I think you need to reframe your thinking because I think your original budget was unrealistic if you were replacing the cabinets. The super-budget redos(and that's what I'd call a $5000 reno) rarely involve new cabinetry, usually just replacing handles or at most, painting existing cabinetry.

So right off the bat, you have to let yourself off the hook.

Second, you did the right thing going for the better cabinets. Diamond cabinets are very nice, and thermofoil looks like thermofoil, and sometimes wears poorly.

The good news is that the cabinetry is by far the most expensive component of a kitchen remodel, short of structural changes. So you're past that. But you still have countertops to consider. And your remaining $5k budget won't allow for granite or stone, unless you do a tile.

You might have saved some money by going with a stained cabinet instead of a painted cabinet, but I'm sure you knew that, and went with white because it's the look you want. I ask because when I first started planning, I assumed white cabinets cost less, not more, and boy was I wrong. And the extras you bought also added to the cost -- glass cabinets, organizational inserts. So I wonder why you were surprised by the cost to that extent, but still went forward with it? I think I would have recommended getting the total but waiting a bit, exploring other options, checking back here, and getting comfortable with your choices, especially since this is DIY, and you're not holding up a GC you're paying for.

I raise this because you may find that your remaining $5000 estimate is equally unrealistic. I don't know what you're planning for appliances, but you can easily use up 3k on those alone. I would hope that your $5k number means you are budgeting $4000 with $1000 for contingencies, too.

Sometimes doing it DIY means that because you didn't get GC estimates, you don't have a sense of the full scope of the job, or a realistic sense of the materials cost for things. I think you should post more here about what you're planning so that you can figure out what a true budget should be, and figure out if there are better/cheaper ways of accomplishing your goal. Or if you can do a Stage 1/Stage 2 plan.

The more you learn, plan and explore, the better braced you will be for the financial realities. But as I just said in another post, my budget expanded by 40%, even with extensive planning, just due to unexpected contingencies.

This may not be what you want to hear, but frankly if it were me, I'd go cancel the order immediately and rethink my options. No pretty kitchen is worth going over your head in debt.

Let's see - sticker shock? when my GC's estimate came in at $34K when we said we had a budget of $23K.

Buyer's remorse? when I picked up the end panels I bought at Menards because we couldn't afford his custom cabinet guy and I saw how poorly (I think) they were constructed but had no time left to re-order and still have them on site when the demo started.

Worrying about too much money in the house? when DH's idea of what constitutes updates and what is just normal homeowner maintenance costs seriously conflicts with my idea of costs and bumping against the real estate value calculator I keep running in my head (BTW, he has the expensive tastes, me I try to get by with whatever I can to keep cost down)

How did things turn out in the end? well, we are in week 4 of our kitchen remodel and we stand in the unfinished space and smile at the new higher raised ceiling, the new opening to the DR which is almost 3x bigger than it was and we love, love, love it. (I am sick with worry sometimes about the finish choices I made, but never, ever with the structural choices we made) so, what's that they say? PRICELESS :)

To keep it in perspective, DH built this home when he was 27. He is turning 53 this summer. I have been here 8 years and we have our 15 yo son growing up here. We hope to retire here and DH is a firm believer if you are going to spend money on improvements, do them well enough in advance to get your own personal enjoyment from them.

I obviously can't tell you how to spend your money and I would certainly never tell you to get into debt over those choices, only YOU can make that decision. Give it very careful thought and keep a very tight rein on your finishes. Our budget was agreed in contract and my GC has been great sticking to it. But all those pesky little extra items..... hardware, paint, tape, brushes, certainly add up fast!! Plan for the unexpected so you don't get caught unaware. Good Luck!!!

I'm a single and this is my second remodel. So I know where you're coming from.

I did a gut remodel of my first kitchen for about $4K. But it was cheap, cheap, cheap. Thermofoil cabs, laminate counter, stick-on vinyl floor, second-hand fridge. And that was back in 2000. I was happy with it then just because it was better, but it would not have stood the test of time. I kind of regret that I did a "throwaway" remodel, even though it's not even mine anymore.

Adjusting your expectations is probably what has you in a state of shock. I had to go through that with this remodel when certain elements were way over what I was expecting to pay. But my overall budget ended up right on and is a good ratio for my house value.

Have you looked at your finances objectively and realistically? As long as those are okay, you'll be alright. It is still scary to give up more $$ than you planned on, but as long as the debt you'll have to get into isn't out of proportion with what you can realistically afford and WANT to sacrifice, it will be okay. Make sure this is a priority where you want to spend money. If you'd rather spend it traveling the world and you're going to kick yourself in 10 years, then maybe it's not the best investment for you right now.

Sorry, I"m babbling..... I kind of agree that $5K for the rest of the project is a little unrealistic unless you cut major corners elsewhere. Maybe lay out your estimates for the rest and see where you end up. I'm sure people here would be happy to gut check it. Plan it out so you're not surprised later.

