We created our dream kitchen with these simple kitchen remodel ideas. We only had a tiny budget of $7,000 for our entire kitchen remodel so we had to get quite creative with our ideas. From IKEA kitchen cabinets to DIY’s and bargain hunting, we ended up getting everything we wanted and more with these simple tips and tricks. Here are the best kitchen remodel ideas that saved us thousands.
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Save Thousands On Your Small Kitchen Remodel
Do The Labor Yourself
We saved thousands of dollars in labor by taking out the old cabinets and building the new cabinets. My husband was able to wire the new electrical outlets and install the plumbing for the new sink and pot filler.
I watched a YouTube video on how to tile and went to work on the backsplash. With the proper tools, it’s actually quite easy to do yourself with very little risk.
I painted the walls and ceiling myself with paint I already had. I also like to stick to 1 color for multiple rooms to save money on paint.
We were also able to build the island butcherblock countertop from free wood that was gifted to us from an old barn.
Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t professionals by any means, we just couldn’t afford to pay someone else to do the work so we were forced to learn. There has been a lot of trial and error over the years but we slowly continued to improve our skills.
Buy Items On Sale Or Used
We found our sink, induction cooktop, oven, and dishwasher on Facebook Marketplace; altogether they cost $850.
I searched Wayfair, Home Depot, and Canadian Tire for sales on items like our pot filler, sink faucet, minifridge, wall tiles, and cabinet hardware. I’ve had the most success on Black Friday when items have been 30-50% off.
Amazon is another place to find great deals on lighting, outlets, and cabinet hardware.
IKEA Kitchen
This is the second IKEA kitchen we’ve built and I love it because they have a free online kitchen builder, where you can design your own kitchen. It’s a great way to figure out a realistic budget because you can choose from different kitchen features, appliances, countertops and cabinet fronts. Items I splurged on were cabinet fronts, drawers, hidden drawers and soft-close cabinets. I saved on items like appliances, countertops, inexpensive cabinet lighting and cabinet hardware.
DIY’s
I DIYed as much as I felt comfortable doing to save money on custom features like the range hood, fridge cabinet surround, crown moulding, and butcherblock island countertop.
Tools
Most of our tools were acquired over the past 5 years, we would get used tools from family members and friends. We also bought a lot of our tools, for a fraction of the price, from Facebook Marketplace. Whatever we couldn’t afford, we would add to our wishlist for birthdays and Christmas, slowly trading old tools for new ones. Ryobi has been our go-to brand because they never change their batteries and they typically have sales and bundles that are fairly inexpensive compared to other brands.
Cost Breakdown
Kitchen Cabinets- IKEA $2,600
Laminate Countertops- IKEA $250
Cabinet Hardware- Wayfair $150
Tile Backsplash – Home Depot $200
Pot Filler – Wayfair $95
Ikea Sink – Facebook Marketplace $200
Danze Sink Faucet- Canadian Tire Clearance $130
Fridge – Insignia Best Buy (Floor Model) $1,100
Induction Cooktop & Oven- Facebook Marketplace $500
Samsung Dishwasher- Facebook Marketplace $150
Minifridge- Home Depot Clearance $200
DIY Fridge Cabinet- $100
Sink Light – Amazon $80
Smart Cabinet Lighting – Amazon $40
Crown Moulding- $25
Island Butcherblock Countertop – Free
Island Stools – Free (gifted)
Floating Shelves -Walmart $25 each
Grand Total – $6,000
$1,000 was used for electrical wiring, plumbing fixtures, drywall (to patch where we took the wall down), electrical outlets, screws, tools and any other extras.
The only labor we hired was for someone to mud the drywall so that it had a clean professional finish.
You can check out more kitchen renovation ideas and DIY’s HERE as well as my Instagram account @sonnyhavenco.
