Saturday, September 13, 2008

The cost of a beautiful custom kitchen

What does it cost for a wonderful dream kitchen , a kitchen that has personality function and style . I once heard Oprah refer to a $100,000.00 kitchen budget as being reasonable , to whom is that reasonable , not to me , and trust me not necessary . Take this kitchen , it is wonderful , but is it costly ?, well the cabinets are as they are frame style , this is more challenging to make for the cabinet maker , most cabinets out there are frame less , which is fine I assure you , as long as your doors are a good design and material. The splurges here are the cabinets and the sink as well as the appliances , however the wood counters will save you money and they are so gorgeous a great alternative to stone , Ikea sells butcher block which is a fantastic choice. The open shelving is much less expensive than cabinets and gives so much style to this kitchen a opportunity for display. The bead board back splash is a very cost effective finish not to mention a wonderful detail to add to a kitchen , trust me easier to install and would save you hundreds over tile .
This second kitchen is perfection , your may be beautiful with just a little bit of work , those are standard cupboards , painted white , easy , new dark metal handles update what was there , which was most likely awful. The marble counters were the splurge here and why not the rest of the improvements were very affordable, like open shelving again very affordable. A fresh white palette and new appliances , and you have one of the nicest kitchens out there. Now this could have easy been a gut job , which could have cost $40-50 thousand , where as it was most likely under $6000. including top line appliances and marble , now that is a lot of savings and I am all about making the most of the money being spent.
This kitchen is wonderful and charming , we should take a few simple ideas from this kitchen , consider painting the lower cabinets a soft tone , the uppers white, adding some glass doors , a spectacular back splash and stainless appliances , not need to purchase a stove of this caliber mind you this is a $7000 stove , you can get this look for much less.that being said I would much rather spend money on a fabulous stove and making the most of the cabinets you have by painting them or removing some or simply replacing ugly doors with nice ones than doing a gut job and skimping on new appliances. Add a wonderful playful light and this kitchen sings ,enjoy me !
This kitchen using classic black and white linoleum tiles , very cost efficient . Open shelving again , white paint , good counter and sink are the only splurge here .

So I hope you can see that having a dream kitchen does not require a big loan , if you have good solid cabinets , frame less wood doors , or better , no synthetic cabinets allowed nor the seventies oddly carved doors with center pulls , they will need to go ,keep in mind that not all reno's need to be expensive nor time consuming I assure you I can do it for much less .
Where I would spend money , would be on nice appliances , most likely upgrading the counters , making sure the backsplash is stunning , it should be a feature , not bathroom tiles , always take the time to find good lighting , and great hardware which does not need to be costly .
Your dream kitchen may be closer that you think .
I love to say why move , just improve , it is not as hard as you may think to get the home you want , you just need the right help.

5 comments:

Carry Grace said...

Great tips!

Anonymous said...

Oprah has no idea what a budget is does she now!!! I agree, I think the facelift I just gave our kitchen by just painting the cabinets made a world of difference. We put laminate floors down and they look as nice as hardwoods. I am patiently waiting for hubby to put in my new sink (we've had it for 4 years, we bought it from the former homeowners)!!! Maybe this is the year!!

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Elle Jay Bee said...

I love the new look of your business site!! Great tips, and I am looking forward to hearing more!!

Linda

Decorina said...

Love the white cabinetry. I lust after it myself for my 1953 home. Your tips are outstanding - not to mention that anyone guided away from granite countertops is saved much future anguish. It is such an expensive and less than functional finish, I really don't think it has much to recommend it.

The single detail that I don't personally care for are...bin pull hardware. Don't know why, I just have never liked them.

Anyway, great post and great information for everyone considering a new kitchen.

onelittlemustardseed said...

Hi Kris,

I'm sorry, I seemed to have missed out on you opening a new business! I haven't been visiting blogs for a while now and I saw your update on facebook. I'll have to give heidi a thump!

Congratulations!!!! You have a ton of talent and anyone in your area is so very lucky to be able to access your talent!!!

Good luck...though you don't need it!

"your home should be your haven, a place of refuge that speaks to who you are "