Kitchen Renovation Under $1,000 – In 2 Weekends
I’m so happy with my newly organized kitchen, thanks to Apartment Therapy’s Kitchen Cure. I thought I’d pitch in and share a kitchen renovation I did for less than a thousand dollars. Ready?
The photo, above, is the completed project. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show the right-hand counter or the tiny range. But you get the idea.
This was my first show house. The Junior League gave me a tiny kitchen that had been part of a mother-in-law’s apartment. It was so depressing, I think I may have been the only designer who bid on it.
As you can see, the floor was Ick! The cabinets and counters were a snore. The hardware was cheesy “brass”. This was one ugly kitchen. I love a challenge and could see the potential just waiting to be brought out.
If you have an ugly kitchen, you can transform it too. I overhauled this one in two weekends for under $1,000. Here’s how I did it.
MORE!
10 Inspiring Kitchens That Ditched The Cabinets
Planning a kitchen fix-up? As long as storage isn’t a problem, consider opening up the room by foregoing the upper cabinets. Replace them with open shelves or no shelves at all.
Here are ten photos to inspire you.
1. Black and Blue with Brass all over
A wall of beautiful tile beats cabinets any day. The La Cornue doesn’t hurt either. The open space is cheerful. But you can modify this with cabinets by using the tile as a backsplash.
2. I love skirts
I love the residential look of this kitchen. This is a nicely done, inexpensive kitchen. It’s comprised of a skirt to cover under-counter shelves. I love, love, love skirts in the kitchen. Did I mention that I love skirts? You might think that, with open shelves, you’d need to be super organized. But here, things are a bit higgldy-piggeldy and it looks terrific. I know the pots are too high, but everyone knows they’re for decoration. A good idea, huh?
3. All you need is La Cornue
Stainless steel counters play off the trim on the La Cornue. You need that pop of color. Keep your cooking utensils grouped together and the rest of the counters clear. It looks better and you’ll have more space to cook. I like those hanging pots.
4. Ooops! (Read on)
A kitchen in a hall? Why not? This gets an A+ for the most creative use of space. Notice the oven on the end there. If the chicken doesn’t turn out quite right, just chuck it down the stairs and say you slipped.
5. Natural layers lend a cozy atmosphere
I love the rustic materials in this kitchen. The brick and slate on the walls looks terrific teamed with the mosaic tiles on the floor. Is that another La Cornue? Well, if you’re going to buy one of those, you won’t be able to afford cabinets unless you’ve got a contract with the City of Detroit. I love the china cabinet in the same color as the slate.
more kitchen inspiration after the jump…
$30 Kitchen Makeover
Have a tiny kitchen that needs a quick makeover? Here’s an idea from Sunset Magazine I thought I’d share with you.
There are many ways to transform an outdated kitchen quickly an inexpensively. This kitchen suffered from 1970′s appliances and boring cabinets. So….
The kitchen was transformed using rust-resistant, Kelly Moore Rust-Oleum paint on the appliances and a buttery yellow and white on the cabinets. Looks great!
On the other side of the room, the owner removed the upper doors, revealing awesome beadboard. The open shelving makes the kitchen look larger. The pastel, reflective color scheme adds to the effect. Notice how she painted the handles and the beadboard in periwinkle to unite the look.
The one caveat I’d place on this idea is to make sure the appliance paint can take the heat. There are special appliance paints out there. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, they don’t come in a wide variety of colors. But you can’t go wrong with white.
I’m going to dig up my photos of a show house kitchenette I transformed with fabric and paint.
While I’m tearing through the closet, have you ever tackled a project like this? Tell us what you did and send a photo if you like.
