We are redoing our kitchen for 35K, it looks like. Originally we thought it was going to be 12K, then 20K, but boy, were we wrong. I think we could have done it for much less, if we skimped on materials, but we didn't. Our kitchen is small, 10 x 12 and the last 4 feet or so are reserved for a breakfast area and is surrounded by windows, so no cabinets there. I always read stories about how people find really cheap and used materials for a fraction of the cost. What I also found out is that you can get higher end products for the price of lower end. After we gave up on altering our old cabinets, we first went to Lowes for a cabinet design. The designer was clumsy and gave us a price around 12K, for I believe plywood frints and MDF bases. Then we shopped cabinet stores and stopped at the one where we had a good feeling. The KD seemed very helpful, thoughtful, but didn't use any computer programs or anything like that. We were fine with that. So, at the end, for 14K, we got quartersewn white oak cabinets with wood fronts and plywood bases that used the space a lot better and in addition we had doors and frames for our built-in pantry next to the kitchen. Not only that, the KD kept helping us throughout the process, giving us ideas that were good and at times budget friendly. We bargained a lot for our appliances, sink and faucet, although I still hear better prices from some people on the individual items. Our original budget was $5000 for range, MW, fridge, hood, sink and faucet. We got a quote for $5800. That was for a GE monogram range, Broan Allure hood, GE Smartsaver MW, LG french door freezer, Price Pfister faucet and Kohler cast iron sink. After much researching, we upgraded most of our items to better choices. GE Cafe range, Kobe hood, same MW, Amana french door with water dispenser and ice maker in the freezer, Rohl faucet and Rohl fireclay sink. We still came to the original $5800 number. Yes, we were $800 overbudget, but we got much higher-end things for it. As I find out more and more, there is a huge mark-up on all these things. Then, when it came to labor, we contacted some contractors and told them that we were DIY'ing it mostly ourselves and asked if they had anybody that can e.g. finish our sheetrock in the weekend. Suddenly your $2000 price reduces down to $400. We interviewed a lot of people. One plumber said that he would charge us $1900 and it would take two guys a whole day to finish the job, the next guy quoted $850 including materials and finished the job in less than 5 hours. Who knows, maybe he is more talented. We also have friends who are an electrician and cabinet maker. They helped us with the electrical and a lot of other things handy. We had to level all our joists and studs for instance, to get it ready for sheetrock, otherwise apparently your ceiling ends up wavy. They said a contractor would never do such a thing, because they bid for the job and they wouldn't be bothered with such silly details. Who knows? They also removed all our knob and tube wiring, but they said most electricians biding for the job would just add on. So, yes, we are paying them, but also getting a much better job done (at least we think). We found a deal for our soapstone. They will cut it to shape for not much more than the slab price, but then we will install it ourselves. It is hard to find good contacts and deals. You have to shop around a lot for it. this is why I am going crazy. If I had the money, would I still do it? Probably my time would be better spent being more productive in a money-making business, rather than a money-saving one. So, your time is money, too and it just depends on how much your time is important to you. I do think those HDTV show prices are way out of line, though, for most common folk like us.

Stack everything you want/need to put back into the space (as though it was on those shelves) and see how much space you actually need, and how much space between the shelves will actually work best. I would definitely make it so there isn't anything stored on the floor. I would replace the last shelf (the one with the red plastic tub) and move it up a few inches (just enough to go over the piece that juts out from the wall) and use a corner-style shelf (from the same material) to get more storage from that area on 2 walls, instead of just one. Then I would place one more corner shelf lower than that shelf. If space is a premium you can use narrower shelves than the ones you currently have in there on the two corner shelves. You may be able to take the shelf you would be removing for the 1 or 2 additional corner units on the bottom, and put it up higher, about 12" under the top shelf. The top shelf is often a waste of space since it's difficult to easily get to, so use that space wisely for things you don't need very often. -Grainlady

I was not familiar with the term Murphy door so I had to go check out the info. You would need a fairly substantially deep closet for that type of door to work. Most newer closets don't have enough depth for that solution. My suggestion for newer closets is a storage rack of the back of a solid door that fits in the door jamb space. Most closets could use a rack about 4 inches deep possibly up to 6 inches. As the rack gets deeper, the placement and measurements are more important to keep from interfering with the use of the closet. That is a great place for shoes, accessories, purses, or other such items. For most situations, the Murphy door hardware would be unnecessary expense unless the space was specifically built to take advantage of the setup

Hi @millworkman - thanks for your message. Sorry about the lack of details there. Here are some photos of the current closet. I will upload a video as well. I dont quite have a sketch of a plan yet. My thought was that once I know that I can open it up completely - I would like to make it into a more modern closet with half of it as shelf-space and the other half for hanging clothes with some drawer at the bottom. Will want to remove the split door and install a sliding door that can cover the hanging clothes portion so the shelves are "showing" and can be used for display items if needed. But I am quite open to installing a full sliding or other options as well. The question is - how easy is it to rip the drywall around it open and is there a step by step process to do it. I am open to hiring some handyman help as needed. Thank you for your help.