A Large Kitchen Renovation On A Small(ish) Budget

When we first moved into our 1976 Dutch Colonial three and a half years ago, the kitchen needed an update. Desperately. I called a local designer for advice. She told me a "small budget" kitchen redo would run somewhere around $75,000. After I choked on the price tag, I hung up, and considered giving up.

We live in the suburbs outside of Washington D.C. Everything is more expensive here. Gas, groceries, and houses. So it should not have been a surprise that house renovations also run higher than average here as well. We wanted a $75,000-style renovation, but had $20,000 in the bank. The solution? Turn off HGTV and get realistic. Sit down, make a budget, and then take on the kitchen one element at a time.

We took things in logical order and started at the bottom: The vinyl floor had to go. It was out of date, and worse, impossible to get clean. Although I personally prefer darker hardwoods in wider planks, we opted to go with a narrower planked oak that went well with the existing oak floors in the adjacent dining room. (Thereby saving us the expense of having to redo that room as well).

Where We Saved: Being flexible with the schedule. The flooring salesman told me that even though they can install floors next day, you will get a better price if you are willing/able to book them at least a few weeks out.

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Next came the kitchen island. Initially we considered just changing out the countertops, but the island itself was a weird geometric (80's style) shape and the angles created a lot of unusable space in the cabinets. So we tore it out and ordered a new one from a big box store. We chose a vintage black paint that coordinates well with the rest of the kitchen cabinets which are a warm-toned maple. The island was designed to hold a warming drawer and a small prep sink. However after we placed the order, a second look at the budget showed no room for those amenities. But should we decide to add them later, it will be easy to do. We opted for extras such as turned legs and bead board end panels, and glass shelves and doors on one side. These things brought the price up, but added a lot of style.

Where We Saved: We installed LED lights in the cabinets ourselves, saving money up front, and later in energy costs. We saved ~$400 on delivery charges by picking up the island cabinetry from the store, and additional costs (~$500) by installing the island ourselves.

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Oh the happy dance I did the day the teal blue Corian counters left my kitchen. In its place? Granite. We opted for a smaller-patterned granite that was a lower cost than some of the fancier designs. When you shop for granite, be sure to compare the thicknesses - thinner granite is cheaper, but it also looks cheaper. Also, we chose a granite that was pre-sealed and won't need sealing again for 10+ years. Well-sealed granite means much easier clean-up and maintenance.

Where We Saved: By removing the old counters ourselves we saved $400. If your counters are in good condition, you can sell them on Craigslist; Given the not-so-stylish color of ours, we chose to donate it instead to Habitiat For Humanity RE:store. They came and picked up the counters, saving us the cost of having them hauled away.

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Everybody wants stainless steel these days. Myself included. Our appliances worked, generally, and so we considered putting off replacing them. But the kitchen just didn't look complete with old cream appliances. Also, having decided not to get the warming drawer, and having removed a small oven from the old island, we were faced with the prospect of cooking Thanksgiving dinner with only one oven.

Our solution: A new double-oven style range. It has two distinct ovens that are independently controlled which has the benefit of not only accommodating the needs of large family meals, but also allowing us to use only the smaller upper oven for most of our daily baking needs. We also bought a new built-in microwave (with a built in range hood) and a new dishwasher. Not only do my new appliances look a lot nicer, they work much better too!

Where We Saved: The daily use of a smaller oven and a new updated energy-wise dishwasher both add up to real savings on our electricity bill. And by purchasing three appliances at once, we were able to negotiate a lower price. We also saved on installation costs by installing the dishwasher and microwave ourselves.

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Good-bye Brass, hello Bronze! Oh The Brass. It is EVERYWHERE in our mid-70’s house. But now, I’m happy to say, it is gone from my kitchen. In its place is my favorite of the current (and let's just say it: trendy) finishes: Bronze. It looks traditional but not out of date. It’s classy, but still easy to keep clean. (fingerprints don’t show up like they do on chrome or some of the shinier nickel finishes)

For the faucet, we went with Delta’s Victorian Single-Handle Pull-Down Sprayer Kitchen Faucet in Venetian Bronze. I love this faucet. The high neck leaves plenty of room for the biggest pot to be filled and the pull-down sprayer is so handy, it makes cleaning the sink really fast and easy.

The knobs were surprisingly hard to choose. We must have tried at least six different styles before finding the right one. Liberty’s Theo knob in bronze with copper highlights fit the bill. It coordinates well with both the warm tones of the cabinets and the earthy colors of the counters.

Where We Saved: We avoided the fancier brands and looked instead for well-reviewed products at the big box store. It’s ridiculous how expensive knobs can be. We stuck to the budget and found what we were looking for and only paid about $4/knob.

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The Backsplash. The backsplash has really come into its own in the last few years. Used to be a row of ceramic tiles or even just a 3-4 inch extension of your counter material would do. Not anymore. Now backsplashes are extending higher, filling the wall between counter and cabinet and sometimes climbing even higher. And they come in a stunning array of styles and materials, making this one of the most difficult decisions of our whole kitchen renovation.

We knew we wanted tile but the glossy tiles looked too "bathroom-y" and the textured tiles clashed with the granite. What to do? We considered about subway tiles - they're inexpensive and go with practically any kitchen style. But The Husband wanted something with just a little more pizzazz. So we gave up our search at the big box stores and headed to a tile store instead. And there we found our perfect happy middle. Tumbled stone in a very muted off-white that won't compete with the granite, and small glass and stone tiles that add just the right amount of sparkle while also picking up on the colors in the counter.

Where We Saved: By keeping things simple and having just two rows of the smaller glass and stone tiles, we saved a lot of money. We could have saved more by installing the tile ourselves, but given the slightly complicated pattern/combination and The Husband's current lack of extra time, we decided it was worth it to hire a pro.