When Kitchn reader Linn emailed us photos of her bungalow kitchen makeover, we immediately wanted to know more. Before the renovation, this 90 square-foot kitchen was "very green," as she tells us, with mint green linoleum, walls, and ceiling--perfect for the 1940's perhaps, but not so great for the 21st century. To save on costs, Linn and her husband did the remodel themselves, and on a very tight budget:
As Linn writes on her blog:
Luckily the wooden cabinets and drawers were in good condition, so we refinished them (basically sanding and re-painting twice, annoying!) and added new hardware. In terms of the flooring, we ripped out that old linoleum tile, and put in a gorgeous new marble and granite tile in a checkerboard diamond pattern. We tiled all of the kitchen walls with white subway tile and replaced that old linoleum counter with a brand new stainless steel counter...We put in a new stainless steel sink, switched the fridge and the stove to let more light into the room, bought a new separate fridge and freezer (the freezer we put in the adjacent utility room) and we also added a gorgeous new gas stove!
The total cost of the renovation came out to $6,230, with more than half of that going to new appliances. (An itemized cost breakdown can be found here.)
Thanks for sharing, Linn!
Read More: Small Kitchen Remodel Before & After at The Home Project
(Images: The Home Project)
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Elizabeth Apron fro...
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
My kitchen has a similar shape and size - this is a real inspiration for me to get to work this summer.
It looks fantastic! Great job! One minor thought -- could the refrigerator door open the other way?
What amazing bang for your buck! Such good decisions! The kitchen looks fresh and nice, but it has no chance of looking dated. I can see you kept your heads during this renovation.
Beautiful job. I also agree that switching the hinge on the refrigerator would be a huge improvement.
looks great! i love that you used an "upscale" diner tile with the granite and marble. we had sheet vinyl black and white floors before we replaced the kitchen floors and it was hideous, but this version looks classy!
also love the stainless steel counters. we have a stainless steel island and LOVE the versatility of it.
great reno. definitely shows how far a little bit of elbow grease can go!!
Very nice-- I kind of liked the mint green wall though.
Hi guys, This is Linn from The Home Project. Thanks for all your kind words about my kitchen! I love how the remodel came out myself!
Regarding the fridge: it really should swing the other way, one of those things we haven't gotten around to yet (really should get on that since it's not something big to do!) Also, the reason why we chose this kind of fridge is to get more space - we also have a full sized freezer in the adjacent utility room. We love to cook and bake and had been wanting a full sized fridge AND a full sized freezer for a long time. With a French door fridge you don't get nearly as much space as we have now.
I kind of agree the mint colored walls were charming and I were tempted to keep them, but then I also couldn't resist the clean look the subway tile provides...
Beautiful! Can you come do mine???