When we told our friends and family that our kitchen remodel cost us under $1,000 they were shocked! It took us a few weekends and a lot of elbow grease but our DIY kitchen upgrade was one of the most successful projects we’ve accomplished. If you are on a budget and are living with an outdated kitchen I hope the tips and information in this post will help or inspire you!
We did get lucky and the cabinets were in good shape and were beautiful natural wood so there was no massive demolition needed on the cabinets. But, we did have to rip up the formica laminate on the countertop and backsplash as it was already peeling and was stained from 20 years of use. Luckily I was able to find a before photo in my photo archives:
After we got down to the bare wood countertop we sanded and painted a base color of charcoal grey. Now comes the fun part! We chose to do DIY epoxy countertops. I have a couple tips when it comes to pouring epoxy counters:
1.) Plan to dedicate an entire weekend to pouring your countertops. Every layer needs 8 hours in between to cure correctly.
2.) Protect your floors and cabinets! I recommend a double layer of plastic in your workspace. When mixing epoxy, the chemical reaction causes the solution to become extremely hot. It melted through our single layer of plastic. I had to scrape epoxy off a couple spots on my floor.
We purchased our epoxy countertop kit through https://www.stonecoatcountertops.com/ (This is not an affiliate link, simply a product we used and like). They have many color and design options, but you can choose the best one that works for you. Each kit will contain detailed instructions for pouring your countertops. Our kit cost us approximately $375. Here is a close up of our epoxy countertop:
Next, we tackled the backsplash. Our original plan was to purchase a tile backsplash (which, by the way, would have been a million times easier to grout due to having a smooth surface) but, when we were browsing through our local Home Depot we fell in love with the natural stone backsplash. The backsplash, grout, adhesive, trowel, sponges, and putty knives cost us another $375 or so, making our total cost to this point only $750!
Now, this leaves some wiggle room for some used or discounted appliances if needed. We could have easily used our old appliances if we wanted to keep our budget at a bare minimum, but I wanted to upgrade to stainless steel. Our new-to-us gas stove and dishwasher came at no cost, as it came from a family member that had gotten new appliances for their own kitchen. (And we are forever grateful!). We did have to purchase our new range hood from the store which cost us $100. I did not want to purchase a used range hood as it would be covered in used cooking oil and who knows what else. This brings our total to $850.
Confession time: Our new refrigerator and electric wall oven/microwave combo wall insert are not included in this $1,000 budget and here’s why:
- The electric wall oven/microwave insert is not a typical appliance in everyone’s kitchen. We did consider getting rid of it completely and converting it into more cabinet space, but I wanted to keep it for when we entertain guests and host holiday parties.
- We could have found a used refrigerator or a discounted one at a scratch & dent store but we were looking for something very specific. We had specific functions in mind for our fridge, such as a filtered water and ice dispenser, so we did splurge on this particular appliance. But, don’t get discouraged! There are plenty of discount appliance warehouses that can keep you within budget!
After countless hours of work and a few sacrificed weekends we finally have a result we are proud of! Enjoy some after photos:
