Kitchen Glow-Up for Every Budget: From Broke to Big money!
Are you a Broke-y, Ballin on a Budget or Big Money!!
Kitchen makeovers can be super expensive. Your budget will help you decide where and when to tackle a Kitchen Renovation. This is a renovation that is known to increase your homes value and future you (or future buyers, if you care about them) will appreciate for years to come! In this page well show some things you can change in your kitchen if you are a Broke-y (Surface level renovation), Ballin’ on a Budget (Some money but need to spend wisely) or if you’re Big Money (You’ve saved or simply have the money for a full renovation)
Kitchen Budget Tier: Broke-y
There are many things you can do to renovate a kitchen as a Brokeyyyy!!! A broken might be someone who had the money to buy the house but has not budget you really make any big changes! And thats okay! We all start somewhere. In my Kitchen Renovation in 2021 I did a mix of upgrades some very budget friendly, and others were a splurge.
Your best friend is PAINT!
Cabinets
How to Paint your Kitchen cabinets with a roller: (Detailed tutorial here)
All you need is a quality foam roller made for doors and cabinets and some grit both literally and figuratively. Kitchen cabinets can be grimy and have years of baked on oils and other stuff. So PREP is essential!
- 1: Use a degreaser with a microfiber cloth to degrease and clean all your cabinet surfaces
- 2: Lightly sand your cabinets with 220grit sandpaper to lightly scuff the surface (for better adhesion)
- 3: Using your roller prime the cabinets. One coat is okay but two is ideal
- If you find that the tannins (brown spots from wood) are coming through the primer STOP!
- You need to get a the Zinsser Bin Shellac or Zinsser Coverstain Primer instead, otherwise the tannins will bleed through your final color
- 4: When the primer is dry, roll on your final color. Do at least two coats
Primer to ensure proper paint adhesion. To prep, sand with 220 grit sandpaper, sipe clean and then prime
Foam Roller great for a smooth finish
Cabinet and Furniture Paint. More Durable finish that can withstand more bumps and constant used/touching.
Tape to ensure crisp lines. You may skip this step if you are great at controlling your paint brush/roller
How to Paint your Kitchen cabinets with a Paint Sprayer
All you need is a quality sprayer with a fine tip, an outdoor or covered space and some grit both literally and figuratively. Kitchen cabinets can be grimy and have years of baked on oils and other stuff. So PREP is essential!
Wear protective gloves, goggles, and respirator to avoid inhaling paint particles in the air. Paint goes everywhere.
- 1: Use a degreaser with a microfiber cloth to degrease and clean all your cabinet surfaces
- 2: Lightly sand your cabinets with 220grit sandpaper to lightly scuff the surface (for better adhesion)
- 3: If you are sparring inside use painters tape and plastic sheeting to cover all surfaces you DO NOT want paint on. Paint sprayers are know to overspray.
- 4: Using your sprayer thin your primer/paint as recommended in the can.
- 5: Prime the cabinets. One coat is okay but two is ideal
- If you find that the tannins (brown spots from wood) are coming through the primer STOP!
- You need to get a the Zinsser Bin Shellac or Zinsser Coverstain Primer instead, otherwise the tannins will bleed through your final color.
- You may have to roll these primers based on your Paint sprayer specifications.
- 6: When the primer is dry, Spray on your final color. Do at least two coats
Primer to ensure proper paint adhesion. To prep, sand with 220 grit sandpaper, sipe clean and then prime
Sprayer speeds up application, good for a smoothen finish
Requires more prep and uses more paint
Cabinet and Furniture Paint. More Durable finish that can withstand more bumps and constant used/touching.
Mask to protect your lungs. Paint sprayers have a lot of overspray and you don’t want to breathe in paint mist particles!
Make sure to have a particulate filter
Kitchen Budget Tier: Ballin on a Budget
In this ties maybe you can buy some cabinets instead of simply painting the ones you have. Congratulations….you may still need to paint them but now you have more room to customize. I did my kitchen on a budget as part of the ORC in 2022!
Thrifting or discount shops
Did you know people pull out perfectly good cabinets the donate them? Architectural salvage, Re-stores and other thrift like shops get these cabinets and you can buy them for a fraction of what they cost new!!
Here you can find
- Cabinets
- Stone countertops
- Sinks
- Faucets
- Appliances
All for the budget minded individuals
DIY Kitchen Cabinets
There are two types of DIY cabinets…Flat pack like Ikea where you can customized your kitchen based at a store then put it all together yourself. Saving thousands! The other option is to buy the raw materials like plywood and hardware to cut and build a completely custom solution
Both require some skill of being able to read and follow direction of full carpentry. What you save in money you spend in time, effort and potential hassle. Do you think it’s worth it?
DIY Stone Cutting
While balling on a budget you might find yourself needing to cut granite or other stone surfaces. Many granite and stone companies will not touch this job with a 10foot pole. It severely increases their liability if they accidentally crack the stone or mess it up in some other way. Many of them have minimums or they may say they can do it but ghost.
Either way you may feel helpless BUT you can do this yourself. It requires a lot of patience and a handheld wet tile saw
Kitchen Budget Tier: Big Money
You’ve made it! You have a nice budget, you can hire contractors and get stuff done. No need for grit and grind! I hope to be you someday. So what do you need to know from here?
Figuring out your Kitchen budget
Know what you can spend and on what so you don’t blow it all on one thing! Budget costs in a kitchen can be
- Paint and painting tools
- Paint (for Cabinets and furniture, more durable)
- Paint (for walls)
- Paint Rollers and Trays
- Painters Tape
- Paint sprayer (for smooth professional finish)
- Tarps or drop cloths
- Cabinets
- Base cabinet
- Wall cabinets
- Drawer Pulls
- Drawers and hardware
- Specialty cabinet accessories
- Blind corner
- Trash can/recycling
- Lazy Susan
- Pantry
- Appliances
- Dishwasher
- Microwave
- Fridge
- Electrical
- Outlets
- Lights
- Rewiring
- Tile
- Flooring
- Backsplash
- Tile accessories (grout, adhesive)
- And more!
How to get quotes from Contractors
Call around your local area for contractors. There are different tiers or contractors. NEVER TELL THEM YOUR BUDGET upfront! Some will use that number as the starting point of what to charge you.
- General Contractor
- They can handle lots of different types of jobs, usually will have a know list of reliable subcontractors they call out for different parts of a job. They are are usually also the project manager and and good one will try to keep things moving with those they subcontract to do the job
- Specialty
- Kitchen and Bath contractor
- Tiling Contractor/guy
- Painter
- Granite/stone (may also help the sink install)
- Handy Person
- They can handle smaller jobs that you wouldn’t need a whole contractor to do.
Contractor Red flags
- Require full payment upfront
- Makes it so they can take the money and run. No recourse if they need to fix things
- No references
- Pushy
- Disregard agreed on plans/project or constantly changing
- If you are a woman: insist on talking only two a man
