I dunno. We were on a tight budget ($30k) and we needed to gut reno a 10x11 kitchen in our NYC apartment. But I knew it could be done. Obviously our first decision was to go with Ikea cabinets, and after spending hours I was able to price them out at $3,500. And that's what they cost.

We didn't do anything fancy -- no disposal (couldn't get board approval) or pot fillers etc -- but we did spend 4,500 on Bosch and Fisher Paykel appliances and $1,300 to install a ventilation system. Contractor charged us 17k for demo, new ceiling, floors and walls, and install cabs, tile and apps.

Oddly the most expensive item was electrics -- total rewiring, moving outlets, installing plugmold, recessed lights etc. was about $4k.

We came in under $30k. If you've got the money, as the OP obviously does, then it's no big deal if you don't stick to a budget. If you only have X to spend, then there's no reason why you can't do it.

I know custom or semi-custom cabs are expensive. But I see these quotes for 50, 60, or 70k just for cabinets and I know someone is making out like a bandit.

I generally try not to let myself think about the total bottom line price of the kitchen. We didn't plan to do the kitchen this year. I just became a partner in my law firm this year, so last year's bonus was decreased dramatically in lieu of a "buy in" contribution. We agreed that we would put off the kitchen for a couple of years and do other projects around the house in the meantime. Then our 5 burner cooktop that had 4 working burners when we moved in reached the point where only 1 burner worked and if the gas was on it was on all the time so we either could replace the cooktop and the disgusting vinyl floor for a couple thousand or spend a lot more and do the kitchen properly.
My husband still assumed that we were doing a DIY type remodel so we thought we could do it for about $25,000--we were quite wrong. The first estimate on the cabinets came in at $30,000 and I realized we were going to need to borrow some more money. We revised the cabinet plan and got it down to about $23,000. The Electrolux appliances were about $6,000. The granite was supposed to be $4,000, but then I fell in love with my beautiful Typhoon Bordeaux granite and it was $6,000 (they lowered the price a little when I nearly fell out of my chair). The sink and faucets were about $1,800. We removed several walls so we ended up spending $3,500 for a drywall contractor to patch the drywall and remove the popcorn from the ceilings. Since the kitchen was opened to the living room, dining room, a hallway and the entryway we replaced the flooring throughout the entire area with Brazilian Koa--materials cost about $5,000 and installation $4,500. Trim carpentry was about $1,200. Lighting throughout the kitchen, dining room, living room and entry is about $3,500. The only unknown at the moment is the cost of the tile backsplash--which I am hopefully picking out this week. In the end it wasn't really much of a DIY kitchen. My husband did the demo, electrical work and plumbing. He is incredibly talented and could have done the flooring and drywall work, but we didn't want to extend the project any longer than absolutely necessary so he agreed to hire a drywall contractor, flooring installers and the carpenter. We also hired a KD and a couple weeks ago I hired an interior designer to help me figure out how to put the area back together. In the end after the backsplash, furniture and accessories I expect to be at about $60,000. We put off the new mantel, built in cabinets and bookcases in our living room until next year, but that will add to the total cost in the end. Basically I will probably be using my bonus for the next couple of years to try to pay off all of the money I borrowed to do this project, but at least I will be able to let people inside my house. Our kitchen was original to the house (constructed in 1967) and it was truly awful--we're not done yet, but its already looking fantastic. I hope I will say it was all worth the money and the stress when its finally done!

pasigal wrote: If you've got the money, as the OP obviously does, then it's no big deal if you don't stick to a budget.

That's an unfair and blanket statement. I'm pretty sure none of us can judge anyone else's budget, finances or comfort level.

pasigal also wrote: If you only have X to spend, then there's no reason why you can't do it. Again, that is such an unfair and blanket statement. So many of us here had "surprises" (structural, electrical, plumbing, etc.) which resulted in unanticipated and unbudgeted for costs.

It's terrific that pasigal was able to achieve so much on his / her budget, and that is certainly useful and encouraging information. But let's remember that this is not a thread to pass judgment on anyone's circumstances, rather, it is to help those of us who've been there figure out what we did and those who are in the process of / planning stages understand how others before them have handled it.

paigeysmom -- your post came through as I was writing the above. We are (in some ways) in the exact same boat! We are holding off on having the mantle for a new family room fireplace and the built-ins surrounding it fabricated / installed until we recover a bit from the remodel we just did .... I love seeing other people who are doing it piecemeal because it makes me feel not so alone!

And congratulations on making partner! That is so exciting.

When we were planning and doing the remodel, our children were three and one years-old. While we both think we are incredibly handy and have done lots of DIY (in previous houses) we both knew this just couldn't be done by us on any sort of an acceptable or realistic timeline. I have to admit, it was pretty nice having other people do all the dirty work in our stead! But I also miss that sense of accomplishment which comes from DIY. So we're now working ourselves on our backyard, and it'll take a few summers. But having a pretty backyard isn't as imperative as a functional kitchen!

charlikin -- that wasn't rambling at all! I loved reading your descriptions and explanations for your choices. It's hard sometimes to decide what's a dealbreaker and on what we can be flexible. I am really envious of how on-top-of your budget you are!

My favorite marthavila! I love seeing your name here and reading about your kitchen. You made me laugh (at myself) about the advice of having a line item budget. Too little too late .... Your kitchen has got to be one of the most carefully planned and designed ones here. I am definitely looking forward to watching its progress!

happytobehome -- it's Berkower Woodworks in Boulder. I don't know many cabinet shops so I don't know who your brother-in-law might be .... Hmm. Isn't this a glorious place to visit? Our only regret about moving to CO is that we didn't move here earlier!

smilingjudy -- I'm so glad you found your perfect countertop! Isn't it a huge relief? I remember the absolute elation I felt when I found ours. When I think about it I'm slightly embarrassed that I felt such glee over something like a countertop material, but I can't help it -- it was that exciting for me! And thank you so much for understanding that feeling. Please be sure to post pictures of your slabs!

laxsupermom -- I loved reading your post! You are so descriptive that it is both incredibly helpful as well as just plain interesting. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed you find the perfect soapstone! Your cabinets sound gorgeous -- can't wait to see them!

A year ago, I was in the final stages of a huge addition on my house that did *not* include the kitchen. I added a 3 car garage, laundry room, and large upstairs family room / bonus room with a 3/4 bath. It was a major undertaking. As we finished our planning, I realized that it would be strange to have these fabulous new spaces and still have a grungy old kitchen. So I told the GC that I was adding the kitchen and he said I'd officially broken all records for project creep! No one had ever added a kitchen to a huge project like this before :)

Originally I wanted to work with my existing cabinets. I wanted to cut the granite and cabinet bank down (even though I hate the granite) by about 1 foot to accommodate a wider bay window where the table goes. And I needed to remake a couple of cabinets because I was relocating some appliances. The cabinets are 30+ years old and not in great condition, so GC said that it would be a waste of money to reno this kitchen w/o replacing the cabinets. He said the revisions to existing cabinets would be $3000 plus, and I could get all new cabinets for about $8000 or $9000. REally? WOW! Awesome! Sign me up for a new kitchen.

Most of you probably know where this is going.

The $8000 cabinets were from a guy who didn't have any of the bells and whistles. I wasn't looking for much, just nice glides, pretty interiors (maple lam instead of white melamine), and such stuff - nothing fancy at all. By the time I added those few upgrades, we were over $14,000. And that was for basic cabinets with stuff added, not high quality cabinets from the get-go. I then got estimates for DuraSupreme at around $15,000 and DeWils for around $17,000. Although the DeWils was more expensive, I went with them because the supplier of DuraSupreme had lost credibility with me and the GC on a previous small job she did for me. Lots of installation problems, poor ordering, and quality issues. (it was on one of her cheaper lines, not durasupreme, but I figured the risk was there regardless.)

To keep the budget less insane, I am keeping several of my old appliances (Kitchenaid oven/micro, Amana CD fridge). They don't look new but look okay and work fine. Both are about 11 years old. When the time comes, they can easily be replaced but I can't see replacing them just to have something new. I'm replacing the 20+ year old cooktop. I got a new compactor off Craigslist and am still shopping for my other appliances.

I want soapstone, and the variety we picked is among the most expensive. I'm getting the soapstone because I love it and the counters are the most important surface to me in the kitchen - I look at it and touch it most of everything. And I'm in love with Cobra soapstone!

Overall I have put way too much money in this house. We are in a very stable old established neighborhood sales wise, but even so we're over-invested. I keep telling myself that I didn't do this for financial gain, I did it to enjoy on a day to day basis, much like some people buy fancy cars, nice shoes, or expensive vacations. Some of it will produce greater equity in my home, but most of it will just serve to bring me, my husband, and the kids joy and pleasure (I hope!).

Yes, my budget has gone many many times over what my GC and I thought that first day. I think it was the wiser decision to do the whole thing right and have it done rather than doing it partway and wanting to rip it all out in coming years to have new cabinets / wiring /etc.

Oh, and we also added 2 bathroom renovations as well. I finally decided that if I was going to have the contractor all in my space, I wanted the entire house done so I don't ever have to do this again!

Anita

Well, when we first started thinking about re-doing a kitchen and investigated it 3 years ago - we found out we could pretty much get decent cabinets, new appliances, countertop, sink, etc. and labor for $20K. At the time we figured why get basically the same kitchen (no structural changes, or add-ons) and spend that money.

So fast forward 2 years and I start obsessing over the kitchen again. This time I figure I can do what I want for $25K - and really figured out what I want. Tons of time (wasted according to DH at the time!) on the internet, looking at cabinet brochures, etc.

But, in the end we came out to probably close to $25 - maybe $26K. We saved a little since DH works for GE and we got our appliances at a discount. Our neighborhood really couldn't support a super high-end kitchen remodel - and we are very ultra happy with the way it turned out.

Our kitchen area was pretty small (I think) about 14 1/2 feet by 10 feet (if I remember correctly!) and not all on continuous walls - open to family room on one side and bounded by exterior wall on another.

I do LOVE my kitchen, I like cleaning up knowing that it looks so nice now. Everyone has a different price point and for us it was important to have been able to save up for the project over the last few years and pay it off rather than borrowing more money. As a stay at home mom of 2 little ones, saving money isn't always so easy, so in some ways that feels like another accomplishment!

Enough babbling...