First of all, congrats on owning your home at such a young age! You're obviously really responsible, which is why this has you feeling the way you do. I definately have lots and lots of empathy and I'm sure a few of the pro's will have some good advise (probably better than mine) to offer, but I'll give you my 2 cents anyways because we're in a similar boats. We bought our first home almost 3 years ago. Not wanting to be married to a mortgage, we opted for a foreclosure fixer that we could get on the low in a good area and fix up as weekend warriors. DIYing can save a lot of money, but there are still a lot of expenses along the way. Projects like kitchens and baths especially, need to be really well thought out and even then you can expect to go over budget by at least 10%. No project is worth what you're feeling right now. There are lots of cabinet options and ways to do things so that 5,000-6,000 can be stretched to the limit and get you a fresh and new kitchen. If you just placed the order, there should be some type of grace period (for buyers remorse). I would try to cancel the order, even if you risk loosing a deposit, cancel it, you'll feel better once you do. Then take the time needed to figure out what you're going to do & how you're going to do it. Learn the process first. It can be a fun experience, the forum will be here to help you and answer questions along the way. But don't do what you can't afford to do. It's just not wise. Right now there are so many people who are in some serious trouble because instead of having financial disapline, they depended on credit to get whatever they wanted whether they could afford it or not. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but it's the best I can do. It's what we've done with our projects and it's worked out to our benefit.

I dont' know if you can or would choose to cancel your cabinet order now. It's something to consider. There are many many people selling their almost new kitchens on craigslist. If you have the help; you can retro fit them to your kitchen. If you choose to stick with your order there are things you can do to allow you to save $$ until you can pay cash. Live with plywood countertops for awhile, you can buy a suite of SS appliance about 2 years old off craigslist for about $1500, wait on lighting and all the other finishes. You're very wise to consider all these contingencies.

I think I need to clarify, when I say cabinet options, that doesn't mean new cabinets or high end cabinets. It could mean Ikea cabinets that you put together yourself, or painting the cabinets you have. 5,000 is a really low budget, even with the amount of help that you have, which is why you need to step back and learn about it first.

It's scary stuff in an even scarier time. We are so up against our budget that it is insane. You just need to factor in how long you plan on being in this house and if the investment is worth it, both on your part and in the market in your area. You are really in the right place for advice and ideas...there are plenty of us on here who are trying to build the best kitchen we can within a reasonable budget.

hlynch, I think that owning a home is a course in sticker shock! There is always a list of things that need to be done, and until you really research and write down what is needed and the cost of each thing, you are surprised by the cost of things.

When we moved into our 110 year old home, we knew that we needed a new kitchen. If I hadn't found this forum right before we moved, I would have had huge sticker shock. I am fortunate to have a very handy husband from a very handy family, so basically everything is DIY. Still, in my mind the fabulously spectacular kitchens would have cost $20,000, I found this is the limit that many people think of as bargain kitchens. Knowing the cost of things is the first step, but then thinking about what you want to spend and how much you want to go into debt is the next step. It sounds like if you improve the kitchen in your house, you will dramatically increase the value. This makes the money you spend on your kitchen an investment. It sounds like well worth it. I think you were wise to invest in the better quality cabinets because they will last longer and provide a better value. So, if you are within your means to go into this debt for your kitchen, you should do it- it will pay off in the long run. If you see yourself going into a range that you can't afford, you've gone way too far and you should scale back or think in stages. Good luck and keep everyone posted!

Thank you all so, so, so much for your replies. There is so much good advice and different perspectives on this forum.

First of all, I should clarify - and should have clarified in my first post - that I do fully intend to do this kitchen in stage 1 and stage 2. That became my plan when I realized that $5k was, as you guys said, an unrealistic idea of what a kitchen gut/remodel would cost.

Stage 1 - what I'm doing right now - is demo the wall and existing cabinetry, move and add some electric, move one vent (unfinished basement, easy access to vents), and add new cabinetry and appliances. I intend to do plywood countertops off the shelf at Lowe's ($250 for what I need) as a hold-over until I can afford better ones. I do not intend to change any flooring at this time. The kitchen will be half hardwood/half linoleum until stage 2 - when I'll run matching hardwood into the old kitchen - a small area but still too pricey for stage 1. Stage 2 will probably come in a couple of years. I do intend to keep this house for a while, but smilingjudy I absolutely LOVED your comment about traveling the world. I did that after college for a couple years, and plan to do it again. But my house will be mine for a long time. I hope to keep it and find someone trustworthy to rent it when I go work abroad again in a few years.

My appliances are going to be $3k, and I had hoped I could keep the rest below $2k. The rest being lighting, drywall, materials for my friend to run electric, and paint.

Regarding the debt and my comfort level. This is really where the worry came from. I'll be in debt for about 1 1/2 to 2 years if I move forward from here (i.e. not cancelling the cabinet order - an option I have been considering). I need to decide if I'm comfortable with that debt, rather than paying for the remodel in cash as I had planned. It's a big thing to consider. I do not plan on moving or selling the house in the next few years, so from that end it may be OK. Lukkiirish, thank you for your advice. I can't decide if the new, higher budget is unwise, or if my original one was simply unrealistic and now I'm doing something reasonable, though putting myself into some debt.

Evilbunnie, thank you so much for your encouragement. Yes, I knew a stained cabinet would be cheaper (and that really surprised me too) but I wanted white cabinets from the get-go and very much still want them now. It stinks I had to want the most expensive color! Unless I'd done Thermofoil. What surprised me is that the Thermofoil cabinets - with the same glass inserts in the same places and the same organizational cabinets - cost $3k less than the Diamond cabinets I chose. That was what floored me. I did realize the glass and organization things were taking the price up, but the painted wood is what did it the most. It's what took the total for the kitchen over the $10k mark.

