Cost Breakdown : The Kitchen
So renovations are supposed to be this crazy financial burden, right?
Well, yes and no.
No doubt, this renovation was the most costly update to our home, but it was a fraction of what it easily could have been. In fact, when we had Home Depot and Lowes give us a design and estimate, it was well over 12K for the cabinets alone (and they were using smaller room measurements than we ended up with).
We still have a few small bits and pieces to add, of course, because curating your home from a blank slate takes time. We are still learning our style, but we definitely lean towards a mid-century modern minimalist look. It's important to me that the items I put on display are meaningful or serve a purpose. I'm just not one who cares for excess :) There is nothing left to do in this home that is necessary for living our daily lives, though, so it is nice to relax and enjoy finding those final little pieces as they come.
However, now that this project is behind us, I have gone through and sorted out all the costs and will be breaking it down for you. I have not been shy about telling our real life friends how much this thing was, mostly because I think people really should know that a kitchen renovation does not have to cost an arm and a leg. Granted, we saved boatloads by doing it ourselves, but even then, we really hunted around for the best quality for the best price, and I'm thrilled with how it all turned out. I'm super satisfied with IKEA... not only their products, but their customer service. The process for this project (especially since it was DIY) meant we had to have a lot of involvement. IKEA is well aware of the fact that their customers may be doing this themselves, so they are happy to answer any 'dumb' questions concerning installation or what each item listed is used for. That being said, living 40 minutes away from a store was pretty essential to our success with them. For more photos, see the reveal post.
Okay, okay. Enough yammering on... here is the cost breakdown:
Demolition
Blades: $12
Brown paper & tape: $15
Trash bins: $20
Shop Vac & filters: $65
Total: $112
Ceilings
Scaffolding: $0 (We owned a ladder and a bunch of weird wooden island things that came in super handy)
Mud: $35
Industrial sander (rented): $50
Primer: $30
Paint: $40
Total: $155
Walls
Materials for half-wall: $60
Drywall: $70
Mud and tape: (used what was left from ceilings)
Primer: (used what was left from ceilings)
Paint: $80
Trim paint: (already owned from previous projects)
Outlets: $100 (switches, covers, GFCI, boxes)
Electrical: $200
Trim brush: $6
Paint rollers: $10
Total: $526
Plumbing
Piping, valves, p-trap: $160
Total: $160
Appliances
Stove: $499
Fridge: $979
Microwave: $250
Garbage disposal: $50
Sink: $180
Already owned faucets and dishwasher.
Total: $1,958
Other
Cabinets (including handles): $3,900
Countertops: $256
Lighting: $140
Ceiling fan: $35
Misc decor (towels, placemat, planter, drawer liners, utensil trays, plate holders, spice holder and bottles, cutting boards, coffee container, candles, etc..): $300
Total: $4,631
GRAND TOTAL: $7,542
The pictures really don't do this place justice. Our cabinets are huge and very sturdy, our appliances are wonderful (yay for an ice machine!), and the counter space has made such a monumental difference in how we prep and cook.
So for less than 8K we completely re-did our kitchen and part of our living room (it still needs some built-ins on either side of the fireplace). Again, thousands were saved by the fact that we did not hire out for any of the work, but regardless, we did such in-depth research on how to pull this off without breaking the bank and I am pretty proud of how it turned out.
Do you guys have other questions about this project? I would be more than happy to cover any specific topics that you are wondering about!
Kitchen Progress 2
I'm not sure how exciting and/or interesting this whole renovation may be to some of you, but considering it has been the complete and utter bane of Tom and my existence for the last two months, it's getting covered here quite a bit. I hope you enjoy it, but if not, you can rest easy on the fact that we are nearly done! Trust me, that comes as more of a relief to me than it does to you - hahaha! We have learned so much from this process and there are plenty of snippets of wisdom regarding a DIY renovation that I'll be sharing with you all soon. Seriously. We've learned some really weird things about renovating that no one ever warns you about. So stay tuned for some words of wisdom!
Today though, I thought I'd give you an update on our progress. This will be the last update (most likely) until the final reveal... but that won't come until July because we're waiting to hit the 4th of July sales for our new appliances. We got tempted by the Memorial Day sales, but we know the July round will be better. Not to mention, we've gotten pretty dang good about being patient. Two months without a kitchen sink or oven will do that to you. See? Wisdom.
In my last update, we had successfully managed the demolition, electrical, and were patching up the drywall. You could make out the faint outline of a kitchen, but since then, we have made leaps and bounds. If I'm being honest, where I left off in my last update is about when we started to feel the burn of renovation life. We were tired of it, and it seemed like we hadn't gotten anywhere. But. About a week later, we finally started to feel the down hill speed picking up and have been trucking along ever since.