Our remodel wasn't a "forever-kitchen", it was the first major remodel on a 31-year-old starter home kitchen--and still a big deal to us b/c we've lived here six years, this is our first home, and our first remodel. We did a gut/remodel/layout change for ~10 x 14' U-shaped kitchen for about $28K. First we got a cabinet estimate from HD for Kraftmaid and a total remodel estimate from another company (same type of cabs). Then we realized we had to pay less to obtain everything we wanted and it would have to include some DIY work (with help from DH's buddy, who we paid).

DH and I set up a budget for what we thought we could spend on each item as well as the costs that were set in stone (for example, we were having specific replacement windows for new window layout) as well as an "overflow" category. Then we tried to figure out what items would fit our budget. We knew the max, we had a couple cab estimates, we knew the "set in stone" items, so after we factored in all the "knowns" we relied on estimates based on the internet.

Ikea cabinets cost less than half the Kraftmaid; not my first choice for color but similar enough to the shaker/slab style I liked. They were much nicer than our old cabinets (1978 particle board/faux wood) so it wasn't hard to go ahead and choose Ikea. We've been very happy with the new cabs and they were easy to put together and install. I probably could have made even better use of the space w/custom or semi-custom cabs, but the new layout was such an improvement space/storage/functionality-wise over the old that the cost-savings made it worth the compromise.

Counter gave a little more trouble--we knew we wanted solid surface, Zodiaq or Corian. The Zodiaq was more expensive and we couldn't pick a Corian color we both liked within our counter budget, so we decided on Corian-like LivingStone surface. LS cost less than Corian for the type of counter we chose. Also, LS has fewer color options to help narrow down the decisions.

Since we knew how much we had budgeted for flooring, we picked a tile that fit the budget. Similar with the new dishwasher and range (kept five year old fridge). I knew what we could afford going into the remodel, which meant that some things were totally out of my budget.

Our budget evolved a little, but did not exceed the max of what we thought we could afford. Basically the budget meant that certain things just weren't attainable for this kitchen. I could accept that because the end result was still what I consider to be a great kitchen. We cook almost 100% of the time so we created a place we're happy to be in. It's also neutral and restrained enough that when we move (maybe in the next five years) we think the kitchen will still be a selling point.

My advice: set priorities, determine a budget (internet is very helpful for estimating costs), shop around a bit (we didn't spend too much time on this as we both work and have a young son), stick to the budget and prepare to make compromises. The compromises can be difficult, but necessary to stay on budget (especially if bad surprises pop up).

Rm you crack me up. I too started with the $40,000 figure (I'd read somewhere that this was the average kitchen remodel cost...and heck, I can do average :oP )

Then we decided we had to do the master bath as well, and add a powder room off the kitchen since there wasn't one on the main floor. Up to $90,000.

Well as long as we're doing that, it would be silly not to redo the family bathroom in the same quality...up to $110,000.

Daddy want's a Lacanche and a SubZero and "knobs" that speak to him...Budget up to $150,000.

Oh you mean we have to pay to move all that plumbing and electric? Budget up to $200,000.

Ya let's move some structural beams...it makes sense...oh dear did you also see that onyx??? $250,000.

The kitchen is coming in around $175,000 and the balance of the house is pushing hard at $400,000. We honestly didn't compromise on anything, and I actually did have a lovely budget spreadsheet to work with :) I just threw it out half way through when DH started wanting $75 cabinet pulls. In the end, and throughout actually, we asked...what can we afford? what will the house be worth? and how much can we afford to kiss away on resale? We're comfortable with the answers we came up with, and are looking forward to moving in someday. Our kitchen is about 30% plus of the value...but we love it, and that was our big issue. We don't believe in the term "forever home" and didn't do anything with that idea in mind. We did look to resale though, and because of our unique lake location...we can get away with a lot.

Now I start on the corporate rental, a total gut job, including 4 baths and a kitchen. My budget is $125,000. I'll actually be using my spreadsheet quite carefully because resale and cash flow is important on an investment property. I'm honestly looking forward to posting pics of my $20,000 fabulous kitchen as well as my high dollar fabulous kitchen.

Now on that "OP obviously had the money" thing. I just mentioned to my GC the other day that the money tree was wearing thin, and needed watering. ALL budgets have a ending figure. It's higher for some and lower for others. But we all still have a stopping point...if we didn't...I'd have zinc counters :oP

I would have loved to have had better pricing information before going into this renovation. Our renovation was a little more than just the kitchen, as we moved the old kitchen in to the summer kitchen area, moved the powder room and laundry room out of those areas, and turned the old kitchen into a library.

At first, my top budget was $70000, and I was assured by many cabinet companies that this was totally achievable, if not overkill for our space.

We aren't completed yet, but I think we've got the pricing finalized, and it's broken down as follows for the kitchen:

Cabinets $33K
These are custom cabinets (natural maple, shaker style). We never looked at semi-custom or stock cabinets mostly due to the configuration of our house. We live in an old house with 18" stone walls, so we had to work around the very low windows and current door locations. Our kitchen is about 16 X 20 with about 42 linear feet of cabinets plus an l-shaped island.

In retrospect, we should have perhaps considered going semi-custom. But, I do love our cabinet maker - he's been a joy to work with.

Countertops 12K
Stainless steel everywhere except for a small piece of marble at the baking station and butcher block on the island. There was no moving my husband on these choices.

Flooring $3500
Natural solid cherry

Appliances $4K
We were lucky here, as my husband already had a 48" DCS gas range and hood, and a good stainless fridge. Leaving us with only with the freezer, warming drawer, dishwater, and microwave to buy.

Fixtures $3K
Sink (another indulgence - I did want that Shaw's 36"), pot filler, faucets.

Backsplash $2K
Installed. Very plain backsplash.

Construction. God knows. The total construction budget for the project was a whopping $70K. We gutted the room and took out all of the lathe and plaster, new venting, all new electrical, plumbing, etc. We also constructed an 6.6' X 14' pantry / storage room addition in the garage. I would venture a guess that at least $50K of the construction budget was for the kitchen &
pantry.

Architect $2K
Good ideas, sloppy drawings. Not worth the grief.

Surprise! $7K
When we opened up one of our walls we found that the masonry was failing. At first, this was said to be a load bearing wall, and was going to cost us $20-$40K to fix. Turns out the joists in our house run different directions on different floors. I cried with joy when my husband told me that it wasn't a load bearing wall after all, and that it would be so cheap to fix.

Total. Way too much.

We did keep a spread sheet going with a budget. We did do a little bit of feature creep, in that we were originally going to leave the old kitchen in place and have my husband DIY the destruction and finishing of that room. However, I decided it was worth it to get it done while we were out of the house. Our daughter was 7 months old at the start of our reno (ask me how old she is now!) and I wanted to keep the amount of extra work my husband had to do to a minimum.

That having been said, the kitchen itself, if we didn't have to move it from one room to another and thus reshuffle the rest of our floorplan, probably would have come in close to my original $70K budget.

And we are never doing this again. Renovations suck.

The one, and the only reason why I think it's pointless for me to share some of the main costs of our reno is that the bulk of the work and cabinetry costs were handled by our General Contractor who is also my husband's good friend. He is exceptionally good at what he does, and was able to give us ridiculously low costs for the custom cabinetry (his uncle built it for us; all his uncles and his dad are in the custom woodworking business), and all the labour including plumbing, electrical, appliance installation, cabinet install, hardwood refinishing for entire main floor, etc. In fact, we plan on paying him more once our reno is over since they did such an outstanding job, and because we know he would have charged more for clients that were not friends.

The main reason I decided to respond is, besides admiring Rmkitchen's courage and honesty in describing her budget, but also so others can understand how I was able to do this renovation especially at perhaps an earlier age than others.

So obviously others aren't in the same lucky boat as us with respect to the above - and I am so grateful that we had a good friend not only help us with costs but just give us a pleasant and ideal experience with our first major reno.

But I did want to share some cost-saving tips that may not be obvious to the average person once I post our finished kitchen photos (almost there...probably another month or two to get everything finalized including furniture). These are all in Canadian funds. I did keep a spreadsheet and I think it is such an important tool to have when planning any renovation project.
- We did not spend a lot of money on high-brand name appliances. Most are from Kitchenaid and GE and the wall oven was a GE floor model that we got at 50% of the cost. We figured we can always replace them later with other elite brands (the Wolfs, Vikings and Mieles of the world) if we wanted to. Total cost of appliances was approx $8000.
- We bought Danze faucets which get a somewhat bad rep due to being made in China. It was actually the only style I liked besides the Hamat Michelle, and again, we could easily replace them later. Total cost for two faucets, sidespray and two soap dispensers was $600.
- The granite was somewhat a splurge, but we only did it on the island and l-shaped cabinetry (did a basic wood top for desk area). Granite was $7000.
- I bought the Blanco and Ticor sinks online and they were a steal - $700 total for both sinks.
- Pendant lights were definitely a splurge but I love them and they are antique reproductions. Total for two lights was $1909. The price for these lights was just ridiculous - but we could afford them as we saved on the cabinetry and labour. Otherwise, these would have been SO out of the running.
- We still need to buy window treatments, kitchen table and chairs and stools.

I guess my main advice is - go cheaper on stuff you can always replace later such as appliances and faucets. I guess some would argue that you want to spend most of your money on the functional parts of your kitchen, especially the appliances. But I have seen some really cheap appliances last for years and years. I tried to really talk myself out of buying certain brand names because there is a perceived quality difference. And if there is, well heck, I've been using the crappiest appliances for three years. Kitchenaid will seem like a Le Cornue in mere comparison!! ;-)

But again, our situation is unique with our friend/GC which I am thankful for. When his uncle finished our cabinetry, our friend and his uncle said they stepped back and looked at our cabinets and said, "if we had charged them based on the actual value of these cabinets, we would be rich!!!"

Another point I wanted to mention is I feel that some of the newer bells and whistles of kitchen add to the cost, but not necessarily to the attractiveness or even function of a kitchen. I know for some people, a wine cooler is a really important thing as they are wine connoiseurs (I'm sure that's the wrong spelling). But my overall thought was, I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. Not too many bells and whistles or gadgets. I was almost opposed to having a prep sink even as I wanted a clean, simple island - glad that our GC convineced us though as this cute little sink is one of my favourite things in the kitchen! It's a small thing and feels like a little indulgence...how spoiled to have two places in the kitchen to wash up! ;-)

So the tip I wanted to pass along was - ask yourself if you really need that built-in espresso maker, double dishwashers, fancy range hood, fancy spice rack pullouts, etc. And if you really want it and can afford it - then go for it! Otherwise, don't buy into the hype and the marketing. A kitchen's number one function is to prepare and cook meals, and there are many people who cook outstanding meals without all the fancy gadgetry.