I am still considering all options. And thank you all so much for the help in doing that.

If you can cancel your order, you should do it right away. I shopped around for my kitchen cabinets and got three different prices: rounding out the numbers they were $8,000, $6,000 and $5,000. I went with the $5,000 order and am getting almost the same thing as the $8,000 order. I'm also single and careful with budgeting myself to stay out of debt. By shopping around I found white painted maple doors with a style I liked on sale. So that's how I saved so much.

Always get at least 3 bids on everything before you commit. It's amazing how diff. prices can be. You might not necessarily go with the cheapest price but you'll have a good idea of costs ahead of time. $8,000 is a lot of money for a tiny kitchen. And yes, as others have said, your cabinets usually tend to be the bulk of your expenses. then comes stainless steel appliances so I stick with white. Much cheaper and I happen to like white. There are ways to save money. Take your time and you'll find them. Good luck with your remodel

My appliances are going to be $3k, and I had hoped I could keep the rest below $2k. The rest being lighting, drywall, materials for my friend to run electric, and paint.

Don't forget about all the little things that can really add up too. Vent hood, faucets, sinks, etc. I don't know if you have these already, but just wanted to make sure you account for these in your budgeting process.

I agree with evilbunnie - my renovation which only includes countertops, backsplash and new cabinet paint/hardware is around $4k. Cabinets have to be the most expensive item in a kitchen. I was shocked to find out how much they cost. You are making an investment into your home that you will someday recoup as long as you don't "over-improve" for your neighborhood (and it doesn't sound like you are.) You might want to consider continuing to use your existing appliances for now, and just improve the kitchen in stages. I do think updating the kitchen is a good investment though, and in your case it sounds like it's badly needed.

buddyrose: Here's why I went with Lowes - I wanted the 0% for a year, in order to pay off the cabinets monthly and accrue no interest on the debt. I know that may not be the best reason; however, I got exactly what I wanted and I am able to 'float' part of it and thus not pay any interest - like I would with a custom shop that may be able to come in a bit lower. When I realized I could not pay cash for the whole thing, I decided the 0% option was attractive enough for me to go with Lowes. Also, I absolutely love the kitchen designer there - he has designed much of my kitchen (after I chose layout) and did a fantastic job. I never would have thought of the things he came up with.

Also, I wanted to let you know that actually, since I am turning a tiny kitchen/tiny dining nook into an eat-in kitchen, it actually is no longer a tiny kitchen. The linear feet of cabinetry I bought was for an average-sized kitchen. What happened is the eating area got smaller but still workable - which I sacrificed in favor of adequate cabinetry/counter space.

I own the smallest house in a wonderful neighborhood. The houses around mine are 2x the size and 2-3x the price. I'm not too concerned about over-improving; though I definitely need to keep in mind the size of my house. I am working with an idea of 15-20% of the value of my house for a kitchen remodel budget. My realtor felt that was fine considering I will have the house for 5+ years.

Donka - you are so right that those things can add up. I'm still in planning and have realized that already. I'm doing an OTC microwave, so that was included in the appliance cost. Nekothecat, you took the words right out of my mouth. I've been talking this over with my friend who is doing the work with me, and I've decided that if I do not cancel the order (which I know I must do today, tomorrow at latest), I"ll do a stage 1, 2, 3. I will keep my existing appliances until the cabinets are paid off (1 year), then do the appliances and pay them off (1 year), and finish with flooring/nicer countertops. That'll leave room for those things that come up that donka was talking about.

What do you guys think?

Thank you again for your valuable insight!!! I love this forum, I'm so glad I found it.

sticker shock, but no regrets....on my kitchen remodel. I did it about two years ago and what was supposed to be 6 weeks and maybe 50K turned into 4 months and 95K. And, I didn't even go super high end on everything! No regrets though, I love the result.

I am now in the same position with my exterior remodel....double the budget and quadruple the time. Very stressful and angst-producing.

Key thing was that I waited to stage all this work and was able to manage it on a single income budget. I am going into debt on this exterior remodel but I think it is worthwhile.

I think that you should go to Ikea and look at their cabinets before you do anything else. They have moved past the old MDF/Thermofoil stuff. You can save some money there.

That said, you need to realise that you'll probably end up spending 25 or 30 thousand dollars to do a small kitchen. You can spend it all at once, or over a longer period, but you'll end up spending that amount.

Everyone goes into their project with the idea that they'll set a budget and adhere to it religiously, but, as you just found out with the cabinetry, once you're in the middle of things there is a horrible compulsion to upgrade. It's uncontrollable. Marriages, careers, finances - they have all fallen victim to the insane urge to own the best.

Some of it you won't notice - it will be 20 dollars here and fifty dollars there, but if you save your receipts and then add it all up when you're done you'll be amazed at what things like sandpaper and shipping and paintbrushes and meals out cost.

It's almost nauseating when you actually sit there in front of the computer, enter each purchase and realise what you have spent. :(

We found the best way around that is to throw the receipts away as soon as something gets delivered... :)

Good Luck !