I tried to group the photos in "fours" of the same angle taken over the last month. Basically what you're seeing in terms of stages are: patched, sanded, painted, and current status. It's truly amazing how important the seemingly little things are in a functioning kitchen. We still have toe-kicks, faucets, outlet and switch covers, more lighting, a backsplash, new appliances, door/drawer handles, finishing touches on the counters, a pantry and fridge cabinet to assemble and install, shelves to place in cabinets, and more. So as close as it might seem, there is still plenty to be done. But heck, I'm just thankful I could actually bake a frozen pizza in a REAL oven last night. Praise Jesus.
Anyways, enjoy the progress photos and see below for links to a few products (lights, paint colors, etc..).
What do you think? We are soooo ready to have a couch in our home again and a TV on the wall. And maybe a few bottles of wine.... each. But hey, it's been totally worth it, who am I kidding?
Paint color: Silver City by Behr
Trim paint: Maui Mist by Behr
Pendants: RANARP by IKEA
Handles: VARDE by IKEA
Countertop: SALJAN by IKEA
Cabinet/Drawer fronts: GRIMSLOV by IKEA
Sink: KOHLER from Home Depot
Microhood: BETRODD by IKEA (fun fact: all IKEA appliances are actually Whirlpool)
Any questions? Drop me a comment or contact me!
Question: What kind of range is best?
I can't resist a little Office humor.
Here's the dealio.
We're hoping to renovate our kitchen sometime this year and it's going to need all new appliances as well. The fridge has already been chosen, but the range (and we are for sure getting a range) has been of recent discussion lately.
I grew up with electric coils and have never had an issue. Since I learned how to cook on them, the issue of "control" has never bothered me that much and I got used to it. After we got married our apartments used electric coils - still used to it, still not a big deal. When we got our house, though, it came with a gas stove - much to Tom's delight. I had heard him speak highly of gas and the ability to control the temp more easily, so I was looking forward to trying it myself and was honestly convinced I'd love it. We love to cook, so having gas was pretty exciting (searing over electric coils isn't the best... things like that). Sadly, I really do hate to admit it: I hate our gas stove!
Years ago, we made an agreement that I would eventually get the final say on a fridge, and Tom would have the final say on a range. We would take each other's thoughts into account, but it would ultimately be up to that person. The reason we made this agreement is because Thomas feels more strongly about stoves than I do, and I feel strongly about certain fridges.
Unfortunately, I now feel pretty darn strongly about ranges! So we're going over the pros and cons of certain types and trying to make an educated decision. Granted, we won't get one for several months, but it's good to be prepared and be able to keep an eye out for sales on appliances you eventually want to buy.
We are still weighing the pros and cons and I thought it might be sort of fun to open the floor for discussion with others. Let me share with you what we have and please share your two-cents as well in the comments.
Gas
CONS
- Entire cooktop gets hot
- Open flame is dangerous (towels, children's fingers, reaching for cabinets above)
- Middle space too hot to use for drippy spoons/utensils
- Difficult to clean
- Takes forever to boil
- Cannot get to food if dropped under flame
- Cannot whisk for long periods without burning hand/utensil handle
- Can heat room temperature
- Oven takes longer to heat
PROS
- Cheaper
- Temperature control
- Can still use in power outage
Electric (Glass Cooktop)
CONS
- Lack of temperature control
- Hot burner
- Uneven cooking
- Takes a while to boil
- Can't use in a power outage
- Glass could crack/break
PROS
- Cheaper
- Easy clean-up
- No flame
- Only single burner gets hot, not entire surface
- Safer for fabric and children
- Attractive look
- Can use as extra counter space when not in use
Induction
CONS
- Expensive
- Needs special pans (though, we do own them)
- Unknown: neither of us have used it before
- Can't use in a power outage
- Unsure of technical issues
- Lack of product choices or variety
PROS
- Temperature control
- Fast boil time
- Easy cleanup
- Safe, cool surface
- No flame
- Attractive look
- Can use as extra counter space when not in use
This is a really difficult decision! What are your opinions? We don't know a ton about induction, but we're very curious.
I mean, when shopping for these things, even the location of the knobs becomes a factor! We're not sure if we trust a completely "touch-screen" based range - what if something in the software busts? What about ovens that have a small upper level and a larger bottom level? Don't you save some energy and time if you can heat up only the smaller oven for baking cookies or cooking a casserole? Can basic be better in saving yourself from tech errors down the road? What's the deal with slide-in ranges - are they worth the extra cost?
We would LOVE to hear your thoughts!