Everyone's budget and circumstances are different. When we did our kitchen 3 1/2 years ago we were on a tight budget and I researched everything and loved the fact that I had this forum to log on to everyday!

We have a small 1600 sq ft house and a smaller than average galley kitchen, it is on the blog. We went with the cabinets from HD not custom, but had a contractor friend help us install them. Since I don't have a lot of counter top to begin with, granite just didn't seem like a good option, we went with Corian which I love and love my integrated sink. We weren't going to get new appliances except for the dw, but then FIL gave us some money and we could get a new fridge and stove, Lowes, mark down.

I love reading about all your gorgeous kitchens, seeing the pics of them is great as well. I have a file going of those I love for future reference.

Yes working within a budget is necessary but as we all know life can get in the way! It is not my place to judge how much someone spends, that is their business. But I love to looky loo!

Keep all the awesome kitchen coming!

Great thread, rmkitchen! I wish I had something like this to read before I got started.

Let me preface my response by saying that we waited 11 years, while living with a horribly outdated kitchen, to tackle this project. We could have done it much sooner on a much lower budget, but we decided to wait until we were in a position to get the kind of kitchen we really wanted.

Amusingly, I, too, began with that mythical $40,000 remodel in mind. After just a smidge of research, I altered that to $40,000 plus appliances, figuring that was a category I could change dramatically, if needed. Still, in my head, I limited the appliance budget to $10,000. So, I went in with a $50,000 budget.

I started with one KD who didn't seem to have the capacity to listen to what I wanted. His designs could not have been further from my vision. The second KD was much better at designing something close to what I wanted, but he had a problem listening to my budget. I was expecting the cabinets to be around $20,000, and knowing this, he came up with a plan that would cost me $39,000. Like you, my KD and I parted ways.

I found a custom cabinet maker who gave me a quote of $17,500 for a similar design. Actually, his design was exactly what I wanted, instead of the "settling" I was having to do with the semi-custom cabinets. I drew it all up, and he entered it into his design software and we tweaked until it was perfect. In the end, I made a few changes that cost a bit more, so I spent a total of $18,200 on the cabinets.

My contractor's original quote was for $20,000 for demo (including removal of a wall), plumbing, electric, ceiling (tongue and groove pine), drywall, installing tile floor, and finish carpentry. We ran into some plumbing issues in removing the wall, and I added a prep sink to the island, which involved digging a trench in my slab, so the costs increased somewhat. Still, I was a bit surprised that the final bill increased to almost $27,000.

The countertops actually came in a little under the initial quote at approximately $7,000 for soapstone installed, plus the cost of the bracket supports for the island overhang. My flooring tile cost $2,300, and the installation was included in my contractor's fees. Pendants (4) cost a total of $600.

The total for appliances, sinks, faucets, etc., was $12,300. This included $5,600 for the range, $1,300 for the hood, $2,500 for the fridge, $1600 for the dishwasher, $400 for both sinks, and $950 for both faucets. Almost another $500 was for disposals, soap dispensers, and airswitches.

So, our budget was $50,000 and the total cost was $67,500, a bit more of an overrun than I had hoped for. I probably could have stayed within the budget had I gone with less expensive appliances, countertops, and flooring, but I don't think I could have gotten as much cabinetry for any less without seriously sacrificing quality. Oops, did I mention that we haven't done a backsplash yet?!

We did control or cut some costs by comparison shopping. We also did the painting ourselves, but I'm not sure I would do that again, since it was a much bigger job than we expected. We saved $1,500, but it turned into about six full days worth of work because it involved (a) priming and painting four coats on the tongue and groove pine ceiling and (b) stripping the paint from a window and trim.

I am really happy with my choices. We have already gotten enough enjoyment and compliments from our new kitchen to erase most of my discomfort about going over the budget. It did mean that other projects (i.e., bathroom/laundry room, patio/pool enclosure) were postponed, but it didn't break us.

This has been an enlightening and comforting read. We started out looking for a stove for the new house we just bought. It snowballed and so now we're at the point where most of the first floor has been opened up to the studs.

We had always suspected that people were spending close to and over six figures to create the beautiful kitchens that we see - but not a lot of people will 'fess up to that.

We're too polite to ask what people were spending, and the few comments we had heard all led us to believe that wonders could be done with 40K.

Imagine our shock when we went to our first sit-down at a nice kitchen showroom. The designer lady wanted just under 60 thousand dollars for cabinets alone...

So from there to Home Depot - found them very difficult to work with in this area - nice people but the process is slow and frustrating. After four months and two measures we gave up. We were unable to get a firm and final price for what we wanted. Actually, we weren't able to sit down with anyone to actually explain what we wanted.

We did have two meetings with a designer who was quite nice but not too imaginative. She didn't want us to get too imaginative either. I believe we were somewhere around 20 thousand but they wouldn't tell us because they hadn't had a chance to get everything into the computer.

The Home Depot window folks came and measured for doors and windows and that was the last we heard from them.

Went to Ikea and looked at the quality and never thought about Home Depot again. Took us two hours to purchase the kitchen with the help of a friendly, knowledgeable kitchen associate. Left knowing exactly what we had spent - $9,378.00 for cabinets with lots of pull-outs and dampers and self-closing drawers, etc. Plus they have stainless cabinetry !

(We settled on Ikea for cabinets on the theory that the floors and the countertops are far more important than the boxes we store stuff in. People vaguely notice the style of the cabinets. The colour does register, but I have yet to meet anyone who cares whether or not the interior of my pantry is imported hardwood or generic MDF. They care about whether the wine is nice and the conversation is good.)

We ordered new appliances from Electrolux Icon - 'Designer' series, 36" induction, counter-depth fridge, built-in conv-micro, dishwasher, double wall ovens and a downdraft exhaust. With a little Sub-Zero wine fridge appliances were 13 thousand plus tax. Hands down the best place to buy appliances in the Toronto area is the Hudson's Bay Company (Queen Street store).

We're putting in copper counters - about 7 thousand for just under 50 square feet - which is less than some of the granite quotes we got. That includes two integrated sinks. After looking at a lot of the synthetics and the stones we decided metal was the route for us. Very sanitary and you can't beat the patina.

Brazilian cherry floor with simple maple inlay has been quoted at 4 and a half thousand - figure 5 thousand when it's all done - just under 600 square feet.

The French doors with stained glass and sidelights are $9,300.00 plus tax including installation. This was one of the cheaper quotes we got. It is for an Andersen product. Other quotes ranged from 6 to 22 thousand dollars. Found the door/window folk were the hardest suppliers to deal with.

The one we ended up going with - Dundas Wood - were the friendliest and most professional by far.

Lighting is coming in just over 2 thousand for 22 potlights, 3 pendants and 1 horking big thing over the island. Inexpensive buys on the internet.

The ceiling is an Armstrong tile product with some box beams we are making from wooden moulding. Supplies here cost just under 3 thousand for tiles and wood.

We're budgetting 1 thousand for the faucets, and 2 1/2 thousand for miscellaneous stuff.

All the grunt work is DIY. We are hiring pros for the finicky stuff. Total labour costs will end up around 6 thousand for the floor, doors, final electrical hook-ups and assembled cabinet tweaking. Very reasonable.

Our electrician drew a wiring map for us and we are running the lines. He'll check it out and handle the final connections. The plumbing we'll handle ourselves as it's pretty easy and the walls are all open.

We've ended up replacing our sub-floor and half of the drywall. It's fairly easy once you get the hang of it. Cost for supplies is about 8 hundred dollars.

The window seat/banquette dining area will come in at about 6 thousand including upholstery, so altogether, we expect that we'll end up spending about 65 thousand dollars for a kitchen/lounge/dining area of about 600 square feet.

We are doing most of the work ourselves with a full complement of tools we've acquired over the last decade.

If we were starting from scratch the tools would probably cost 5 to 7 thousand dollars. We have found that it is pretty well impossible to achieve a high standard of work using poor quality or insufficient tools. Some of them have pretty specialised applications but they are more than worth the investment.

So...if we were paying people to do everything, we'd be very close to 100 thousand (and quite possibly over that).

It's amazing to see some of the kitchens on here and read that people did everything on a 10 thousand dollar budget. We are certainly not going "high-end" and we're still way over that.

I'm usually fairly reticent about discussing money, but like some of the other posters here, I would have have found it very helpful to be able to read about what people were really paying. So I am hoping this helps someone out there.

rmkitchen, your space is absolutely gorgeous, and obviously the area you live in can support that level of money going into the kitchen. That really is amazing, and you must truly love your space.

I do think this forum can be scary for people without that kind of budget, though, and a kitchen can certainly be done for a lot less, and still be a functional, nice kitchen. I know the attitude of many here is "if I'm going to do this, it's going to be perfect" and I think that's great, but it's also expensive. I'm going to offer my experiences as a counterpoint to that.

First off, my husband and I are completely DIY, so there are no labor costs here at all. Obviously, not everyone is going to be able to get away with that. We are living in Japan right now, but here is the last house we renovated in 2005 (kit was about 11 x 14), we were without a functioning kitchen for about a month:

Cost breakdown:

Cabinets $1700 (local cabinet maker, nothing fancy, but they worked)
Counters $ 650, granite look formica
floor$ 350 cheap ceramic tile, new hardibacker subfloor
sink $60
faucet $100
dishwasher $370 (we LOVED this dishwasher, btw. Performed beautifully, absolutely no problems)
lighting $200
backsplash $70 tile
cheap vent hood $100
paint $60

We had a stove, disposal, and fridge we kept, but those items could have been replaced with decent stuff for $1500.

So, total cost for this reno was $3660.

Before

after:

Was this a fabulous, gourmet kitchen with all the bells and wistles? No. But it was a hell of a lot better, and there was no way we could have dropped even $20K on this particular renovation.

