Wow. Very nice. It is especially impressive to see such a nice transformation with a limited budget. While all the reveals on this site are beautiful, many have generous budgets that are out of reach for some of us. You did a great job for an amazing price!

Beautiful job! It is a very impressive transformation and even more amazing given the budget.

just beautiful!

Love it! As a frugal person, I love seeing inexpensive kitchens done so well. I'm also reusing my cabinet boxes and getting new door/drawer fronts from Barker to be painted so this is reassuring to me that I'm on the right track.

Wow. Love the chairs and what a difference. I am always in awe of DIY work.

That is one of the best transformations I've seen!

Really nice transformation at a great price! Love it.

Thanks, all. Funkycamper, I think you will be pleased with Barker doors. I painted them using Benjamin Moore Advance which is the waterborne enamel. I used the satin and it gives a great finish. And the pendants are also from Lowes, about $85.00. Those counterstools? None other than Target.

What a transformation! I love the color you chose, and the accents (stools, backsplash grout, etc) really complement it. It's a really beautiful space now!

I am really intrigued by the color of the cabinets -- think it looks great -- what is it?

Painting the window sashes was a stroke of genius.

Beautiful overall!

The color is "Fieldstone" by Benjamin Moore. I was inspired by Sally Wheat's Kitchen and that was the color she used. Wish I could post a link but you can google her kitchen . It is a soft gray with no trace of blue, more of hint of taupe.

Shut up! I love it. Showing my sister who just bought her first house with a sort of sad kitchen. Great job!

Did the original boxes have laminate edges/faces? Or plain wood? If they were laminate, did you paint over it or did you remove the facing first?

Asking because my parents have a home sitting empty they are trying to sell with those cabinets and countertop, wondering if it's worth it to do what you did?

The boxes and face frames are wood, not laminate. There was laminate around the lazy susan, but I sanded it to rough it up and the primer and the Advance grabbed on to beautifully. I think you should go for it. The barker doors are so reasonable and a pleasure to paint, our butcher block at Ikea is under $400, and can be installed by any good carpenter and the best part is that the farmhouse sink sits on top of it, so no need to have fabrication and sink mounting. Get the sink from Ikea though, it's half the price of all the other fireclay ones.

Everyone that looked at that condo was turned off by the kitchen because they just couldn't think of anything to do with it other than a complete redo. But this was an easy fix.

The Barker video on how to measure is so easy to follow as well and they pre- bore the holes for the hinges and can sell you the blum hinges as well.

Omg, WOW. There is nothing I love more than an amazing transformation on a tight budget.

That is very inspiring, thanks for sharing. I love the counters.

Thanks, holly! I will recommend this to get the house sold. Oh, has to be done in the bathrooms, too. It'll be worth it.

This is absolutely AMAZING. I love, love, love it! You and your DD must be so thrilled.

Sally Wheat inspired kitchens and SW's kitchen/house

Love love love!

I've seen those pendants at Lowe's (I practically live at Lowe's) and couldn't decide if I liked them, but I love them in your kitchen.

Whats great about the pandants is that they sell mix and match shades. We bought burlap ones to change out if we want to down the road.

What a creative mom you are, holly! And what a lucky daughter! That is such a cute kitchen.

Very nice. I love the colors.

Wow! That is amazing! And to do it for less than the cost of a single appliance

I love everything you did from the colors to the shades and of course that amazing sink!

You are a wonderful mother/daughter team!

Congratulations!

PS I still have some of those cabinets in my bathroom and maybe you inspired me!

Beautiful!! Great job.

My word that is an amazing transformation, and I can't even believe the cost. Just Fantastic. Can I ask which Barker door style that is? I'm shopping around for my own kitchen. Really amazing.

Also curious, was that window replaced or did it always have the dark grills/framing? I love that look. We are replacing windows in our home with white grilles, but I'm doing a white kitchen and subway and the window really makes a statement I feel.

The Barker door is the paint grade Shaker door . It's an alder frame with a MDF panel. They come sanded beautifully all ready for primer. You could of course upgrade to maple, but we were on a " first time condo owner" budget. That being said we were very pleased with the quality.

As for the window, the picture is deceiving. It is a dark brown window (with grids between the glass) that all the units have and it is nothing great up close. But I know what you mean , allison. I saw a loft kitchen with dark gray grills and framing and it was a spectacular look.

This is really great! Now you've got me thinking about a property I have with old wooden cabinets. How does it work with the drawers? Did you get new drawers too?

I thought about new drawer boxes and cool soft-close new slides, but we ended up pulling the old fronts off, ordering new fronts from Barker, attaching them to the old boxes with the old slides, and they are fine. They are not fancy soft close, but they do the job.

