Updating my Kitchen on a Budget: Part 1

13 Sep Updating my Kitchen on a Budget: Part 1

By: Stephanie Andrews

When we bought our house, I never expected that I would want to update my kitchen and baths every 10-12 years. (I don’t think that they tell you this when you are signing your mortgage paperwork!)  We design many kitchens and baths at work. These rooms are so important to making your house functional and a impactful way to express your style.  These renovations are also the most expensive rooms in the home. The average kitchen renovation at Balance Design costs around $100k, and the average primary bath is around $60-70k. However, this is not necessarily doable within our budget, especially considering my affinity for change.

But what about when we don’t want to change everything (for cost and sustainability reasons) and merely wish to freshen up? This was my challenge: to present a beautiful update to my husband, Ed. Ed would prefer we do nothing until we can knock down walls, move the bathroom, and rethink our little house. I estimate these costs to be around $250k! We have been having this “discussion” for the last 5 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Existing Kitchen

I still may not be able to make this update happen, but I am going to give it a try. Over the next few weeks, I will also share some cost estimates with you. Today, however, I will present some design concepts I am considering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Inspiration for the Kitchen’s New Look.

First, let me share my “why.” I want our kitchen to have more closed storage. I see items all the time in the kitchen and laundry (attached to the kitchen) that make it visually chaotic. My intention is to provide one extra cabinet and doors for the upper cabinets on the stove side. I would also like to update the colors by painting the cabinets, removing some of the upper cabinets and adding floating shelves, adding a new backsplash, new lighter quartz countertops, knobs and pulls and generally warming up the palette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Existing Laundry Room

In the laundry room, I would like to stack the washer and dryer, create a tall cabinet beside it, and create a long bench with drawers under the windows. Many of these drawers will contain supplies that we use for our little Airbnb above the garage.  I think it would also make a big difference to switch out the tile floors and add a cozy rug.  A new Japanese Ginko chandelier may also be a sweet addition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Inspiration for the Laundry Room’s New Look.

I am sharing this with you because I think this cosmetic fix is a good- cost-effective solution to some of our concerns until inevitably we will want a change in another 5-8 years. Perhaps even longer! The last time we did a cosmetic update on the kitchen was when we completely renovated our baths around 2017. In that update, we got new black granite countertops, bought a new stove and fridge, painted the cabinets, and added wood floors. So if this update works well, we can make our original kitchen that was built around 2001 last another 8 years, and perhaps we (I) may even be ready for the complete renovation that Ed is looking for.