Here is another one we did for a similar cost (concrete counters and new appliances this time, so a bit more expensive, probably about $6K

before (obviously)

after

Again, not judging people who spend tens of thousands, but I did want people to know you don't actually have to do that, despite the fact that it's the norm on this forum (which I love, by the way--I've learned so much and am very much looking forward to creating a true gourmet kitchen in the house we're going to build when we get back to the states. But even that probably won't go over $25K, and it WILL be high end).

So, to all those on a real budget, it can be done! Good luck!

Raenjapan, thank you so much for your post. And WOW....both those budget transformations are simply amazing!! I would have been terrified to even walk in that second one, let alone gut it and renovate it! Great job!!

And you are absolutely right....while these high end kitchen are fabulous and I am happy for anyone who has the money to put one in, the vast majority of people do not. If I had to guess at a number, $15,000 is the most the average person could ever spend on a new kitchen. While it is fun to pour over the kitchen design books ans magazines and see all the dream kitchens, they are simply out of reach for most people. My situation is a little different in that it's not a renovation, it's a new house and we are building it ourselves which is saving a ton of money. New appliances are running me around $7000, the cabinets were $6000 (a friend who is a custom cabinet builder gave me a great price, I could have bought IKEA for $4500), granite will run about $1500 (DIY using pre-cut slabs and the with the help of a friend who used to own a granite shop), DIY quartersawn white oak flooring, IKEA pulls ($185), lighting will cost around $300. Backsplash is undecided, but will probably be a splurge, depending on the budget. So for less than $16,000 (not including the BS), this will be a fantastic and functional kitchen.

I guess all I am trying to say to people is to dream big, but don't let the numbers on this thread and others scare you into not trying to re-do your kitchen. A new kitchen CAN cost a lot, but they don't have to.

Here's my not-quite-done kitchen:

rmkitchen, I just realized I hadn't thanked you for starting this post. I think it's really easy to flip through all the shelter mags with stars in your eyes and not realize how much $ it takes to get there. I think this post will help a lot of people just starting the process on both the high and low end.

In the next year or two when you have your mantle, etc. and I have my wine & liquor storage we'll have to swap the new pics too. Assuming that I have finished kitchen pics this next month.

The budget question is always tough. It takes into account not only what you can afford but also what you are comfortable with spending, market conditions in your area etc. For us, the kitchen remodel was actually a downsizing of our original plan to add a 3 story addition to our house (2 car garage, family room & MBR/bath) along with remodeling the kitchen. When we found it would cost about $300,000 to do the remodel we hesitated - we'd be paying cash for it and weren't 100% sure we'd be staying in this location (possible job transfer). Also, the market was tanking so we didn't feel it was the best use of a large chunk of liquid assets. So on we went to plan #2 - do the kitchen now and revisit the addition when things looked better and/or we knew we'd be staying for sure. I started out with a theoretical budget of $75,000 but ended up spending less - I just couldn't justify it when our house value had dropped so much and real estate was slow to move. I set a new goal of doing the kitchen for a price in the low to mid $50s and that is right where we came in.
What I gave up to come in at the new # - painted cabinets, inset doors, true professional appliances.
What I spent: Construction- $19,000 this included ripping out the kitchen down to the studs, new walls, ceiling, doors, windows (all in new locations), ripping out old back stairs and unused boxed-in chimney, new outside stairs to back yard, installation of trim, painting, installation of cabinets, installation of backsplash etc.
Plumbing: $7,000 (OUCH) - we had a couple of "surprises" that increased the original figure of $4500 (also, ran a new gas line)
Electric: $2700 - all new wiring (9 recessed, 2 pendants, outdoor fixture)
Cabinets: $14300- Semi-custom stained maple (with glaze), full overlay - roll out pantry, garbage roll out, spice door, super susan etc.
Granite: $2480 for 56 square feet of New Venetian gold - got a great deal on this
Sink: $180, Faucet $200 (nothing special here - just ss undermount with an ORB faucet)
Appliances: $5000 total - Elextrolux Icon 6 burner gas rangetop ($1000 - floor model), Bosch DW $650, Frigidaire DBl Convection Ovens $1800, Amana bottom freezer fridge $1300, Broan SS Range Hood $300
Hardware: ORB cup pulls and knobs $71 for yourhomesupply (GREAT prices and the quality is excellent - they are Heavy)
Flooring: $2400 for installation & site finishing variable width red oak flooring (3 and 4 inch)
Lighting: Cheapo ORB pendants from Lowe's ($40) - but, surprisingly I like them - figured I can always get something else later
Backsplash Tile: $175 for tumbled marble at Lowe's - love it

I am ecstatic with our 90% completed kitchen and don't regret compromising my initial budget to do it. I shopped around like crazy to come in at this figure and was very fortunate to find a contractor who gave me an excellent price (and his work was outstanding). A small peak of what I got for my money below:

I am amazed at some of the money being spent out there! Here are some general estimates for my kitchen. I'm doing a lot of the work myself and shopping everything around to keep the costs as low as possible (single guy, early 30s).

Plumbing: $442 (move supply/drain lines)
Electrical: $420 (recessed lights, undercab lights, new circuits)
Carpentry: $800 (remove load bearing wall, insert beam, move windows and doors)
Sheetrock: $350 (soffit removed, popcorn ceiling covered)

Cabinets: $9,000 (Kraftmaid natural cherry)
Granite will be: ~$3300
Appliances: $1500 (only needed range & microwave)
Flooring: $1000 (prefinished red oak)
Patio door: $1240 (Anderson 400)
New window: $275 (Anderson 400)
Sink: $165 (Ticor S112)

Still to buy: undercabinet lights, faucet.

Total will come in around $19,000.

Before:

{{gwi:1849103}}

Current:

{{gwi:1849118}}

I'm adding our story just to reaffirm to everyone out there who is slightly intimidated by the $100,000+ kitchens that it can be done for less. That's not to deny the beauty, the truly amazing wonderfulness of the high-end kitchen. It's just to say that -- for whatever reason -- such is obviously not possible for everyone.

Our reason was less that we couldn't afford the high end than that we didn't want to. Our house value could have supported more and, looked at that way, maybe we "should have" spent more. We intend to be here for 10+ years and I have no idea what our sort-of budget kitchen will do to potential resale. But as I said on another thread, we spent what we felt comfortable with (okay, I could have been comfortable with more but my lovely husband would have keeled over and after 25 years I didn't want that).

Anyway . . . we started with a detailed budget from our design/build contractor that described costs on a line by line basis; we had worked on a major house addition with him two years ago and knew his budget could be trusted. We decided to leave the kitchen layout basically the same -- no moved water or gas lines -- but we did demo down to the studs and took the wall between kitchen and dining down to half height. The kitchen is about 10 x 17 with about 20 linear feet of base cabs and 15 feet of uppers.

Our starting budget was $35,000 with a contingency built in by the contractor that could have brought it up to $40,000. Were close to finished and I think the final cost will be about $37,000.

We started thinking weÂd use Kraftmaid cabs; first estimate was $10,000. We started looking at IKEA. In the end I found an IKEA door style I could live with  shaker-style white oak. Not what I would have chosen originally but it grew on me. And the function is great. We spent $4,000 on the IKEA cabs.

That allowed us to spend $4,000 on soapstone counters (thank you, GW), my absolute favorite part of the renovation. We bought a Ticor sink (another GW thank you) for $200 and a Kohler faucet with side spray for $550. We spent about $500 on lighting (3 pendants, UC, and 3 cans).

We kept our 5-year-old refrigerator, replaced our 60-year-old O'Keefe and Merritt range with a Kenmore Elite gas range and bought a Kenmore Elite dishwasher and an Insinkerator disposal. Range and DW cost about $2000 total (we saved about $700 by waiting for one of Sears many sales). We deferred a vent hood because we hadn't had one before and hadn't missed it. We did put in electrical to support a hood if we want to add it later.

Other costs: electrical $2000; plumbing (including replacing an old water heater with new on-demand) $2300; refinishing existing longleaf pine floors $750; tile backsplash, installed (not done yet) $1000; IKEA butcher block used in various places $400; cab door hardware $350; all demo and construction (including replacing two windows and construction of a new pantry and one additional cabinet plus a steel and butcher block bookcase and matching cart) $12,000.

Administrative costs by the contractor plus his profit was $6,500.

We saved some by putting the IKEA boxes together ourselves and finishing the IKEA butcher block used on one portion of counter and to build a bookcase and rolling cart. I shopped on-line (sink, faucet, disposal, hardware) and saved some by looking/waiting for sales. We splurged on the soapstone and spent a bit more than we absolutely had to on appliances.

The kitchen is not one that will be posted and elicit ohs and ahs of astonishment and some part of me wishes that it was. But I know we did what was best for us and now we have a kitchen that works well, looks good and makes us happy. I think I can live with that.

You know, I was just talking about "Budget" with DH last night. We were discussing our lessons learned down the road of a total gut remodel. One big thing that sticks out is that the style/age of your home, can drasticly effect your budget.

For instance, my budget above is on a 1980's townhome. No particular style to follow, and it was my goal in life NOT to end up with one (ie Tuscan, Art Deco, Modern etc). I wanted eclectic done well, which is actually quite expensive to do and not have it look funky.

Fast forward to the two homes we're looking at buying. One a huge Victorian home, which was the type of home that had servants, but also the lady of the house entered the kitchen as well. For that house, you could easily toss in a Christopher Peacock kitchen and it would fit right in. The lady of the house liked the areas she was in to look nice. We'd actually put in a custom kitchen, built on site and do painted white cabinets (which would be a blast). We'd keep the counters to marble most likely and do a nice range. It's a huge kitchen, but I could do it for a lot less than I have spent on the townhouse easily.

The other kitchen is in a home built in 1914. It was a true servants home, and obviously the family never entered the kitchen (it has separate servants quarters as well as dining room, etc, so you don't have to see the help....mind you, we won't have help LOL). Bells in every room to call them, blah blah. The kitchen in this place (we have original plans) was a very functional kitchen, with no bells and whistles (ok it did have bells...lol). Unfitted cabinets (which are still on site) and utility sinks etc (German silver utility sinks, on site as well). The floor is pine with splits and chunks missing. It wasn't a kitchen the lady entered much at all :)

BUt to redo that kitchen as a functional and attractive kitchen would be CHEAP. Painted and unfitted cabinets, antique utility sink, yes I'd toss in a sub zero (and have it hidden in an amoire) but that would be the biggest expense. Again way cheaper than we've spent, and it would again be a gorgeous kitchen.