You mentioned that the "organization things" drove up the cost. I found the same to be true so I did not order them from the cabinet company, instead I ordered them online and will be putting them in myself (mixer lift, pull-out trash cans, dividers for cabinet over the oven to hold trays etc.). By doing this on my own I am saving hundreds of dollars. I was shocked at how much the cabinet companies charged for the same items I could get online.

My original cabinet budget was $7000 for Ikea cabinets. Well, let's just say that things did not exactly work out as planned. I have 2 young children and we don't have any family in the area so there was no way we could put together the Ikea cabinets with the kids around (you should have seen us demo the kitchen - it was rather amusing). So we would have had to hire someone to do that and that would have increased the cost and reduced the savings. And in addition, since we are remodeling the whole public space upstairs and are living in the basement, there was no room to assemble them. I also ended up needing a different size sink base than Ikea had and retrofitting wasn't going to happen.

Now, if I didn't have kids and the space I would have gone with the Ikea cabinets in a heartbeat. Do you have an Ikea near you? The cabinets are great and I found them to be quite helpful at the store. On the Finished Kitchens Blog you can search by cabinet type and see some amazing Ikea kitchens.

Looking on Craigslist is a great idea - there was one poster (I think from Boston) who found amazing deals on Craigslist.

You have mentioned removing walls - are they load bearing? Not to scare you but we removed walls (load bearing and non-load bearing) and flooring and we found structural issues and this drove up costs and the "budget" became a starting point. And, like evilbunnie, we went through extensive planning and we still had unexpected surprises....

Those "one-year-O%" offers can be very good -- IF -- you handle and pay the credit well. I redid my small kitchen in 7/08 and I was able to do that deal with 2 of my new appliances from one store and also my cabinets from a local dealer. But I am very, very careful with my credit and both of those deals will be fully paid in May.

When I started my reno plans, I was hoping for a $12k total. As I began to shop around for all the things I needed, cabinets, appliances, floor, counter tops and labor, I realized I was coming in at around $20k -- with cuts! So these deals really saved me -- but I was very careful about them and thought long and hard before doing it. Only you know your situation and what you can handle.

After a lot of thought, although I wanted to break thru a wall that flows into my dining room, my budget couldn't handle it, so I hope to do that stage next year. But I did complete the main kitchen as I wanted -- for now. And if I never break thru that wall, I will always love the kitchen I have. When I open the wall, I will love it more. I had to make a sacrifice so I could sleep at night. And that's the bottom line for me -- I made choices that would let me sleep. I didn't rush into any of them. I slept on my choices -- let them roll around in me and when I knew I could handle them and the budget, I pulled the trigger - but not before.

Waiting on that wall allowed me to get the floor and granite that I wanted. Using the 0% financing let me get the fridge and then the cabinets that I wanted. Finding the right GC really pulled it all together. Me? I'm thrilled with what I did now even if there is more I can do later. I LOVE being in my kitchen even though I didn't take the wall down -- yet. Really, I could kiss my new floor everyday. And I can't believe how fast the time the flew till the credits are paid off in May!

A wise person told me once -- "don't fret over your bills -- just be grateful that you CAN and DO pay them." She was right.

In my dreams, that wall comes down, more base cabinets go in with a marble top for baking topped with pretty pendants and it all looks nicely into my dining room. Another wall where the back door is located goes down too and a gorgeous butler's pantry (8x10?) gets built on with a new back door... all tons more money that I just couldn't do but someday, I will! BUT, I am thrilled with what I have right now and that's all that matters. This mess of a kitchen hadn;t been done since maybe 1960 so my update is fabulous to me!!

In sum -- pick your priorities -- cabinets, floor, counters, whatever and just make sure that you can sleep at night. Don't rush your decisions. Make cuts wisely. Use credit VERY wisely. Plan financially a full year or more out including... what ifs...

And then enjoy the process because in the end, even the agony is fun if you really can live with and sleep with what you choose.

I don't have much advice, I just wanted to say that I feel like I could have written your original post. I'm 22, bought my house at 20, which is adorable but I knew from day 1 that the kitchen needed a gut job. The realtor opened the door to show it to me and said, now, the kitchen's going to have to be redone... I too had a TEENY kitchen where I could barely open the oven door all the way, and only two 24" lower cabinets, 2 24" uppers, and 3 24" countertop pieces. I had a "breakfast area" that you couldn't really fit a table in, with a wall between the two. I've taken out the wall, but my original budget was about 5k as well - though I wasn't planning on replacing the appliances.

Then I discovered that the walls were full of black mold. YUCK. So new walls, new insulation. Then the ceiling fell - new ceiling, new roof! Then, my original custom cabinet guy told me he could do my kitchen for about $3000 - great! Except then he quit calling me back. Then I decided I wanted inset cabinets, and I knew I wanted white from the beginning...and now that I've found a new custom cabinet guy who will build to my plan (unlike others who only want to do it their way), I'm looking at $6800 for cabinets and counters. I am really really stressed about it. Its a great price, sure, but! I had planned to spend half that on cabinets. Now, I know cabinets are usually so much more than this, and this is a really a great deal. I just wasn't prepared!

I've spent about $2100 on demo, walls, insulation, ceiling, etc. Today I dropped $4500 for the entirely new roof. And I'll put in the $6800 for the cabinets and counters. Overall, $13400 for the whole kitchen and roof is a killer deal, but when I only planned to spend $5000....ACK! And I still have to find a patch for my antique wood floors and have them refinished.

