Reader Redesign: Penny Pinchin’ In The Kitchin’
Kitchen renovating bargains like this are few and far between. Here’s Christina’s letter:
We still have some finishing details to take care of, but I’m too excited not to share our super affordable kitchen makeover. My husband Trevor and I did everything ourselves so of course we saved some loot there, but we also shopped around to score cheap (and even free) items to totally transform our tiny kitchen. Man was the before bleak, but we got rid of the ’70s wall oven and cooktop and replaced them with a white glass top (free from a friend who upgraded). We also installed an above-range microwave (found on sale for $160) and my hubby ripped out the old cabinets and the outdated soffit that was above them. Then we installed white stock cabinets from Lowe’s (for around $900) and also switched out the dark faux-wood counters for stock ones from Lowe’s (for only $70). We also ripped up all the gross white linoleum and laid wood laminate from Lumber Liquidator’s (for just .68/sq foot) which we carried out into the living and dining room too. The total for redoing the floor in all three rooms including the floor pad was just $268. The last thing we did was paint with colors right off your website: Ruffled Feathers and Eastern Lighthouse by Glidden. All told, our little kitchen got a giant makeover for around $1400! – Christina
Can you argue with those amazing (and affordable!) before and afters? There’s definitely something to be said for setting a budget and sticking to it. Fabulous job Christina and Trevor! Oh and Christina mentioned that her newly spiffed kitch (along with the rest of her home) will be on sale this spring in Mount Vernon, Iowa- so if anyone in the neighborhood is interest they should definitely keep an eye out for it…
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Looks great! I redid my kitchen this time last year and installed the same cabinets and countertop! The new floor looks amazing.
That is such a great update, especially for a home you are planning to sell soon, a home you might flip or rent. Best bang for the buck!
Wow, this is so inspiring! I love the new floor, and the clean look of the kitchen is so great!
It looks great, definitely a huge improvement. We remodeled our former homes kitchen a couple of years ago.
You can see the pictures here.
http://thedailyself.blogspot.com/2009/01/then.html
Nicely done.
What a great job! I wonder why they need such a big fridge in a space that size, though. (My thoughts have officially become European, I guess!)
Katie
Oh, wow, much better! It’s amazing how much bigger it looks–I like that the counter along the back wall was 86ed. That paint color is perfect.
WOW!! I am AMAZED you did all of that for such a low price. Bra-vo!
I’ve been contemplating painting my kitchen Eastern Lighthouse. I really want a steel grey but things end up blue in the light of my kitchen. Is it my monitor or did Eastern Lighthouse end up fairly blue in this kitchen? Any ideas for good Greys?
Looks great! I have to know where you got that utensil crock with your last name and “est.” year. I saw it in Sherry’s gift wrap center as well. Love it!
Thanks for your great comments, everyone! The new kitchen is a definite improvement. For Katie, the giant fridge is actually from our last home, which had a much larger kitchen. If we were going to buy a new fridge, we would have gone with a much smaller version. But this one still works great and we couldn’t justify getting rid of it. (And we’re hoping it will fit better in the next house!) Hoping to send in an inspiring b & a of our bathroom next!
Mount Vernon Iowa?! I’m glad there are other faithful YHL readers from the area. Woot woot Cedar Rapids!
Wow! That’s both inspiring and impressive.
Christina – your remodel looks great! I had to laugh because I had the EXACT same cooktop and EXACT same countertop (along with similar dark cabinets) in our kitchen. My house was built in 1978. We’ve painted our cabinets white, replaced countertops with the most inexpensive granite we could find, and put in new appliances. Major difference. Now we just need to deal with our popcorn ceiling and awful lighting (and probably a backsplash). I like that simple round ceiling fixture…do you mind sharing where you got it?
WOO HOO!!! I was waiting and waiting for this to show! Great job T! You know I love it!!! Awesome remodel and really made such a difference in the house!
Christina and Trevor, your beautiful updated galley kitchen will surely catch the eye of potential buyers this spring. Very impressive renovation for an amazing price!
Some answers:
Jenny A: The crock was a wedding gift from my sister. I think the catalog Hearthstone carries them. I don’t think they are that hard to find.
Lisa: The color that you see in the kitchen is actually Ruffled Feathers. We used Eastern Lighthouse in the living room. I think you might like Eastern Lighthouse. It is much more gray than Ruffled Feathers.
E: We wondered what year they remodeled; the house was built in 1958. Good to know! The light fixture is from Lowe’s. If I remember correctly, it was in the $30 range.
Kate: So glad to know you are both here on YHL and in my “neighborhood!”
Thanks everyone!
I like it, but I think it would look more polished with a backsplash.
looks great!
just an FYI, cabinet manufacturers use white painted maple for things like fillers and valances and mouliding. so if you want to add extras to your laminate kitchen, all you need is a matching white paint and some wood.
Love the floor!
Any opinions / raves / rants on Lumber Liquidators DIY laminate and engineered flooring? I’ve seen the Ikea laminate chip quite easily on the edges as it was being put down as well as while installed. But the self-installation and price are soooo tempting. Would love to hear anyone’s experience.
You can’t argue with the price. And installation was easy (or at least it looked that way as my hubby was installing it!) I can emphasize that you need a good, level subfloor. We do have one small area where the laminate has buckled up, as though there is a nail or something under it. If our budget had allowed, I would have chosen a laminate with a thicker laminate face. While this floor is doing ok, with two young boys and a dog, we do have a few scratches. In a lighter duty household, I think it would be ok. The customer service at Lumber Liquidators was good; the sales guy was knowledgeable enough and didn’t try to up-sell us, which I always appreciate.
I’m so impressed with the bargain hunts. How did you get counter tops for $70? What do you mean for “stock” counter tops? I’m clueless! :)
Lowes sells ‘stock’ countertops, where you basically just cut them to the size you want. They have about 5 different patterns. I believe, but check with T, that you kinda iron/glue on the side pieces.
We just put the stock laminate counters in our kitchen. We had a total of 6 pieces to order (2 of which had to be ordered custom b/c they were so long). The supplies were a little over $500 but we paid a carpenter to install them (not sure how much that cost since we have him doing other things as well).
We’re definitely working on the kitchen still but you can kind of get the idea here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29769745@N08/2970163660/
I have to give you a shout out for Mt. V! I went to school at Cornell and I miss Mt. Vernon in the spring time. A tulip in every garden and a flower on every tree. Were you guys moving out of MV?