What a GREAT thread! Thank you for ummm... inspiring? me to get out my "kitchen remodel bible" and finalize our completed kitchen costs once and for all.

In the beginning of the remodel, I kept a daily tally of expenditures. When I started going over budget, I ended up throwing my hands up in the air and saying "Well, it's too late to turn back now", and I was defeated - I quit looking at my "bible".

Since you all have done so well at airing your admission of how over budget you went, I've now guilted myself into figuring out just exactly HOW over budget I went. I want to post my story on here. It might cathartic! LOL

In case the details are helpful, here they are:

Kitchen Costs

cabinets & accessories - $8594.00
appliances - $7,347.65
appliances rebate - $500.00

sink & faucets -$964.05
countertop -$3,600.00
backsplash -$230.00
labor -$4,900.00

Total-$25,135.70

I think I forgot a few items in what we spent or at the end I didn't keep track of so well - I am guessing that we did end up right at $26K...

HTH!

I swore I wouldn't come online this morning (I'm taking my children on a camping dinosaur dig so am finishing up our preparations -- I am really excited!) but am so grateful I broke my promise to myself.

I am more grateful than any of you realize for all your beautiful, honest stories. It is fascinating and, to quote boxiebabe, cathartic. It's also proven to provide an incredible amount of food for thought (for me), thinking what I could have done differently and why.

I want to add a few things about my own particular situation: our neighborhood canNOT support the remodel we've done. We'd be lucky to recoup 70% of our kitchen (operative word "lucky"). If we had to sell our house now it would undoubtedly sell quickly given our (nearly whole-house) remodel (looks beautiful, I [immodestly] think!), but we'd lose at least $100,000. That's not a sum we can afford to lose. As if!

If I knew then what I know now (I know, famous last words!) there is NO WAY we would have done the kitchen remodel as we did. NO WAY. Now, that's not to say I don't love our kitchen as is -- you bet I do! For us, this is practically the ne plus ultra kitchen. But if I had the benefit of a crystal ball (I think it's still in storage -- looking, looking for it!) I would have done our cabinets drastically differently (as in, not the high-end custom cabinetry). I probably would've seriously investigated renting a U-Haul truck and driving across the Rocky Mountains to the IKEA in Utah. We either would've made do with an IKEA door or gone with a custom door (like Scherrs, which I learned about here!). I would have painted the cabinets myself (did it before!). We would've done the same appliances and maybe (maybe) the same countertop. I have absolutely no idea how the change in cabinetry would've affected our budget, but I'm going to guess it would've made a b-i-g difference. Huge.

But that's what I'd do if I had the benefit of foresight and, unfortunately, that's a skill I am sorely lacking!

I am so deeply impressed by the beautiful kitchen renos I've seen which have been tons, and I daresay there are many, many others who are also absorbing all your fabulous insights and experiences. What a generous group you are!

"While we're at it..." The four most expensive words in renovating.

It is probably way too premature for me to post here, as I'm still awaiting dates for demolition, delivery, and installation. But I've already cut a few cheques, so everything is definitely poised for action.

I'm not personally keen on written budgets or spreadsheets (sounds bad???), but I can tell you pretty much exactly what has been spent so far, and what is committed. From the start, I decided to throw the money at the really anonoying things, and not mess around with things that work. The old kitchen has a pretty good, efficient layout. But the appliances annoy me, and the too-beige cabinets, floors & backspash MUST go. We don't do DIY, so I'm spending part of an inheritance. We've lived in this house for almost 14 yrs, and haven't done many improvements, and it's definitely time...

Cabinets are the biggest part of most kitchen budgets, and I find their merchants use a lot of misleading, confusing, and inconvenient tactics to prevent consumers from making informed, intelligent choices when buying them.

However, I found a no-frills cabinet supplier with a nice showroom, limited, but good quality stock inventory, and custom finishing options. My cabs, including custom staining, interior fittings, glass doors, and installation, will be less than 19K for a 11'x12' work area. My quartz counters are $4200, and that includes a "free" promotional sink. I think I'd have picked a similar one anyway. My taps will be in the $800 range. I chose fairly cheap tiles for the floor and backspash. I've been more concerned with getting the correct colour coordination throughout, than falling in love with any particular materials and trying to make them work.

The biggest surprise so far has been the HVAC costs for my ventilation system. Revised local building codes this year require make-up air for all systems of 300cfm or greater. I'm putting 600cfm over a 36" AG range, and I need heated make-up air. That quote was $6700, plus the hood itself. The current kitchen has NO vent, so this work is not optional. I still don't have a firm quote on the electrical portion of the job, but my 1963 house will need a few code upgrades. Including some unforeseen work reconfiguring the laundry room to enable access to the electical panel... Otherwise, I'm not getting nutty about lighting fixtures, I just want to see what I'm working on, and have some energy efficiencies.

The GC's estimate so far is about $22K for demo, supplying and installing a new window, gas & plumbing connections, tile installation, laundry room stuff, and finishing. So, I figure the job will come in between $50K and $60K, not including appliances or painting. We haven't decided on painting yet, except that we won't do it ourselves. Who knows? We may decide to paint the whole house.

We're still planning our kitchen, so a HUGE thank you to RMkitchen for starting this thread and everyone else who has posted. I've read every entry. What a lot of fantastic insights into the planning process! Thank you again.

P.S. Rmkitchen, please tell me more about the dinosaur camping trip. :)

We did great with our budget. Of course we did EVERYTHING ourselves, which makes a huge difference. I can't even imagine how much we would have paid an electrician to do all of our wiring.
We same a lot of money by:
1. keeping the same general layout--plumbing is a real pain and expense.
2. we were given a dishwasher--it looks good, does its job and we'll get a new one soon enough and kept our other applances.
3. buying unfinished cabinets.
4. taking lucky chances on the internet--I could not understand what was wrong with the $100 sink on ebay, but then our granite guy said it is the same sink he has in his house and he can't tell the difference between it and name brand.
5. educating myself on products and asking a ton of questions.
We spend just under $11k.

Woodcraft cabinets (full ext, plywood boxes), finishes, hardware= $5200
laminate wood floor=$516
Ikea butcherblock=$89 *thanks to this forum because we were going to make our own, but not for that steal
New Venetian granite and installation=$3000
new window (replaced a door), paint, drywall=$270
lighting, wiring, outlets= $400
Microwave=$130
Vacpan--Big splurge $160
sink and faucet $150
backsplash=$100 (we both got gift certificate awards from work that we cashed in, actual cost-$300)

We shopped for months before when started and searched for the best deals we could. We also came across a Menard's that was moving and we bought everything we thought we would possibly need for 50-75% off (hardware, flooring, trash pullout, faucet, lights).

before:

after:

I haven't posted much but have been reading for a couple of years now.
DH and I are die hard DIYer's. We decided to renovate our kitchen about 5 years ago. We had always dreamed of punching through the back wall of the kitchen into an unheated shed area and that is what we proceeded to do. Of course the outside walls and sills were rotted so that all had to be replaced. We rebuilt walls from the foundation up to the roof without removing said roof. That took 2 years of weekends and vacations for relatively little money. Then the money started flowing out. I did the design work myself (and am realizing how little I knew about what I was doing) and Lowes provided the cabinets. I think I thought around $7,000 for cabinets but once we finished adding crown moulding, that piece of plywood that covers the back of the island, light rails etc we topped out @ $11,000 for 29 linear feet of Schuler natural cherry with raised panel doors, all plywood construction, and at least half of the bottom cabinets drawers. No fancy roll out shelves or soft close drawers.
We did blow the budget on appliances ( as far as I was concerned). DH had been harboring a 20 year fantasy of cooking on an induction cooktop. So out went the perfectly good 5 year old stainless Frigidaire slide in stove, with warming drawer and in its place was bought $3,000 36" induction cooktop, $1500 Electrolux warming drawer and $2300 Electrolux wall oven. $6800 to replace what I thought we were going to re-use. I guess what they say is true: Communication, communication, communication.

Also, the hardest things to accept about a renovation, kitchen or otherwise is the amount of money you need to spend on things that neither you, nor anyone else, will never see...subfloors, adequate venting, tons of electrical wire to provide "atmosphere" and of course, if you are not handy, the labor to make the magic happen.

We are not finished yet, still only weekends and vacation days. The cabinets (which we bought in April 07 and stored in the living room)) are just this week being installed. I pray that we are within weeks of installing the appliances that have been hanging out in the front hall since January 07. The biggest decision left to make is the countertops...granite (which I find cold and noisy) or formica (and risk everyone saying why did you put in such a great space and not use granite?) I hope I am strong enough to go my own way and not let what other people thing sway me.

And then on to ripping out the half of the room that has been acting as the temporary kitchen for the last two years to make a new eating area. Only at that point will we be able to install flooring so every thing will match across the room. I just have to keep telling myself that this is a labor of love and hope that the real estate market rebounds enough at some point to re-coup the $40,000 ( remember that is just materials, no labor) this is ending up costing us.

Also, the hardest things to accept about a renovation, kitchen or otherwise is the amount of money you need to spend on things that neither you, nor anyone else, will never see...subfloors, adequate venting, tons of electrical wire to provide "atmosphere" and of course, if you are not handy, the labor to make the magic happen.

As I tackle a remodel in a century-old house, where the kitchen was last "updated" over 50 years ago, and where I can't rely upon myself as a DIYer, all I can say is: Truer words were never spoken! Indeed, notwithstanding all the "must-have" finish items I referenced in my earlier post, the greater portion of my reno costs are going towards modernizing and upgrading the infrastructure and paying for the skilled labor it will take to render such changes "invisible" (and safe, and green, and in compliance with building codes, etc.) in my new period-cottage-somebody's country-electic kitchen!

WOW, I just figured about what it cost for my kitchen and I am really schocked. I can say I started with very little, no counters and 1 cubard (in bad shape) I spent including labor $2500.00 Than Igloochic came and finished it off from 2 peices of backsplase (20.00 each) to 20 and then for my birthday a homedepote gift card So guess all told I have a very simple and nice for me a room that comes in at around $3,500.00 I was going for $1,500.00

We bought our house about 2 years ago. When we were contemplating putting an offer on the house, DH said that we would be able to remodel kitchen for about $15K. I have no idea where he got that number and I don't know why I believed him!!! By the way, the kitchen is approx. 11' x 17'.

