All About The Benjamins
After our big kitchen reveal yesterday, it seems like the million dollar question still lingers: how much did it cost? (Hint: It wasn’t millions… and it was WAY below the national average spent on a major kitchen remodel, which is $44,000 according to realtor.org)
After crunching some numbers last night we figured out exactly how much our wallets really bled during this project and (thankfully) how much we managed to save in the process. And we’re talking start to finish- wider doors, new floors, electrical, lighting, appliances, etc, etc. This wasn’t just your average cabinet and countertop update.
Here’s the breakdown:
Demo & Construction: $1,400 (negotiated down from $2,400) A local contractor and mason removed old counters and cabinets, widened 2 doorways, and closed off 1 existing doorway.
Electrical: $900 (negotiated down from $2,100) A local electrician wired the microwave, dishwasher, disposal, and added 5 recessed lights and 1 pendant fixture over the sink.
Wood Flooring: $1,200 (on sale from $3,000) Oak floors from Lumber Liquidators were installed by a local contractor.
Appliances & Fixtures: $800 (originally priced at $1,500) We purchased a pendant light, cabinet hardware, a stainless steel hood and microwave, a garbage disposal, a wholesale sink and a faucet (and we got a free dishwasher along with a laundry appliance purchase). We reused our existing fridge and stove.
Kitchen Design: $0 We used Home Depot’s free, in-house Certified Kitchen Designer (thanks Nancy!)
Cabinets: $9,500 (after $500 cash back promotion) We ordered KraftMaid Bel Air cabinets through Home Depot with reinforced drawer slides, Thermafoil protection, one glass-front cabinet door and a wooden two-tiered lazy susan base cabinet. This price includes installation.
Countertops: $3,700 (after $300 off promotion) We ordered Stonemark granite counters through Home Depot. This price includes installation.
***GRAND TOTAL: $17,500***
So thanks to purchasing a wholesale sink and faucet on eBay, buying drawer pulls in bulk, picking up deeply discounted wood flooring, taking advantage of a free kitchen designer, timing our purchases to score promotions, and negotiating with local contractors (and getting second- and third- estimates) we saved $5,500.
Savings aside, this was still a pretty hefty expense for us. But when we look at it as an investment in our home – both in its livability for us and its resale value – it’s definitely money we can already tell was well spent.
113 Days Later
Who would have ever thought we’d be without a kitchen for almost four months? Not us. But it’s baaaaaack. And it’s better than ever.
First a shot of the kitchen that came with the house when we purchased it almost two years ago:
And now for the dramatic transformation we promised. The granite was totally the icing on the cake. Here’s a shot of the whole shebang as seen from the living/dining room:
And here’s a shot of the left side with that sexy hood that we just used while MAKING DINNER. Sorry for the caps, we just haven’t made dinner at home in ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN DAYS!!! Oops, there I go again.
Here’s the right side with our stainless dishwasher, fridge, and microwave- is there anything we can’t cook in our new kitchen? Well, yes. But at least we’ll burn the filet mignon in style.
This is a shot of the little microwave nook, a really cute little bonus area in a corner of the kitchen that we originally planned to leave bare. Thank goodness for our kitchen designer Nancy Kulik, who convinced us that storage is better than floorage.
And here’s a closer shot of my favorite corner, which sports all sorts of little extras. A cabinet with a glass door (which does wonders for making the kitchen seem less “boxed in”)…
… and a built in double-tiered lazy susan for an insane amount of storage in the base cabinet:
And no kitchen is complete without a little jewelry. Our brushed nickel faucet fits the bill. And check out that undermount sink. Me-ow.
We hope the wait was worth it for all you lovely readers. We’d love to know what you think!
Kitchen Confidential
The counters are in and boy are they better than sliced bread. After months of waiting for a surface to dice upon, any old counter would do. But our sparkling new granite is just the bees knees. And instead of revealing the new counters, we’ve decided to make you wait until tomorrow (when the faucet, sink, and dishwasher will be fully installed) and then post the FINAL BEFORE AND AFTERS! Can you tell we’re excited?
But the start of the day wasn’t nearly as thrilling as the end. It was full of the usual trials and tribulations of home improvement. First, when the truck pulled up I thought it was some sort of joke. Check out the vehicle that delivered our gorgeous 520 million year old stone:
That’s right, it’s an Arnold Bread Truck. I thought I was hallucinating. And then when they struggled to transport the insanely heavy slabs into the kitchen and proceeded to wrestle them into place, I expected to peek into the kitchen and see scratched floors, dented cabinets and obliterated appliances. In fact, at one point I passed by only to be greeted by my stove in the middle of the doorway. I never thought the kitchen would have to come apart again only to be put back together after the counters were placed.
But by some small miracle, three ulcer-inducing hours later it looked great. Better than great, actually. And save for one small paint touch up (that I completed once the bread truck pulled away) the kitchen was utterly…
…well, you’ll have to come back tomorrow to see the results for yourself.
Update: Check out the big kitchen reveal right here, and see it after a bit more accessorizing right here.
