A New Kitchen On The CheapIt is really fun to watch the home decorating channel and see all those kitchen make overs for $20,000.00 to $50,000.00 dollars, but how many of us can really afford something like that? Keep watching, but for a different reason. Take note of all the features and looks you like and then recreate them on the cheap. You can do it with a little shopping around and a little elbow grease on your part. One thing that is big in re-dos is kitchen cabinet organizers. You can buy them at your home builders center to put in existing cabinets. Do you cringe at the perfectly good cabinets they rip out and haul to the land fill? Existing cabinets can be removed from the walls, refinished or painted and put up again in new locations. Cabinets can be refaced or just the doors replaced. Unfinished cabinets can be purchased ready to install and then finished to match the existing ones. All of these tricks will save thousands of dollars for you. New hardware can make a world of difference on kitchen cabinets. New counter tops will make the cabinets look new again. The trick is to coordinate everything to get a unified, new look. Even if your kitchen cabinets are toast, you can buy new ready to install cabinets, finished or unfinished, at a fraction of the cost of custom built ones, then install them yourself to save more money. The secret to success here is measuring and using a level. Also look at those kitchen design books and come up with a good lay out for the kitchen before you start hanging cabinets. With a good plan to start with, you will get a much better out come. You can get good basic pre-made cabinets and then add great hardware and kitchen cabinet organizers to make them look like the big dollar ones on TV. The kitchen floor, walls and appliances have to be updated to coordinate with the new cabinets and counter tops. The walls may be painted to look great and not add much to the cost. Just make sure to take the time to patch and repair the walls before painting. Flooring can be as cheap as a well chosen vinyl tile or more of an investment like ceramic tile or laminate flooring. The big money will need to be spent on new appliances, but even here you can look for sales and get one new appliance at a time as you can afford them. better to take longer for a better result. |