(Please excuse the mess, we were in the process of packing up in preparation for remodeling)

Fast forward 2 years, we are about 90% done and currently at approx. $42k, way more than we could ever imagine spending. We will probably not get this money back, but darn it, we will enjoy this kitchen! I am so happy that I have "regular" cabinets, as opposed to pieces of wood slapped together to make shelves. You can imagine how dusty my plates and pots and pots got. Did I mention that I did not even have a single drawer in the kitchen? I don't know what the previous owner was thinking!!!

We shopped around as much as possible and tried to get the best deals.

Cabinets (cherry cabinets from Hanssem Kitchens) - $12,8000
Appliances ($3,700), reused the Kenmore Pro counter depth fridge we bought last year
Granite (Bianco Romano) - $4,400 installed for 94 sq feet of granite- by far the best deal in this project!
Sink (Ticor) and faucet (kohler forte) - $500
3 pendant lights - $20/each from HD
Hardware - $300 from ebay (my first time using ebay!!)
I am forgetting a few misc things....
Contractor -approx. $20k (includes demo, installing and finishing hardwood floor, installing 14 recessed lights, plumbing, new dry wall, insulation). The work did not involve removing walls.

We have decided to do the painting ourselves. We are also considering installing the backsplash ourselves... we have not even thought about how much our backsplash will cost.

Heh heh, mommy posted :oP You see it runs in the family...we're both three times our budget when all is said and done.

I was going to use her kitchen as an example but still need to fly down and take pics. It was fun to update it, mostly because it's cute as all getout, including the antique ceramic sink she kept. When I finish, I promise I'll keep her under $4000 (scare ya mom?) :oP

I really appreciate this thread. Don't have a kitchen to add to it yet, but it's amazing to me the wide range of things you can do on any budget. We're hoping to come in around $20-30,000 for our kitchen (with a lot of DIY, sales, deals, etc). This thread has motivated me to set up an excel spreadsheet like the one mentioned above to set a budget and track our expenditures.

Thank you everyone for being open, honest and gracious about sharing your costs.

Just wanted to express appreciation for the sharing on this thread (and help keep it bumped up). We are still in the planning stages. Brooke and others: you are helping me to consciously acknowledge how much all the things I would like are going to actually wind up costing.

While we have a lovely little old tudor, the RE values in upstate NY are so low that I will never be able to realize my kitchen while staying within a 15-20% guideline. This had been dawning on my gradually and now has clanged into my brain with full force! I may just decide to exceed the guidelines a little . . . . . .

There was a big argument in the appliance forum once on this subject. Many folks felt that discussing money was off limits and not good form (and really, it is in "real life"). I'm not going to walk people through the house and say "this cost X and this cost Y and blah blah". That would be so tacky. But in these forums, I think differently. It was very valuable in the appliance forum when someone shared with me the relative cost of three ranges I was looking at. They were all french, and I couldn't have found a price on the net if my life depended on it. I wasn't going to call and sound like an idiot discussing a range that cost $85,000 but I did want to know...were they really that expensive? Fortunately that information was shared, and I really did appreciate it.

There are so many parts and pieces in a kitchen it's nice if we can share "what is a franke X sink in comparison to what is a frank y sink" in cost as well as their relative value to us for use. Sometimes the question is, where should I put the bucks I have for the most bang, and it's nice to be able to discuss both the bucks and the bang. I think it would be nice if in the forum we could share general costs as RM did in her finished kitchen post. It's valuable to many people, and of course voluntary.

In my case, I've got a few kitchens going and I'm challenged by all of them in terms of style and budget and especially in the rental...bang for the buck. Seeing ideas and knowing that folks have successfully remodeled a kitchen for $2,000 $5,000 $10,000, $20,000 and $1,000,00 is helpful in forming ideas. At least for me. This is a great thread RM.

What a fabulous thread - thank you, rmkitchen. Count me in as one of the naive folks that said "40K" should do it for the kitchen. We bought this house knowing we would immediately need to finish a basement, add a bath, and completely redo the kitchen and the powder room. As we started the research and bid process, I quickly realized that there was no way our family could survive all of those renovations at once. We were going to do the kitchen first, but decided that adding the extra room in the basement before beginning the kitchen made the most sense.

I sort of considered that reno a dry-run for the kitchen! It was a tremendous learning experience. As a project manager by trade (albeit in healthcare), I was very much looking forward to "the process". The six to eight week project turned in to a six month do and re-do exercise. The bathroom stone had to be done 3x, etc... However, in the end, it turned out beautifully and at the level of quality we demanded. We are big believers in using the highest quality materials available (best does not always mean most expensive). I learned to stick to my guns, to fight the fight when necessary, and to have faith in my vision. Countless hours researching, learning, and doing my homework (thank you GW!!!) on each and every detail gave me the confidence to see the project thru to completion while insisting on it being done correctly. I am sure that while I consider us to be "detail oriented" and "hands-on", our contractors had much more colorful descriptions of us ;).

So, after a few deep breaths, we fast foward to the kitchen. Armed with lessons learned, we were prepared! (cough, cough). We had now established a quality standard for the house and realized that 40K budget was now "a little low". Especially when I consider all of the possibilities I now understand (thanks GW!!!). (I am laughing as I type) And the snowball begins.....

After researching and pricing seven different cabinet companies and layouts we elected to go with Omega because we felt we were getting the best value for our money. They were not the most expensive, but certainly weren't on the low end, either! White painted cabinets now meant that the counters could be the focal point. After a dozen trips to every slab yard in a 75 mile radius, marble and cambrian black antique were "IT". And real stone on the floor meant that we also needed underfloor heating which meant that we needed more electric runs. And the powder room is small - let's do some fun things in there. And.....and....and....

SO, we are about 75% completed and costs are over twice what we first projected. I will say that our selections were deliberate and not made without careful consideration to cost AND value. The value of each item is personal and subjective - but equally important as cost in my opinion. We kept a spreadsheet of everything and even kept mini worksheets of Scenario A, B, or C for everything from different cabinets, different GCs, to different counter materials and fabricators. Did we spend a kabillion more dollars than I ever expected - yes. Do I stand behind each dollar spent so far - absolutely. Granted, we are not in yet...but so far I feel very good about what we've done. So our budget did evolve with the project, not before.

When we are complete I plan on posting my kitchen costs as well - because I think it has great value for others. I have learned so much here and will certainly try to pay that forward.

A fantastic thread, Brooke! I am as always, late to the party :)

Thank you for remembering my post!

I joined GW in August of 2006, when we just started planning, and there was a post titled "kitchen costs" or something like that and it was extreamly helpful, namely with regards to different lines of cabinets. I found that granite and labor pricing vary greatly throughout the country, but the cabinets are fairly consistant.

Anyways, so when were finally done, i had no problems/issues giving a breakdown of the final costs.

I re-posted the costs and the link to my blog under the recent thread titled "rmkitchen - beautiful!", but here's a bit more info.

We live in the Saratoga County, North of Albany. So the labor costs are much lower, but granite could be more expensive. also, we have no crazy codes, so for this particular remodel no permits were required.

Also, our RE is at the national average if not below, so I new that even though we live in a very nice subdivision, my kitchen reno would more than likely exceed 15-20% of the house value (especially since we got the hosue before market went crazy). We have no plans to move, but I would hesitate calling this house our "forever home". However, we love to entertain, i love to cook and the kitchen was done with that in mind, for our pleasure and enjoynment - which we get every morning we enter the kitchen :) I look at it this way - I could've gotten a brand new and very expensive car which would depreciate right away, or get a fancy kitchen. kitchen I got, and I still drive a 1999 Maxima (more than fine by me).

Our kitchen is about 12x10 but it has an opening into the DR, plus the hallways from the entryway and the family room join in, so in reality, 2 walls are shorter than 12' and 10'. Originally 2 walls were utilized for a kitchen table and the other 2 walls (which were the shorter ones) had cabinets and the appliances. The ceilings are 8' and 2 walls contain the soffits. We are a formal DR kind of couple, so having an eat-in-kitchen wasn't in the plans, we would much rather get more storage and counter space. So the plan called for 4 walls of cabinets and a peninsula.

I wasn't bothered by the soffits and since we were putting cabinets on all 4 walls, I wouldn't be hurting for storage by keeping the uppers at 30" on 2 sides, when the other 2 were 42". So the work did not involve any wall or soffit removal.

We kept the newer (installed by PO about 4 years prior to kitchen renovation) tile floors.

DH works for GE so we had a very nice discount. I did not know much about the appliances but I knew I wanted a 48" range (long story!) and a stainless steel finish for the rest of them.

We have a very traditional taste so we wanted red stained cherry cabinets and some kind of dark granite.

So keeing all in mind, we initially thought that 30K would be enough. The number was based on national averages and the info we got from attending a seminar at the Albany Home and Garden show on kitchen remodeling at the start of 2006. We were hoping to start the kitchen remodeling at the start of 2007, so I was going to start planning around August.

As fate would have it, our DW and the fridge died in the middle of August and the GE store was having an unexpected sale around the same time. We had a very good idea of what we wanted in the design so we took our plans to a kitchen design shop, that gave the aftermentioned seminar and who, incidentally, completed our next door neighbors' kitchen.

i knew what our neighbors had paid and the scope of work (5 walls and an island of Plain and Fancy Cabinets, wall and soffit removal). The guy pretty much laughed at our budget and gave us a quote for about 43K, appliances being excluded. I did not get a line by line quote. We felt we were being hosed because that's what it cost our neighboors for a lot more structural work and a lot more cabients. Our cabients were Decora, a much cheaper line.

However, based on what I heard from him, plus some of the reading from GW, we decided that 40K was much more realistic for our project. Increase in our budget was done because we realized that the what the appliances really cost! Also, we had to get a built-in fridge to maximize the space, and we were determined to get as many bells and whistles as possible with the cabints being cherry.

So we ordered the DW and the built-in, plus the advantium b/c we figured we could use it right away (we didn't, and it sat in the box for 8 months).

