5 Ways to Save on Kitchen Renovation (When You’re Single)

Being a homeowner is such a wonderful yet costly experience, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Even as a single woman with two growing teenagers I still find ways to bring some personal creativity into my 2016 home. Take for instance my kitchen. It was outdated when I moved in and once we got settled, it went from outdated to exhausted. Sounds like my next home project, right? Exactly! So, I checked my account and figured out that I could put $5K towards renovations. New floor, new countertops, new cabinets, you know…a new look and feel all without going over $5,000. I was wrong as hell I went way over so here are 5 Ways to Save on Kitchen Renovation. 

5 Ways to Save on Kitchen Renovation

I can tell that you are judging me already and I don’t blame you. I judged myself, too, after I started doing research. To my surprise, full reno projects like I wanted could get as high as $50K (definitely out of my price range). Then it was time for plan B; finding creative cost-saving techniques. 

With me taking on all of the reno costs by myself and not wanting to incur a mountain of debt, I did some researching, networking and plenty of price comparisons before I was able to get the kitchen of my dreams. Here are my top five ways to save on your kitchen renovations while making sure you get the best bang for your buck as a single woman. 

• Shop Around Like You Would a Car

Initially, when I found out that $5K wasn’t going to cut it, I brought in a professional, from Home Depot, to give me a quote. When they stated it would take $28K for my design, I didn’t sweat it. I just simply replied, “Thanks, but no.” Hope wasn’t lost in that moment. I decided to reach out to my network and see how others went about their home renovations. 

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in this single lifestyle is to speak up and be choosey about large investments, just like you would for a car. After asking around I landed on the right contractor that quoted me less than half of what HD wanted to charge. Reasonable and ready to work—just what I wanted. 

• Get Creative with Your Cabinets

One of the ways I was able to cut down the quote, outside of going with a more reasonable contractor, was to stray away from expensive cabinets. You know from my blog that I’m not scared to do things myself. So, instead of new cabinets, I looked into altering my current ones. At first, I wasn’t sure what could be done with my dark cabinets, but I learned that I could easily transition them from dark to light with a good primer.  

• Reclaim Your Wood and Money

There are so many wonderful, new faux flooring options available. However, if you want to use the real stuff and not empty your pockets, go with reclaimed wood. Similar to the other wake-up calls I had along this process, new wood just wasn’t reasonable for my budget. As I look at my newly stained and polished floor, I can’t even tell that it isn’t new wood. 

• Compared Costs for the Best Countertop

Countertops ate up the biggest chunk of my budget. If I hadn’t taken my time doing price comparisons, they could have easily eaten up my entire budget.  I took my time choosing the best cost-effective option by ordering samples, testing them under my lighting (natural and indoor), and going to sleep on my choices to see which I still loved when I woke up. Similar to dating, I guess. 

• Reviews Help with Appliance Replacements 

Similar to countertops, I had to shop around for new, reasonably priced appliances that would fit the new design of my kitchen. Appliances are tougher to figure out because new always seems better, but it was product reviews that pointed me in the right direction. I went to the best retailers, searched for the appliances I needed, and went straight to the reviews. When looking through reviews, pay attention to those that have more pros than cons and analyze the type of cons that are listed. Are they about the function or user error? Did the brand respond to the comment? How many reviewers are saying the same thing? Appliances are another huge investment so be picky and take your time. 

Don’t let the renovation process scare you. You can get what you want at the reasonable budget you have. It may take some research, more time than you expected, and even new lessons on how you can make your budget reach, but it can be done. 

I didn’t share my before and after pics because my phone messed up and I didn’t save any of my pics the only one I could get is what I have as the first picture and this

Listen to what the blog post is above! 
The entire budget to redo my kitchen was right under 12k with the countertops costing the most. I will not show my entire kitchen remake due to privacy but I will say where I got some things from.

Kitchen countertops (Quartz)  and Backsplash

Chairs

Stove (I did a blog post)

Paint (I found her blog post on Pinterest and loved it)