It's all relative. If I had planned to spend $30,000, and I ended up spending $85,000, I'd be freaking out too. Heck, if I had planned to spend $30k and spent $50k, I'd be freaking out. Going almost three times my teeny budget... OH MAN.

It'll be a while before I can afford the new cabinets. The cabinet man says he doesn't mind working with me, letting me pay as I can. Work is slow. But it will still be a LOOOONG time before I can afford to put the kitchen back together.

I'm working in stages too. I'll do soapstone someday. Backsplash, in a couple of years. New table and chairs instead of my junky college hand me downs. New lighting when I can swing it. I'd have taken the Lowe's 0% too, if I could have.

I'm not comfortable with what I'm spending. But its completely unacceptable to me to spend any amount of money on cabinets that I'm going to look at and be disappointed with every day. I don't plan on moving for years and years - I want to be happy in my kitchen for all those years. It's worth the debt now to be happy forever.

hlynch81-
You've gotten so much good advice here, I hesitate to add my own voice, but will barge on ahead anyway.

Two things I'd like to say: I'm fifty now, and have lived my life without going into debt for anything except a mortgage. I learned very quickly that the greatest value of money is the freedom it can buy, not the stuff. This way of life allowed me to stay home with my babies (in Calif. where the cost of living is unbelievable), allowed me to quit a job when the stress was unbearable, etc. Things happen...car transmissions fail, a furnace stops working suddenly, your doctor orders an expensive test, etc. You don't want to have to panic over things like this that ARE going to happen, you just don't know when. So where you do have a choice about spending, be conservative and use cash. So I would advise you not to take on debt if you can avoid it here.

The second thing I wanted to say is that because real estate appreciates over time, (it may go up and down over the shortrun but it always appreciates long-term), putting money into projects in the house is simply transferring money from one asset (a savings account) to another (your house). You don't have to sweat transferring money between assets.

You sound incredibly mature. Trust your inner voice more than what you see around you.

>>buddyrose: Here's why I went with Lowes - I wanted the 0% for a year, in order to pay off the cabinets monthly and accrue no interest on the debt. I know that may not be the best reason; however, I got exactly what I wanted and I am able to 'float' part of it and thus not pay any interest - like I would with a custom shop that may be able to come in a bit lower. When I realized I could not pay cash for the whole thing, I decided the 0% option was attractive enough for me to go with Lowes. Also, I absolutely love the kitchen designer there - he has designed much of my kitchen (after I chose layout) and did a fantastic job. I never would have thought of the things he came up with.>>

that's a very good reason to do what you did. A KD you like and payments you can afford. Plus your saying you're enlarging the space makes the price seem more reasonable than when I was thinking "small teeny kitchen--high price".

It's scary spending this kind of money. I have a thread called "kitchen panic" and you should read everyone's drama about their renovations. It's funny but it will also give you a lot of insight to everything that can go wrong and cost more than anticipated.

Try to stay on track and not get carried away with "OMG I want to do that, too." It's hard to stay the course and not get side tracked but you sound like you're okay and just having "kitchen panic." Hang in there.

First of all if you want to fix this problem and sleep at night - cancel the order ASAP. A little word of advice from someone on a very tight budget ordering cabinets from the same "Headquarter Manufacturer" as you. Diamond is made by MasterBrand and they make several different brand names with the exact same door style, colors and finishes - they then call them "different names" slap them into a box and send them to several different stores. I have received 5 quotes on my door style and they all range in price from $6500 - $14,000 just because each store charges a different price. If you bought your cabinets from Lowe's they are WAY overpriced first off and you can get the exact same cabinets for a couple thousand less else where. Go to http://www.masterbrand.com/brands/index.cfm (See where is says Schrock and Kemper) Those two brands are the same and sell for MUCH less. Go to those websites and find your door style, click on store locator and get SEVERAL quotes on the exact sizes you want from many stores in your area.

Next get rid of the glass doors. Never order the glass doors from the cabinet company - instead miter out the door front yourself and order the glass from a local glass shop in town - you will save HUNDREDS!!

Third refigure out how many drawer base cabinets you ordered and cut back to just 1 or 2. Those are the most expensive cabinets and you will save money that way for sure.

Forth - can you live without the crown molding for a few months? If so you can save more money and just pay cash for the molding a few months later.

Fifth - FYI anytime you order white painted cabinets it's a 10-20% upgrade on top of the displayed price. If you really want white paint then re-figure your door style. Try to pick a less expensive but attractive door style and then go white. If you bring the door style cost down up-front the bill won't be so high.

Hope this helps - and good luck staying on budget.

hlynch81,

I think sticker shock is part of the process.
I first found sticker shock when I looked at
appliances. I had always dreamed of changing my kitchen,
It was when we needed to replace an appliance
that I began to see the true costs involved.
And what a wakeup call that was.

You have just started your journey with the most
expensive part. It is going to be okay. If you really
want this you can do it. It will be hard work and
take time but I think if you don't mind
waiting it will happen.

~Boxerpups

I had some cabinet sticker shock but did not have buyer's remorse because I didn't actually buy anything until I was sure I could afford it. I did regroup after the initial shock and re-calculated all my costs in detail on a spreadsheet. I did not start the project until I had a very solid idea about what all my costs would be and knew that I could afford to do the project. I planned for about a year before I started.