I spent about 5 month planning, searching the net and ebay for deals and going to friends and family houses to grill them about recent kitchen remodel. We really-really liked Decora so I got a list of Decora dealers in the area and went to the one that was also an appliance store. Just to be thorough, I priced out other cabinet lines (which ended up not as good of a fit as Decora) and tweeked Decora plan like crazy. i downloaded the specs and went nuts :) My KD was very patient and would give me a new quote based on all the changes I made. However, the final cabient cost remained pretty much the same as his original quote b/c i got rid of non essential (to us) cabinets and went after the features I felt were important. Our cabinet cost (for a lot more kitchen) was about 8K less than the kitchen design store quoted me for the same line and door style.

Anyways, the cabinetry and some of the appliances were purchased at the 2006 prices. Unfortunately, we had to purchase the range and the hood after the price increase and GE no longer had 10% off biannual Monogram sale that we were counting on so that pushed us over by about 1.5K or so. We also decided to splurge on a full slab backsplash and that cost about 1.5 - 2K more (the best decision, no regrets!!!).

So after a very long rambling, here's the breakdown:

cabinets

Decora cabinets, cherry, full overlay, arlington stain. Blumotion, full extension and dovetail are standard with the line. We paid 14K. Cabinets included the following:

4 walls of cabinets plus a 5' peninsula. Two walls had 30" uppers (we kept the soffit), the other 2 walls had 42" uppers. We had about 26 cabinets all together, including the very expensive super susan, 96" oven cabinet, double trash/recycling center and the 42" base buffet cabinet. we got a lot of drawers and all exposed panels had "fake" doors. We got simple crown molding a few embellishment pieces.

appliances

I can't reveal individual pricing (due to employee discount), but we paid 14K for the following Monogram appliances:

48" dual fuel range with a griddle
48" vent hood with a shelf and s/s backsplash
DW
42" SxS built-in fridge
Advantium
(plus the garbage disposal, regular GE)

Lighting:

scored a bargain on ebay for 2 Access Lightning pendants, $144 for both

got a bunch of LED puck lights for under the cabinets, $30 in BJ's

recessed lights came with overall job quote, provided by contractor

Misc.

Sink - Galaxy S405-DR, $255
Brizo floriano faucet and soap dispenser - ebay, $350
SS airswitch, $42 from galesburg electric
Pulls - $131 from Contempo Living ebay seller, 55 of them
wall plates - wooden ones from HD, contractor stained them the match the cabinetry

Granite

Kerala Green/aka Hawaiian green/ aka tropical green, about 95 sqft IIRC. We got a full slab backsplash with a sink cutout, and 6-7 wall plate cutouts. The total was 7K

Contractor: about 7K for the following: demo old cabinets, install all the new ones, the appliances, paint the kitchen and the hallway, 6 recessed lights, install the pendants, rebuild a good portion of the ceiling, install a water line for the fridge, a gas line for the range, create 5-6 new electrical outlets, close some old outlets, wire for new appliances, install molding around the doorways and window, install an additional circuit board in the basement (old one was full). i think this is it.

The grand total was $42,900. Decision to splurge on a slab backsplash and some unforeseen price increased on the appliances pushed us 3k over initial budget of $40K. If I went with a kitchen firm as opposed to hiring out the cabinets, granite, installer separately, i would've easily paid 60K for a lot less kitchen (based on the quotes I got).

I hope it helps.

My kitchen is about the same size as RM's -- 14 x 10. Here are my 6 stages of budgeting. All of them had some scrimps & careful shopping along with some splurges. I would describe the finished job as middleclass with a few upscale touches, but by no means luxurious.

1. "Denial": I started off with the somewhat arbitrary idea that a kitchen should cost $50K -- my friend did her tiny one for $40K, the national average is $40K, I'm in SoCal so everything is a bit more expensive, but I'm not looking to redo a mansion, right?

2. "Sticker shock, Bargaining, and Acceptance" (I'm condensing 3 stages into 1 here): The KD that my friend recommended was quite sure that kitchens can't cost less than $75K. Her initial cabinet & general contractor quotes were $27K and $33K. By making what was, to me, a no-brainer choice to go with partial overlay instead of full overlay cabinets, and a few design tweaks, it went down to $19,500. I found a different GC for $23,500, and the cab people installed the cabinets for $4,500. My appliance budget was $10K and I kept to it with some careful shopping. With granite at $3300 (material only), lighting fixtures (Rejuvenation $700), and tile material ($700 for floor, $100 for backsplash), I was going to be very close to my revised budget of $60K. At this point I was feeling pretty good.

3. "Stupidity": This budget was naive because I left out things that belonged in the initial budget and might total $1000 -- e.g., knobs & pulls, air switch, and the replacement window.

4. "While I'm at it" -- yes, these are the most dangerous words in renovation. I decided "while I'm at it" I'll add nice molding around the windows for $500 and undercabinet lighting for $700 (materials $200, labor $500). And if I have to cook & eat outdoors, I might as well buy that teak chaise lounge I've been craving for 5 years, right? (along with pillows, vases, tablecloths and the like for outdoor living). And (cue Jaws music here) now that I have the leftover granite and I'm a seasoned pro, I can renovate a bathroom all by myself, right?

5. "Surprise!" (in a bad way, not in a birthday party way) The big dropped ceiling/reroute plumbing disaster for $3200...the cracked concrete subfloor mandating hardwood instead of tile (okay, I really wanted hdwd)...the fourth granite slab for another $1100....

6. "New Toys," aka the stage of "You're not really going to desecrate your beautiful new kitchen with that ratty old $30 toaster, are you?" Shelf liners...drawer organizer doodads...a utensil rail...a compost crock...gas to make 5 trips a week to BB&B.... Still on the agenda: a new rug for the FR floor, because I promised my kid that if I took out the old carpet in the FR (open floor plan with kitchen) I'd buy him one, new entertainment center/media console, new sofa for FR. While eating outdoors, I realize how much the BBQ is a POS, which means that built in BBQ should be planned, which means Big Outdoor Renovation Project. And when we're rug shopping, the kid spots a rug that He Must Have for his room, which means new paint & decor...this kitchen remodel is going to take 2 years and 2 square blocks!

7. "Because Remodeling Is Stressful, You Need Facials." Really.

I think I ended up between $65K and $70K, depending on whether to count the new toys, uh I mean accessories, family room expenditures and outdoor stuff. And facials.

I laughed at many of your beginnings because our whole mess started with wanting to switch out our 24 inch wall oven for a larger one. So building a bigger oven cabinet became adding some cabinets, and then because I hated our original cabinets, i thought of refacing ( which a friend recommended). Got a couple of quotes for refacing, dismally looked through the uninspiring samples (at that time i thought that cabinets came in two colors - honey and expresso), and then DH and I with the help of KD no. 1, determined that buying all new cabinets would cost "just a few thousand more than refacing"......and it was off to the races. KD no. 1 was a troubled genius and i'll leave it at that, but with KD no. 2 and 3 , i TOLD them the price i was willing to pay. I found that most people were willing to work with our number, cutting out extras, telling us how to get a better pricepoint, etc. The most expensive piece of our cabinets was the pull up door (600 $$$) that DH insisted on for the microwave shelf.
We went very reasonable on appliances. I LOVE my LG french door, and we saved 600-700 dollars on getting the model without the water in the door. (i think it looks better also!). Kitchenaid double dishdrawer and Kitchenaid slide in range. Splurged for convection. Modest hood and simple microwave, all ss.
Yes, it feels funny to scour for bargains when you are doing a several thousand dollar renovation, but it's necessary. So, confession time - I reused my old sink! My very trusted contractor (thanks, organic_donna!) said that in a few months, a new one will look just as my old, scratched one, so we kept it.
I couldn't spend $900 + on a faucet, i mean , i could have, but i just didnt want to. I did want a quality brand so I bought the KWC Edge- just when i thought i got the rock bottom price, $390 , at Ira woods, I did some digging around in my own backyard, and found it for $358 in a neighborhood shop! (and yes they will ship - www.thefaucetshoppe.com)
All in all, you have to make decisions based on WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU. Myabe it's the Lacanche range , maybe it's curly molding thingys on the tops of your cabinets. Maybe it's a built-in cappucino maker, or $19,000 marble, like rm. Choose ONE thing that will make you really happy, and try to be reasonable everywhere else. For me, I wanted modern, sleek door/ drawer pulls that did not look like everyone else's, so I went all the way to Paris , France to buy them. (they also ship! www.laquincaillerie.com)
So you might think that some of us are crazy, but you'd be wrong. ANYONE doing a kitchen remodel is crazy. Enjoy the zaniness of your budget and everything else.
LC

bluekitobsessed - your commentary is cracking me up! I can SO relate LOL :)

Haven't started my kitchen renovation, but posts like rmkitchen's are great. It reminded me of a lesson I learned the hard way, namely, it's better to wait, save your money, and get something you really love than to settle for something ho-hum that's cheaper. In the bathroom, I balked at the cost of a beautiful medicine cabinet. I frankly didn't think medicine cabinets could cost so much but it was gorgeous. Well, I opted for a cheaply-made cabinet that was 1/2 the cost, rationalizing that it's a just a white medicine cabinet, who cares? Well, I see that stupid medicine cabinet everyday at least once a day and...it looks like a cheaply-made cabinet. Of course, in the scale of life's woes, this is trivial. I know that. Still, it taught me a lesson and thanks to nice posters on GW I got a healthy reminder.

We're still in the planning stages, too, and our budget will depend on how much the structural work (drywall, plumbing, wiring) is going to cost us, but what I'm doing is trying to come up with three possibilities for everything: what I really want in a perfect world, a middle of the road option, and a super budget option.

For instance, the $20 Anne at Home knobs, the $5 Amerock knobs, the $1 ebay knobs; or the separate cooktop and wall oven, the slide-in range, the standalone range.

When the time comes to get down to it, I'll sit down and negotiate with myself: you can have what you want for this, but you have to go to the budget choice on this and this if you do that, so which do you want more?

Hey everyone!

I think you are all doing a great service by posting these costs here!

rmkitchen - Brooke, once again you are helping so many with your posts - thank you!

I would post our costs, however, it wouldn't be a realistic budget for anyone to work from as we did everything but the slab DIY and got many items for cost,trade or less since we are both in the construction industry.

However, with that said, I think we added up everything out of pocket and still spent $50k or thereabouts. One of my best builder friends/business associates said he would have had to charge between $125 - 150K to build our kitchen - OUCH!

