch home in 2005 it had gold appliances that we replaced with stainless steel ones, so our budget was able to get stretched pretty far.

Now I admit my kitchen is pretty good size (compared to the 8'X10' kitchens we saw while house hunting!) and it had good bones to start with. 

We had cabinets that were solid wood and a nice pantry. It didn't have a dishwasher, but thanks to hubby...4 hours later, I finally had the latest and greatest thing I could ever have. 

Here are a few pictures of the before:

Did I mention it also had cream/orange wallpaper with canisters & huge hydrangeas? 

I saved a piece of the wallpaper that I tore down.

and here is what it looks like today.

We refinished the cabinets with an ebony stain and 3 coats of poly...added new lighting, flooring, new sink, faucet

No more laminate countertops!

We updated the old wood windows by taking them out and priming and painting them and then adding new 2 x 6 pine around the inside with a large piece of trim molding at the top.

I took the doors off my dish and glassware cabinet, and added mirror backing and thick glass shelves.

Now the sunlight bounces around the room!

Below is my version of a tool caddy....to hold (by category) all my cooking utensils.

Coffee Station...

including creamer, tea bags in a small white canister and 3 types of flavored coffees depending on our mood.

The antique toolbox sitting in the island holds pot lids, paper towels and decorative items. Inside the drawer I store all the carving knives as well as my electric knife.

The total cost we paid for this (excluding the kitchen table, drapes and accessories) 11K!

We did all the work ourselves except the install of the countertops. We kept all the plumbing and gas lines in the same location, so we wouldn't have to have that added expense.

What's left for this kitchen?

A backsplash and a more modern streamlined vent hood.

and that's it!

I hope you enjoyed a tour of my kitchen...

XO,

Christine