In times like this I'm wondering - do you have savings to cover your basic living expenses in case you have an unexpected change in income? That would weigh heavily in my decision about how much to spend on a remodeling project in the current economy.

I really understand your dilemma and think you have to arrive at your own bottom line in terms of what will work for you. All kitchen renos should start with a budget, but a realistic one, which sometimes requires revisting when you have unexpected surprises. I just helped my Mom do a complete, but modest, renovation that started out with a budget of $15 000.0 that had to be revised after her first purchase, the domestic appliances, came to more than $4000.0. She increased her overall budget to $20 000.0 and she is almost done at about a total of $21 000.0 and change. If your financial situation is restricted and you have limited equity room in relation to your real estate market then having to increase one line item is not justification to blow out the rest of your budget (which it doesn't sound like is a big temptation for you). Your young in what sounds like a starter home, this does not sound like a situation where you should be discarding your budget because it won't fufill your dreams (that time will come).

My Mom will be 69 this year and this kitchen was the first one she has had the way she wanted it. It's her forever kitchen. It has the following:

Thermofoil doors and drawer fronts
particleboard construction cabinets
3\4 track and roller drawers
vinyl flooring
laminate countertops
2 Maytag and one Whirlpool appliance
20 guage stainless steel drop in sink

She picked what she wanted within the limitations of what she could afford with her money (that she earned) and she loves it. I am planning a friend's kitchen now who, like you, is in a starter home and we are looking at about half of what my Mom spent so more DIY this time. We are having a blast picking the colours, materials (paint, laminate, CVT tile, Ikea cabs - I really like their light Oak - how the hell did that happen?) and improving the layout. With the layout improvements your making you should be having fun picking materials not agonizing over cabinets you seem to feel you can't afford. The layout improvements will help you a lot at re-sale even if you don't have the fanciest stuff in it. Good luck and have fun you only have one first home.

This my Mom's (looks exactly like what it is but pretty good none the less):

This was what she woke up to every morning before:

Let me tell you first...congrats on owning your own home at your age. Really, it's an accomplishment.

Ok so now as a banker...what would I have told you if you came into my branch just fresh off the street, asking for say a credit card increase to do this remodel.

First, I'd ask about what you were doing. Are you wasting time doing a patch job remodel (those thermafoils) or are you thinking long term. You are very much thinking in stages long term....that's not as normal as you would think, and it's exactly the way you should think.

Now, let me play devils advocate...I don't know what you do for a living, and don't know what your financial position is. So this is what I'd say if you were at my desk...

If you're fired tomorrow...can you make the payments on the house and the additional debt on unemployment or savings?

If you answer is yes, and I can actually eat as well :) I'd caution you to really review the rest of your budget and go ahead with your request. If however you said no, I could lose the house if I lost my job and had that extra debt, I'd suggest you rethink your options.

So (no need to answer here) what is the answer to that question? I honestly think you're doing a good job thinking of this in stages and doing quality work slowly. But can you afford it? That's the big issue.

I remodeled my house recently and even with a much bigger budget we kept those questions in mind...worst case, DH works at a gas station and I find work as a teller again...can we pay the bills?

Welcome to homeownership and kitchen renovation!! The only thing I need to add here is being cautious is good and taking your time is even better. I lived with my small kitchen for 6.5 years while I saved money for the kitchen I wanted. After all is said and done I will probably spend 40K on my renovation and I am only purchasing a range and vent hood (reusing sink, faucet, refrigerator, and dishwasher). I am not a DIYer so I have to pay for all labor costs including removing a non-structural wall and two ceilings. My GC is doing most of the work except the plumbing (paid 2K to bring plumbing up to code and re-route hot water heating system), the floor repairs and finishing, and some painting. My cabinets (stained birch, all plywood construction, soft close drawers) were purchased through a building supply place and cost less than 5K and the counter (granite) will cost 2.5K. I am upgrading my cabinets (trash pullout, tray dividers, etc.) with after market products.

My advice is to take a deep breath, cancel the cabinet order, and spend lots of time (even lurking) on this web forum. You will learn a lot from these folks over time. It will save your heartaches and money. Your kitchen and your pocketbook will be better for it. I know my kitchen is much better because of the education I gained here.

Forgot to add that you should spend time reading the under 20K kitchen thread. It will give you a good sense of what DIYers ended up spending and on what.

Here is a link that might be useful: Under 20K Kitchens

This forum can be as much a curse as a blessing, and it is challenging to find the budget sweet spot. The difference between want and need blurs easily. We had a Korean student exchange as a guest in our home for a couple of weeks. The meals she made were excellent and served with exquisite artistic beauty. She was thrilled because we had a 4-burner stove and an oven. Her family uses a hot plate and they have no oven.

Many of us have lived with little workspace and dead or dying appliances while saving for a new kitchen. That $3,000 range I didn't buy will pay for the induction cooktop I need & want. In the interim, I am cooking on an induction hot plate. It is easy to make a meal? No! Is it worth it? Yes!

The questions igloochic asked make lots of financial sense. If you can manage with what you are using now a little longer, save a year for the new cabinets. If you are sorry now you made the financial commitment, imagine a less stressful year saving rather than paying off debt. If your circumstances change (maybe improve:)) your kitchen may turn out better than you'd hoped.

