Check out our list of cost-effective strategies to obtain the kitchen of your dreams before you begin your renovation.
The kitchen is the most expensive room to update. Even small changes like painting the existing cabinets and walls, changing the sink, tap, and plumbing, adding pendant lighting, and improving the wiring can cost $5,000 or more. The cost of redoing your kitchen could go up to $40,000, $50,000, or even more if you tear down walls, change the layout, and buy new appliances, cabinets, and floors.
So before you hire a professional contractor or start the job yourself, read our tips on how to save money on everything from small changes to a complete gut renovation. This will help you save money and still get the kitchen you want.
Spend-Smart Strategies for Your Kitchen Makeover
Paint and Save on Cabinets
The purchase of new cabinets may account for 30 to 40% of the expense of renovating your kitchen. If you like where they are and how they operate but don’t like how the finish is dark or dismal, you might paint them rather than purchase new ones. You can do it yourself, and your wallet will thank you even if it is time-consuming. Getting an expert to paint your doors is cheaper than buying new ones.
Style Tip: Taking the doors off a few high cabinets makes the room feel lighter and more open.
Splurge on a Quality Faucet
The tap is the part of the kitchen that gets used the most.
a high-quality brand and a single-handle design to make it easy to use. If your sink is next to a window, check the space between the tap and handle to ensure it fits and you won’t hit your fingers on the floor. The best sink to go with it is a simple one: So you don’t have to bend over to wash the dishes, choose a single bowl that is as big as it can be and no more than 10 inches deep.
Prep Before You Paint
Whether you do it yourself or oversee a painter, the following tips will help you do the job correctly.
- The finish’s sheen (or shininess) affects how simple it is to clean; choose semi-gloss for all of the trim, satin for cabinets that have been painted, and eggshell for the walls.
- Before you begin painting, you must prepare the surface; no amount of paint or primer can cover up damaged walls or nail holes in the trim. Caulk any seams, sand any uneven places, and replace nail holes. In addition, if you’ve hired a team, be sure your contractor specifies who is in charge of what.
- Now is the moment to paint your kitchen, not later: It should be done before placing cabinets and backsplash on the walls to save money on labor (even if you have to repeat it later), minimize paint drips on the cabinets and tiles, and guarantee a precise line where they meet the wall.
When selecting a backsplash, keep both character and functionality in mind.
Think of the wall between the bar and the shelves as a blank painting that you can use to show who you are. The look of subway tiles is classic unless they are big, laid vertically, or put together in a herringbone pattern. Cleaning the spaces between the pieces of a small mosaic is hard.
You can also use plywood or metal ceiling tiles instead of tiles. There are also glass, metal, stone, mosaic, etched clay tiles, and other things. Choose something that shows off your style and is generally nice and easy to take care of. This way, when you try to sell your house, it won’t turn off potential buyers.
Consider Quartz
According to the National Kitchen & Bath Association, quartz, manufactured in a factory but looks like stone, has surpassed granite as the preferred surface material. Quartz is almost hard to break, scratch, or chip and never has to be sealed.
Quartz comes in various colors and designs, many of which resemble the natural patterns of marble and limestone, which are difficult to clean and need to be more suitable for kitchen slabs.
Don’t Scrimp on Lighting
You can pick from three different kinds of kitchen light fixtures. As a hint, you want all of them.
- To provide people with a pleasant light where they will stand and work, install them in the ceilings of all open levels.
- When it’s the sole light on, use the under-cabinet lighting to offer task illumination over the surfaces and to draw attention to the countertop, backsplash, and cabinets.
- Pendants and other ceiling lights: Without creating shadows, pendant lights are a terrific way to illuminate work spaces like islands, peninsulas, and sinks.
Consider alternatives to flooring with a wood look.
Wood has a timeless, natural beauty, but dents, scratches, and wear may rapidly ruin it in the kitchen.
Porcelain tile is simple to maintain and available in various styles, including some that resemble natural stone and wood. Most items that fall on porcelain, however, will shatter.
So consider the following nicer alternatives: The luxury vinyl and laminate flooring exhibited here is long-lasting, soft, gentle, and available in various wood appearances that most people mistake for the genuine thing.
Budget Guidelines for a Major Kitchen Remodel
Three factors should be considered when selecting how much to spend on your kitchen remodel:
- How much you can afford to spend on your ideal kitchen?
- Kitchen quality in other houses in your neighborhood.
- How long do you plan to stay in your present location? When looking for resale payback, keep the following in mind: The value of that room as a percentage of the total value of your house defines how much you should be willing to spend on a significant renovation.
Get Out Your Wallet for a Gut Job
By tearing everything down to the studs, you may change the location and size of doors and windows, add, move, or remove walls, run new electrical, plumbing, and heating/cooling systems, find and repair any rot or bug damage, and insulate.
Demolition, removal of existing materials, and replacement of wallboard and trim, on the other hand, will significantly raise the cost of your project. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of your particular project with your contractor.
Insulate Well Before Putting Up Walls
Spray foam insulation is the best protection against outside temperatures and drafts. Still, fiberglass batt insulation or stone wool insulation may save you thousands of dollars if you’ve gutted the kitchen.
Before hanging drywall, you should also ensure that your builder furs out the ceiling to make it level (if the joists aren’t straight) and puts the wallboard with screws instead of nails to prevent nail pops.
It looks like high-end cabinets for less money.
Custom cabinets, manufactured to your precise design and size specifications, do not have to be expensive. You may choose your door style, wood type, and finish.
Consider two low-cost options: Stock cabinets are the quickest and cheapest to ship. Each manufacturer offers a limited selection of designs and finishes in three-inch sizes. Semi-custom cabinets are manufactured to order from a company’s regular styles and patterns and, available in one-inch increments, are the Goldilocks option.
Invest in New Windows
You don’t have to tear down your kitchen to change the windows and doors, but if you want to move them or make them bigger, you might have to.
Your new windows will save you money on your energy bills, make it easy to clean them, and get rid of the ugly storm windows that are often added to older homes with single-pane windows. But if the building is old, you shouldn’t replace high-quality wood windows with cheap plastic copies.
Do you have any further questions about your kitchen remodel? Please contact LK West Valley City General Contractors; we are happy to help!