Also, I shopped and shopped some more. We bought all our big appliances over a 3 year stretch at an appliance dealers floor model/scratch-dent/closeout yearly sale. That includes the Wolf range regular price $4,600 our cost $2,600 ; KA frig $7999 regular our cost $3900, Miele warming drawer $1398 regular, $199 purchased white and $400 for stainless replacement front - our end cost $599, Asko dishwasher regular about $1200 our cost $479. They are all beautiful and function perfectly, the frig had one 1" scratch barely visible and the others were near perfect.

One other thing to remember, is where you live can greatly change the budget...on one hand we can be thankful that our local economy is doing fairly well, however, we have some of the highest construction and material costs here in the Seattle area.

"Miele warming drawer $1398 regular, $199 purchased white and $400 for stainless replacement front"

Holy cow! I learn so much here. I had no idea you could do this.

You can also save 100's if they deliver a new appliance to you with slight imperfections. We are on our fourth dishwasher, the first 3 had tiny smudges or scratches, and every time the store called and told us we could have 250 dollars to keep it. If I was staying here forever, i might have, but we have to think of resale, so i declined.
LC

Well, I'm JUST starting this process - so I can't tell you the evolution, but the birth was this: On a Saturday I went to an art fair and fell in love with the work of a custom tile maker - I need a place to hang a gorgeous tile mural and my current kitchen doesn't have any wall space - but oh my - wouldn't that make a COOL backsplash!! Then the next day I found THE new set of dishes I REALLY had to have. Unfortunately they are big, heavy, Fiestaware sized pieces and I only have enough cupboard space to handle Corelle dishes.... I guess I need new cupboards.

Based on reading the rest of this thread I think those dishes are going to come out somewhere around $5,000 per place setting!

Rm Brooke LOVE LOVE LOVE this thread. So many great comments and thoughts, its hard to know where to begin.

Some background: like Holligator, we have been in our house for 11 years, and same situation decided to wait and do it right rather than redo kitchen immediately. Fast forward to 2007, and the big debate was should we stay or should we go? We love our house, which is an old Arts and Crafts style and practically perfect in every way, except for a tiny, dysfunctional kitchen. Add to this the fact that for the previous 7 years we lived in a small one bedroom apartment with a I kid you not 4x6 kitchen. So, add it together and its a long time for someone who loves to cook as much as I do to be without a decent kitchen.

After going to open house after house, and not seeing the *one*, we started seriously contemplating an extension on our existing house. Big $$ right away, never mind the appliances I was craving. Including my first dishwasher. DH is the dishwasher now :-)

Met with a GC, got a quote, decided to think about it. It was only when I said to DH after yet another open house "well, its great, but wed still have to redo the kitchen" that the penny dropped and we thought it made more sense to invest in a house we loved rather than take on a bigger mortgage and even more costs.

Well, the penny dropped alright! :-) Still dont have final costs to share (which I will when this is all over....were a ways away now) but its a big job. Along with knocking out an exterior wall, were redoing the bathroom downstairs, fixing a seriously cracked ceiling in the master bedroom, adding a laundry room below the new kitchen, etc etc. The good news is that most of this stuff was planned from the start, so although the final price tag will be high, we are ready for it. And GW has seriously been my addiction I could not have survived the uncertainty and angst of this without the community of support that this website provides!

A few thoughts on what others have said
Holligator mentioned that she put too much $$ in the house. In the end we probably will have too. But I dont think in terms of "forever house". I want to love what I live in now, because one never knows whats around the corner. As Igloochic said, "In the end, and throughout actually, we asked...what can we afford? what will the house be worth? and how much can we afford to kiss away on resale? We're comfortable with the answers we came up with, and are looking forward to moving in someday." So well put!

Sailormann, we used Dundas Wood too. Our gorgeous windows are sitting in the backyard. I cant wait for them to be in so I can enjoy the beauty of our garden. And I agree the conversation and wine are paramount the cabinetry material is not!

Raenjapan made the comment about those who were on a *real* budget. I would respectfully submit that ALL of us are on a real budget our own. Whats so great about this thread is not comparing and measuring against, but learning and deciding whats right for oneself.

Cooksnsews LOL. Ive told DH Im in charge of the "What if?" budget. You know the one. What if we make the bathroom bigger? etc etc.

Bluekiobsessed: Another LOL! Loved reading your post. I think it should be added to the "Read Me If Youre New" page.

As many here have said, I absolutely cant wait to get into our new kitchen and love everything about it. As someone who has had to make do with substandard EVERYTHING for 18 years (and still maintain my reputation as a pretty darn good cook, if I do say so), I know firsthand that you dont need the best of everything to make the best. In the end, sharing food is a gift we choose to give to our family and friends and whatever way we choose to do that that brings ultimate joy to all is the most important thing.

Can I add my appreciation for people's honesty? While I wouldn't dream of asking most people what they paid for their kitchen, it's wonderful to be able to see where/what people are spending their money on, what they found to be worth it, and how it's all working out for them.

We're still struggling mightily with our kitchen layout -- it currently has no corners, no pantry, and must be walked through to access the back yard, garage and laundry area. It's *huge* and so poorly laid that I've spent the last eight year hating it every day. The materials aren't worth keeping either -- gray laminate with black plastic pulls and aging/broken appliances that were never intended to be used by someone who cooks more than one meal a week.

Anyway, while we could keep the layout and just change out the materials *shudder*, we'd rather remodel it completely but are still trying to figure out what a realistic price range really is: how cheap is too cheap for our house and our area, and how much should we realistically spend on a kitchen we cook 2 - 3 meals a day in?

So thank you *so* much for sharing your budgets and your time to help the clueless. I also really appreciate the time estimates from the DIYers, as there are a lot of things we *can* do (or can get family to do) but time really is money and needs to be budgeted as well.

Happened to see rmkitchen's reference to this thread and came back and reread my original post. Things change as they go along !

We have been back and forth with Ikea as we tweak our layout - they've been extremely accomodating and I highly recommend them based on the customer service - and as a result we are up around $13,500.00 for RTA cabinetry.

Our appliances were just over 13 thousand.

The copper countertops did not work out. The quote from the supplier kept edging upwards. We got nervous - not about the dollars but we got the impression that the vendor was either dishonest or inexperienced - neither of which we want to deal with.

We ended up deciding on granite. The quotes we were getting ranged from 5 to 9 thousand dollars for twelve linear feet of counter with two cutouts and one 4 foot by 8 foot island. We ended up finding a great supplier/fabricator and bought two slabs of Cactus Boreale. The price we got for the granite, fabrication and install is just under 5 thousand.

Budgeting just went right out the window when we decided to do the windows as well. We put in a pair of beautiful french doors with stained glass transoms for just under 10 thousand. At the other end of the room we are doing a window seat in a box bay window. The quote we've gotten for the window there is about 8 thousand (three double hungs with fixed transoms above - Andersen 400 windows - custom stained glass inserts, 2 fixed sidelights).

Lighting is where we really lost it. The central fixture over the is (Fire Island Fan d'Lier from Savoy House) was $750.00 - not excessive considering it's a fan/light combination. We economised nicely on the entryway fixture and got that for 110 dollars. For undercabinet lighting we bought some light shelves from Ikea that can be substituted for the bottom of the cabinets we are installing. Three light shelves for 419 dollars. But we'll probably end up putting these in as the tops of the cabinets and installing Xenon undercabinet lighting for another 7 hundred.

The dining area is what really put us over the top - we made an impulse buy of a small chandelier-ish fixture that had an amazing metal ceiling medallion. 800 for the light and another 800 for the medallion. Then there were the matching sconces... a steal at 200 each. Our budget was 250 for the fixture so I guess we kind of screwed up there, but the things we got are beautiful.

We still need to buy our potlights - about 22 units at 50 dollars each.

So far, we have spent 1400 dollars on wire and switches/dimmers/outlets. We'll expect to spend another 500 or so there. So what was supposed to cost "just over 2 thousand" is actually coming in at just under 7 thousand.

We've nixed the banquette. We'll keep the window seat portion, but we're doing side cabinets and furniture instead. Cost should be around the same - 6 thousand - but we'll be able to move the furniture wherever we want it to be.

Our floor still looks like it's going to cost 5 thousand - but we're vacillating now between jatoba and bamboo...

We spent 1500 dollars on two sinks - one copper basin and one stainless single.

We're refacing the fireplace for 1400 dollars.

Cabinet pulls and "stuff" should be about 25 hundred.

We have spent 3 thousand on wood and tile for the ceiling and baseboard.

No change so far in the labour cost projections - we're still expecting to spend under 6 thousand there.

So we're about halfway through our renovation project. We started thinking that we should be able to do it for about 40 thousand, which quickly escalated to 65 thousand once we seriously started researching.

We're up over 80 thousand now. We could certainly do things more cheaply but we could also be spending way more than we are as well - so all in all not too bad - considering the only area that we actually compromised was on the cabinets. :)

Can I just say Holy Crap? I could not in 100 yrs dream of spending that much money. Most of these kitchens are costing almost as much to twice as much as my whole house!

My original budget was somewhere around $10-$15k. I was doing good until the darn walls & insulation had to go (mold), the ceiling fell out (water damage), & I found hardwood until the lino. The hardwood is great, but its missing a big chunk, so now I have to pay someone to make new t&g boards to fill the hole (not cheap).

The budget is still the same for the rest of the kitchen. I bought range & dw before I started all this, so that's not a problem. I'm reusing my sink, because I like it and its free. Labor is dirt cheap because its all done by friends and family. So its just cabs, hardware, & counters, really, and my final cabinet total will determine what kind of counters I get. Hardware is going to be steeper than I wanted, but not too bad.

Backsplash, new faucet, filtration system & filtered water faucet, new fridge, new lighting, table & chairs...all will have to wait. It sucks to do the big part and not finish, but its the best I can do at this point. I make almost no money (I am not even kidding - I'm a college student) and this is what I can afford, putting every dime I have into the thing. I was trying to wait and save up, but then the old cabinets, that were rotten already, rotted some more and collapsed. The counters made a big wide V and it just couldn't be put off - it had to be done now. So I'm doing just what has to be done now, and then bit by bit as I can afford to do it.

I am just lucky that I can afford to do anything, really. "Budget" and "afford" are very different for me than for most people.