Really impressive! What a beautiful transformation and the price is unbelievable!! No one will be turned off by this kitchen! It's beautiful!

Amazing! I love the valance! Did you make this yourself! I'm in awe of this project.

Very nice! Everything looks wonderful together--you two make a great team.

I made the valance out of a 30 inch leftover I had when I shortened curtains for the adjoining living room (HomeGoods ready made curtains for $29.99, lest I forget to keep the budget accurately!) It's a "faux roman shade" and there are lots of tutorials out there on them. But I just finished it the width of the window, and roughly 26" long and pinned the pleats where I wanted them. Then I flipped it over and hand tacked the pleats from the back ( 2 inches from each side and one in the middle.

I turned over a rod pocket on the top, used a thin silver rod I already had, and hung it on right above the casing with 2 cup hooks.

Here's a pic I took while I was pinning it. (Sorry, I can make a valance but not a clickable link., and I can't seem to rotate the photo.)

Great job! I love DIY remodels very inspirational. We used to do everything DIY but now we have the means to hire some of the work out. We still do a lot of our own work and you can't beat the feeling of accomplishment that comes with DIY!

Is this the type you made from a mini blind?

No, not from a mini blind. It's just a panel that I folded and tacked/stitched from behind. It is stationary.

That is a ton of bang out of under $3,000. It looks great! You have to be feeling so good about this...enjoy your "new" kitchen! It looks like a million bucks.

Wow, wow, wow! I almost didn't click on this thread because I thought you were asking for budget remodel ideas, not showcasing a wonderfully done budget remodel. It's stunning and even more impressive given your budget. I love the cab color! White kitchens are lovely but I'm so glad to see a kitchen with painted cabs in a color other than white.

PS I had cabs just like those in my S. Fla townhome that I purchased new in '86. Seeing your "before" kitchen was a little blast from the past. Good job bringing the kitchen into this century.

Well that goes to show how deceptive colors on a monitor can be. I would have sworn that the window was painted to match the valance -- and that both were dark blue.

Thanks for the shade info but alas I would have no clue how to do what you described. This entire project is so good you could hire yourself out and make a ton of money. I'd hire you!

Incredible and for so little money! That makes it even better! It is really lovely. So soothing. Your daughter is very lucky to have such a gifted mom. Love it.

Love this kitchen! We're actually planning on doing a very similar kitchen except with Ikea white Bodbyn cabinets. I have some questions if you have a minute:

1. Is that Oak or Beech butcher block? How does your daughter like it a year later? Did she seal it or just use mineral oil?

2. How does she like the double Domsjo sink? Does the high lip on the edge bother her at all? This is our main concern, not being able to wipe into the sink

Great job! A true inspiration for those of us on budgets :)

I can't believe I missed this! What an adorable kitchen! You did a wonderful job. I'm sure your daughter is thrilled w/ this, & to have such a great mom to help her achieve this.

Good job I love it!

Beautiful and oh so inspirational! :-)

I'm so glad this thread got a bump, because I missed it the first time around. What a great transformation!

Steve, I am traveling and will be home tonight and I will pull the paperwork out and see exactly which butcherblock we used. I want to say Numerar, but it seems that was discontinued a while ago.

We used a few coats of tung oil from Home Depot and the counters look just as they did a year ago.

The domsjo sink is great because it has that lip on the sides. And the back part of the sink that goes up to the wall keeps that area around faucet dry. Installation is easy DIY with the butcher block and water tends not to seep onto the counter because of the lip. I never noticed that you cant wipe into the sink. She does not have a garbage disposal so maybe that is why it is a non-issue. That sink sparkles and still looks brand new. She uses the Barkeepers Friend soft scrub cream if she gets any marks from a heavy pan.

I will add the countertop info soon.

thanks amoorebbpub,when you check the bill i'd be curious to know if it's oak, beech or birch too if you don't mind :) if i had to guess it looks like beech. any reason why she chose tung oil over mineral oil? i keep seeing mineral oil or waterlox mentioned a lot but not tung oil. does she cut on the counters? thanks!

It is indeed beech. Tung oil was recommended along with mineral oil and she just liked the tung oil after she tried both on some scraps. (Remember to oil the bottom side before before you install.) She uses cutting boards for actual cutting and chopping.

Steve, tung oil is a "curing" oil like waterlox (which is tung-oil based). It hardens and makes a semi-permanent coating, unlike mineral oil, which you keep applying on a regular basis. The downsides of curing oils are that you can't use your counter directly as a cutting board (if that sort of thing appeals to you), and they can be bad news for folks with nut allergies.