When it comes to kitchen renovation, how far can $1000 go? Can you make over a kitchen in need of substantial work for under $1000? This homeowner definitely showed it could be done, with some smart purchases and with his own hard work. Take a look at where he spent his money.
The really big savings in this kitchen remodel came from the condo-owner's hard work. He actually removed all the cabinets and refinished and painted them. Then he rehung them — not an easy task for the average homeowner! But if you do have those skills this is an inspiring re-do.
The rest of his budget was spent on new laminate countertops, fresh paint for the walls and cupboards, new light fixtures, cabinet pulls, a new faucet, and a glass tile backsplash.
The backsplash was by far the single most expensive item, coming in at $400. Again, the homeowner did the work himself, with a wet saw that made cutting tiles easy.
This really demonstrates again how much money you can save if you have the skills and time to do renovation work yourself.
• Read the full article: The $967 Kitchen Revamp at This Old House
Related: Kitchen Tour: Ashley Ann's $500 Light and Lovely Remodel
(Images: Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn/This Old House)
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Comments (29)
This "after" photo is pretty much exactly what my "before" looks like. So dark and out-dated. Blech.
I think it looks great!
i agree that the "before" kitchen was bland and outdated, but the darkness of the "after" kitchen actually makes the space look smaller - claustrophobically so - and still manages to look "faux-luxury" apartment-turnover-bland.
even if you don't respond to the style of the "after," it's hard to deny how much was accomplished on such a small budget. with the average cost of kitchen remodels at around $20,000, i think he's done a nice job making the kitchen into what HE likes. remember, it's his house, not ours.
I think you guys are nuts, for a thousand bucks it looks great! With a little more money they could have gotten better countertops and some new appliances but it really looks totally different and much much beter in my oppinion.
For $1000, looks fabulous! I especially love the new placement of the sink. They did a wonderful job on the cabinets too!
Getting all of that done for $1,000! Amazing.
it looks amazing, dont listen to the naysayers - im very impressed by the budget, recently DIY redid mine too and it came out to more like $3,000 - most of that went toward Corian counters which were obviously had to be a professional installation job
P.S. we did black cabinets too, yes it did make the room feel smaller but its cozy. We love it. To each their own i guess.
It looks wonderful!
I think this kitchen looks great. The money went a long way!
I am lusting after that back splash, love it! My poor kitchen needs some TLC too.
We are almost done our 3.5-4k kitchen reno. It was a mess originally and nothing was salvageable. We did venetian plaster walls, drywall on the window wall (was previously an old piece of plywood), all new cabs penninsula (hubby bought the cabs and built the doors/drawers), new flooring, counter, sink, faucet, lighting, faux tin ceiling, porcelain tile/glass tile backsplash, trim and bar stools.
Everything is diy, just like the rest of the house.
We're just entering the installation phase of our $6700 kitchen makeover and I think his is pretty damn spectacular for $1000. Thanks to lots of planning and doing ALL the work ourselves, we've managed to replace ALL the studs and drywall (mold issue-install WATERPROOF BACKING behind tile backsplashes!), build a new wall, and get entirely new kitchen cabinets with 3 new stainless steel appliances AND granite countertops!!! I heart my granite; we just chose slab the other day. This even includes bringing the electrical and plumbing to code (which in the Bay Area is $$$$$). I can't WAIT for the final product.
They did a fantastic job of making that kitchen a nicer place to be in and work in. I love that glass tile back-splash. As a renter, I would much rather move into a place with a kitchen that looks like the "after" photo than the "before" photo!
um did anyone notice how the placement of the sink and the dishwasher is now switched? i'm sure this wasn't factored in to the cost of the remodel ....
nevermind, it looks like they just connected the water from the dishwasher to the new sink and vice versa. probably not very expensive and certainly a nice change....
He could have easily switched the sink and dishwasher placement himself. Because they weren't moved far it wasn't a huge job.
I like the new kitchen, although I am getting tired of seeing those glass tiles everywhere.
I read this article in the magazine -- the guy's father is a contractor and helped with the remodel. I'd DIY my kitchen too if my dad could offer professional assistance!
If he hadn't needed to swap the sink and dishwasher, he probably wouldn't have pulled out the cabinets to repaint...
...but I think he did a great job - and I like the colors.
Looks great! He certainly knew how to stretch a dollar and make something wonderful of a rather blah kitchen.
Wow. I'm not brave enough to DIY my own plumbing. I tried to stop my bathroom faucet from leaking and dismanted it to replace the rubber washer. I only made it worse. =(
I think it looks great. The best part of the re-design was moving the sink under the window and putting the dishwasher to the right. Whoever placed the sink in its original position was, to put it very nicely, not thinking.
It looks great! It's so inspirational to see low-budget remodels like this (even if there's a contractor in the family). Sometimes you have to use what you have--case in point, the less attractive black stove combined with white fridge. I think the black cabinets help mask the stove and make all the appliances blend a little better. Good work!
I think he did an amazing job for the little bit of money he spent!
This remodel looks fantastic to me. Well done, very inspiring!
If only aesthetics were by kitchen's biggest problem! How to add square feet and functional cabinetry for under $1000.....
The re-design of the new kitchen was well thought out and improved not only the look but the utility of the space. I would have added a panel to the front of the dishwasher that matched the cabinets, this trick instantly expands the space..
If this person did in fact receive help from his father who is a contractor that should have been disclosed in your post. It is misleading to position this as a diy job that only cost $1000 when dad may have provided access to contractor's discounts, a wet saw and advice that translates to more then $1000....
He didn't do a lot that a non contractor couldn't do with some good books taken out of the library. My dad rebuilt half our house just by "figuring it out." Just because his dad is a contractor doesn't mean a handy regular Joe couldn't do the same, albeit rather slower.
As for the discounts and tools and work - you run into the exact same problem with all the "makeover" shows on TV - they only factor in materials, nothing else. But the basic idea is that a homeowner can do a lot of the same work.
As for tools, a lot of them can be rented, loaned through a network of friends, bought through a coop, found cheap on craigslist, etc. Mostly it's a factor of how patient you're willing to be.
... actually reading through the article again, it says he used "know how passes down" from his dad, not that his dad did the work. And he bought the wet saw, not borrowed it. So even if he forgot to add the wetsaw in the $400 budget for the tile backsplash, the grand total there is still just $1028. Not much to really complain about.
This is FAHHHHBULOUS ! ! !
We just bought a 1956 brick bungalow, and (horrors) they had put a new kitchen in- in 1981. Those awful white melamine cupboards with the strip of wood on the bottom (makes me wanna CRY).
I am sorting out what I want to do, and this kitchen basically is IT. Though, we don't have the $ to replace cupboard doors and I'm not quite sure how to go about making the doors look nice with that dang wood strip... and I can't find a kitchen tour where they worked with those damn cupboards... but I'm going to try to do something like this! :) Though my budget is only about $500. :s