First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for your fantastic advice, empathy, and in some cases stern (but warranted) caution. Though I don't have time to reply to every message, I read and considered all of them and I thank you all SO much.

I just cancelled my cabinets. I feel a tremendous weight lifted from me. I can breathe. The sick feeling in my stomach is gone. I know I did the right thing.

I still intend to knock out that wall (it's not load-bearing), move around my appliances to maximize space, and bring in a low-cost (hopefully used - craigslist is the best) moveable island to provide some desperately needed storage and counter space. That'll be the patch job I need for now. The rest is just going to have to wait until I save some more money, pay down some more of that nice new mortgage, and consider all my options for a good, LONG time. I'll have fun lurking here (love that under $20k thread) and learning in the meantime.

Thank you all again. I feel great about my decision.

Isn't that a great feeling. That's what I mean about freedom...Good for you. Don't forget eBay. This island sold for $142 recently.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ebay Island

Thanks for posting this thread. You have really helped me get a little perspective on my own budget. I am glad you are happy with your decision and I hope to hear from you as your project moves forward.

Cotehele - Wow, that is so interesting about the Korean student! I lived and worked in Korea after college. I know exactly what you are talking about. The appliances are definitely a change from here. I lived in an extremely tiny studio apartment (but ironically had more counter space, now that I think of it!) And I was so happy. ;)

Bestyears - thank you. And your previous comment "I learned very quickly that the greatest value of money is the freedom it can buy, not the stuff." had a BIG impact. That is so, so true. Thank you for reminding me. And eBay is a great idea!

Odiegirl - I'm glad my buyer's remorse helped! :) Good luck with your own project and budget, too.

Good for you cancelling the cabinets - you will be so happy when you find exactly what you are looking for in your price range. Def get a few quotes and you will know when you found what you were looking for!

hlynch81 -

So glad you are happy and feeling good again. You made the best choice. It's not easy to backtrack. Good for you!

I can't wait to visit Korea. The country is beautiful. She has sent gorgeous pictures, and I miss her so much.

Don't be a stranger here.

HL, You can do this. If you don't feel comfortable with that 8K, find another way. I've been teased for 20 years about my desire to do things affordably. Even during my recent remodel, the contractors mocked me by calling me "Little Miss Ebay", because of how many things I bought on-line. I saved $2K just on my faucets & sinks. I saved hundreds on small stuff like hardware.
Being responsible, has given me more freedom & security in this economy. I have a beautiful home in a great location and it's paid for. There is ALWAYS a way to get a desirable result for less $. This site is a great place to find inspiration for how to do it.
There are tons of remodelers on the site spending big bucks, but there are others who are working under tighter financial constraints. Do what you feel comfortable with, and don't be afraid to ask the other $$savvies for help.

Oh, I am so relieved for you. I was actually quite worried about you, and about my post, which I thought after the fact might have been a little finger-waggy. But I just felt terrible thinking that we could've helped you through that process and identified things to cut back on. Dreamywhite had some really concise, great advice, about getting the organizational guts from aftermarket suppliers (this is huge -- Rev-A-Shelf makes most of that stuff, and you pay huge upcharges for the cabinet companies to install it), not getting the glass cabinets and routing them yourself (or, another secret: get the doors "prepped for glass" but without the glass installed, then get the glass from the hardware store or stained-glass supply place and install it yourself--you can save hundreds per cabinet), stuff like that.

I'm glad to hear that this forum, and the advice here, really worked for you. I think you can absolutely do this remodel, but you shouldn't feel rushed, or pushed, or hurried into it.

Please keep us posted with your plans going forward. I think we just adopted you.

The way I look at it: once it's too late to get off the roller coaster, you'd better just enjoy the ride...

Good job, I think you might decision to hold off. On the topic of debt vs. cash for paying for stuff like this, I actually believe that right now it's probably better to incur debt even if you have the cash when in a down economy.

The reason is that in the event of a layoff, cash is king. You can always get more debt, but you can't get more cash for cash-only transactions like paying the minimum due on that debt. So I would strongly counsel against spending your cash cushion - and I think intuitively you realized the same thing which was causing the feelings of panic.

Evilbunnie (and I love that name!), I definitely don't think your post was finger-waggie. You brought up some excellent points that I hadn't considered, such as contingencies, the my possibly unrealistic $5k remaining budget, etc. What sealed the deal for me on my decision was when I sat down with my trusty Excel spreadsheet, with this forum's advice in mind and the pricing I'd done on the things I wanted, and laid out a 3-step, 2-3 year plan. Even with doing mid-range components (nothing super expensive, but better than rock bottom), I came up with $17,500 for my total. And that's if everything had gone right. I cancelled the cabinets the next morning.

I decided that I simply could not afford to do what I wanted to do with my kitchen. I would rather do a $500 patch job to get me some temporary storage and to knock out the wall to give me more open space, than to spend, say, $10k or $12k and end up with a kitchen that I just wasn't happy with. And truth be told, things always go wrong, don't they? To do what I really wanted to do, it probably would've ended up at $20k if not more.

