another pic.

It's going to depend a lot on where you are. Where is the house?

Where in the country are you located? And would you be doing the work yourself, acting as your own GC but hiring individual trades to come in, or going with a full GC for everything? Also, is there any "hidden" work that needs to be done (electrical upgrades, plumbing/gas line movement, load-bearing wall changes)? I'm in Virginia and have rapidly realized that there isn't much you can do for $20K unless you keep your existing cabinets (or do most or all of the work yourself). An Andersen french door can be $2000 or more. I think you may be at $25 - $35K with new cabinets, and if you hire out the work.

Forgot to add that the $25K-$35K is without appliances

Our previous house's kitchen had a layout similar to this kitchen. There are lots of ways of improving it and many are shown in the FKB.

I would reconsider your totally tearing out of the island and using that space to make the kitchen more functional by either using it for the cooktop or a prep sink and prep space.

If you do tear out the island, then you need to include totally redoing the floor to your budget.

House is in CT.

Rethinking the island now. I should take another look. So you all think 25-35? Don't I save a lot by reusing most of the cabinets and counters?

If I could keep the same island footprint, but rework it, that might work. I just really don't like the island as-is.

Here's a crude not-to-scale layout. blue represents existing cabinetry and green new cabinetry.

Are you going to do the work yourself or hire it out? Big difference in price, there.

Refacing cabinets does not save much off of full replacement, but I actually think it's pretty likely that you could match the ones you've got.

What is the exterior of the house? Brick work will be more expensive to alter for the new and old door than, say, siding.

If there's any wiring or plumbing in the wall you plan to take out for the new door, that could run into some money. You will also need to move the electrical or gas line for the stove (I can't tell which from the photos).

My husband and I could DIY this project for about $5K, probably, but if you're hiring a contractor, I'd guess around $20-30K.

Not sure, I may DIY it. I have a contractor friend through work that does stuff at a very reasonable price for me and does excellent work. He himself only charges 45 an hour for his own time. Pretty good.

Also, exterior is vinyl siding.

"...Bad layout, too small. And there's plenty of room to expand it...."

If you plan to redo the layout, and I don't blame you, I'm not sure you can reuse the countertop. Cabinets, maybe, if you can match the door style for new ones.

Are the cabinets in good shape, structurally? Are they functional? Are the base cabinets the "basic" cabinets...fixed half-depth shelf? Or, were they at least upgraded to have adjustable full-depth shelves? If the latter, you can probably make them more functional using after-market inserts/pullouts/etc. like those from Rev-A-Shelf, Hafele, or other manufacturer. If the former, well, it's up to you if you want to try to retro-fit those after-market inserts/pullouts/etc.

If the cabinets are not structurally sound or look like they won't last at least another 10 years, then I would reconsider reusing them (that is, if you intend to stay in the house that long).

They look OK, but looks can be deceiving.

Have you considered Ikea cabinets? Those that have them here really like them. They're inexpensive and may be less than it will cost to reface + add new of your current ones. They have good quality hardware (Blum), have many of the "bells & whistles" that more expensive cabinets have, and are rated highly by Consumer Reports.

While Ikea has mostly "modern" styles, it does have more "traditional" looking doors. Plus, if you want different doors, you can order doors from places like Scherr's that are made specifically to fit Ikea cabinets. For now, you could go with the Ikea boxes & doors and later, when money becomes available, replace the doors with something you like better. Meanwhile, you will have structurally sound cabinets that should last a long time.

I will check out Ikea. I like the shaker style best for cabinets. Dark maple is my favorite finish, with black countertops.

I should mention too that I have access to Direct Buy and can get all cabinets at cost.

I would be wary of Direct Buy. There have been several threads about Direct Buy and issues with them. I'm not a member, but if you want more info, you might start a thread asking about it.

You should ask around and get a feel for how much a typical kitchen costs in the area that you live. Then add that value to the price of the house. If you can find another house for the total price with the kitchen you like, that will be the cheapest and the easiest route for you and your family.

When and if you buy this house, live in the house for a while and see what the kitchen really needs. Looks can be quite deceiving.

BTW, there are ways to do the remodel "right" and there are way to just get the remodel done. There is a house in the neighborhood with vinyl siding. They redid the kitchen and where they filled in the door, they did NOT even try to match the vinyl siding.... They just stuck another piece of vinyl siding.

Unfortunately, vinyl siding may be much more difficult to match than wood siding that can be painted. I would ask around and see if you can find the manufacturer of the vinyl siding and the color and see how the "fill in" would look. To me this would be the deal breaker.... If I moved to a new house AND I just remodeled my kitchen, I would hate to live in a house with a piece of unmatched vinyl siding stuck on one wall.

There are paints for vinyl siding. Of course once you paint the siding, it is no longer maintenance-free.