The fact is, I'm 27 and I still have student loan debt. I have a secure job that I love, but that doesn't pay awfully well (I'm a writer for my state's fish and wildlife agency). My budget is tight with a mortgage on one income and this economy is just plain scary. My cash needs to stay in my savings account. Your advice and everyone else's brought me back to earth. And I am SO thankful for that.

It's a tough lesson to learn, but we just can't have everything we want at this moment, right? I believe we can have what we want, but slowly and with planning and hard work and good old-fashioned saving money. I am so glad to have changed my mind before it was too late.

And how wonderful to be adopted! :)

You have plenty of time on your side. We are embarking on our kitchen remodel after living here in our first (and hopefully, only) house for 10 years.

We managed to save up a good chunk of change on one income (I stay home with the three kids), but we're still taking out a loan. What's important to us is that we can afford to take out the HELOC and make the payments. Other than our mortgage and the HELOC, we have no other debt. Most importantly, we are experiencing no remorse. That is a good feeling!

I think you made the right decision. My DH and I were in a similar situation when we bought our home 7 years ago: just married, student loans, awful tiny kitchen w/minimal counter space and eating area too small for our table. So we made due w/a big shelf and a dresser for the storage we didn't have, and finally remodeled when our finances allowed it (last year).

Although we did take out a loan for the remodel, we ended up not needing to use much of it b/c of what we'd saved and now it's available for other updating our home needs. We're like chachashea, no other debt aside from the mortgage and the loan...and despite the economic downturn we're feeling okay.

Good job and good luck!

Hlynch, I find myself in a similar situation...so I'm going to share my story with you.

I'm 26, owned my home for almost two years. I'm a grad student with a little investment income and a reliable, albeit small stipend. Over the last 18 months, I've been remodeling my kitchen from a tiny, enclosed space with about 3 feet of countertop, to an open, fantastic space that is as close to my dream kitchen as I think I could get given reality.
I've spent about 13k total, and am only missing a range hood and a handful of open shelves. I knocked down a wall(like you), got soapstone, a huge stove, butcherblock, bamboo floors... Ikea cabinets helped make all of it possible. I couldn't be happier. A little carpentry and DIY elbow grease made their stock sizes fit a number of odd shapes for me. Ebay, craigslist and a bunch of tools made the rest possible. I even fabricated my own soapstone counters with a drainboard!

Let me know if you have any questions, as I'd be happy to help you in your similar sounding journey. The entire process is documented in the following picture albums, I hope you enjoy them! (still need to update the last one)
-romie

Progress 1
Progress 2
Progress 3
Progress 4
Progress 5

hlynch- I am so proud of you....you have acquired wisdom that some don't have by the time they're 40. It will serve you well. One thought I will share with you for the future if it is feasible with your space.....even with all that money I spent, my kitchen still does not have enough storage space. I knew that but that was all I had unless I wanted to knock out walls and expand it which would have really cost a pretty penny. I felt it was less expensive to build an outdoor kitchen immediately adjacent to my kitchen where I could add significant storage/cabinets without the building/infrastructure cost. Just a thought for the future for those with small kitchens.

Ncounty - thank you very much. I'm glad I made the decision I did, and I hope I'll keep on the austerity plan. I think in the long run I"ll have a lot more options this way. :) And that's a great idea about the outdoor kitchen! My kitchen is in the front of my house, so an outdoor kitchen unfortunately couldn't be adjacent unless I really shuffled things around. My little house is a challenge!

Romie - what a transformation! Your kitchen is beautiful - especially those countertops.

I came late to this discussion but I believe you did the right thing. Although my kitchen wasn't as bad as yours is, when we moved into this house, I could not WAIT to remodel. But, the money wasn't there. I scrimped and saved for six years before going forward. It was worth the wait.

Not only did we not have to go into debt, but since I had the money in hand, I was able to make decisions on going for extra $$ on some things that were really important to me.

My advice now that you've decided to wait is to find ways to live as frugally as possible and save every penny you can. Every time I wanted to spend money on something I thought, ok, which is more imporant to me, this item or my kitchen? Sometimes the money got spent, you can't not spend ANY money, but often it gave me perspective on what I was spending on and how little it mattered compared to my kitchen.

Good luck!

Hlynch, I'm a Mom with a daughter not much older than you and when I read your original post, I had that sick feeling in my belly with you. I'm sure it was in some ways really hard to cancel the order, but the experience wasn't a waste as now you have a good idea of real costs and what you need to do to prepare for it.

After reading that you want to find an island you can use in the interim on craigs list or something I remembered that my sister who's kitchen has been in transition for years bought a really cool butcher block table from IKEA and it has worked out really well for her. They have several sizes so that could be an option for you as well.

Good luck!

I was just going to echo one of the above comments on your floorplan. It sounded like the cramped-ness of the space was the real rate-limiting step on functionality, and eventually, rental and re-sale.

So knocking down the wall and going slowly on what you put back in sounds just right. So just to give an example, if you have much improved functionality and generally good quality to the changes you make (well-constructed, neatly done, showing good workmanship), you could put in laminate counters, fine for rental, and upgrade whenever, if ever--for yourself if you stay, or, if your home is the smallest and least expensive but in a good neighborhood, probably no one will "not buy" your house just because it does not yet have granite counters. The buyer also would realize it's a gem and would be buying it (and not the bigger house next door) for a reason and make additional upgrades.