This is a real-life small budget kitchen renovation where we took a dark, dated space and turned it into a light and bright kitchen with paint, ingenuity and hard work! Get kitchen remodel ideas on a budget with all the details for your own space.
A kitchen makeover on a budget is possible! Come take a tour and see what you can do!
This post was originally published March 25, 2014 and updated with new content and format April 6, 2021.
We did it! We survived renovating nearly the entire house and our marriage is stronger than ever.
Yes, it took us some time, but our kitchen remodel is complete! We purchased this colonial home in August of 2012, moving in late October, and spent many months… okay years, renovating. We move in real time around here, no super fast television kitchen makeover on a budget in this family!
The recipe for this kitchen remodel was simple: an abundance of wine. In reality, it took much longer and was of course more expensive than we had hoped. Still, we were undeterred and made it happen when we could!
When we started the kitchen, I dreamed of brass light fixtures and hardware, but they were nowhere to be found or over $1,000 each. Still, the kitchen had a completely different aesthetic with just a little renovation.
Check out this before and after, and tour the whole house Before and After, too! We’ve been renovating a long time, so don’t miss our Oak Kitchen Updates and our New Cream Kitchen, too!
Why You’ll Love these Kitchen Remodel Ideas on a Budget
- Practical + pretty
- White paint plus so much more
- Many of the items can be completed DIY
- Your kitchen is a great investment
- Take it one step at a time or do it all in a week
- True small space inspiration
No extra large kitchen island here! While we had lots of cabinetry, this white kitchen has an extra small footprint. Get all the budget friendly ideas to make it happen in your kitchen!
Budget Kitchen Renovation Steps
- Our kitchen remodel began with removing the white carpet {yes – crazy, right?} and replacing it with hardwoods.
- Cabinets were painted white and new hardware was added. While our cabinets were original to the home, they were in good shape and served our needs. The budget didn’t allow for all new cabinets!
- The unsightly black dishwasher was given a stainless makeover and we completed the first phase with new light fixtures before taking a year hiatus.
- The next phase, was stainless steel appliances. A great Black Friday sale made them possible and we finally took the leap, deciding that we would not tear out existing cabinets, completely redesigning the kitchen but make the most of the kitchen we had. I looked at ways to make every inch functional and found we did not only not need additional space, but we had spare cabinets after the organization transformation.
- Fast forward another eight months and we enter into the countertop and Subway Tile backsplash phase. This phase proved to test my sanity, but a second countertop and another five months later and they were installed, unbroken. Read more about our marble counters.
While there’s absolutely no shame in hiring a professional to help with a full scale kitchen renovation, it’s certainly not in the budget for everyone. Learn my secrets for Designing a Room When You’re Not a Designer.
Details: Farmhouse Kitchen Ideas on a Budget
We worked to make the most of our countertop space, removing the old convection oven and building a shelf that now hosts a small microwave and toaster. We installed new cabinet doors to match the originals to conceal the space, creating an appliance garage.
I can proudly say that we don’t have to take out the trash thanks to this little chute tucked into our subway tile backsplash. It keeps cleanup quick and easy while eliminating the need to take out the trash. It goes directly into our main trash can in the garage!
The vintage champagne bucket doubles as a utensil holder and conceals the trash chute. When you’re doing a kitchen makeover on a budget, the vintage shops are your friend – so many cute accessories can be found secondhand!
Get all my best tips for shopping Craigslist for all the best vintage and secondhand finds here.
The cutting board is a worry free work space when cutting or working with oils. My stand mixer is located in the corner, near the flours and sugar and just below the spice and baking pantry for convenience.
The windows offer bountiful light. The all white kitchen is my sanctuary. Aside from the countertops, my favorite element is the bridge faucet. Isn’t she pretty?
More Budget Friendly Ideas
I love that the inexpensive new knobs give me a spot to hang a pretty tote when we walk in the kitchen.
- Struggling with flooring but don’t have the budget to pull it up? Paint it! Check out my tutorials for How to Paint Ceramic Tile, How to Paint Concrete, Painting Baseboards and How to Paint Vinyl Floors.
- Learn about Trim Paint and Furniture Paint, too.
- Open shelving and Peg Rail is a great way to save money on cabinetry.
- Decorate your newly renovated space with my favorite Free Art Sources.
If you love this little budget kitchen renovation, you’ll also love our Mudroom Laundry Room update from this home!
What are your favorite kitchen remodel ideas on a budget? I’d love to hear from you! If this project inspired your own budget kitchen renovation, please come back and share with me.
Hi Julie!
Can you come to NY and help us with our kitchen remodel? Please???? 🙂
We’re trying to decide on flooring. I really want hardwood (It’s in the rest of the house), but our contractor says we’ll run the risk of the planks near the sink eventually turning black from water. Their suggestion is tiles that look like wood, but I despise the hard and cold feel of tile. How did your hardwood hold up in the kitchen?
Thanks for your time and expertise.
I highly recommend sand and stain hardwood – I have never had issue with water near the sink – it stays in the sink! Every now and then it dribbles, but as with any other floor, you wipe it dry. I personally love wood and prefer it over cold tile that I’ve lost one too many dishes on. We have wood in our current kitchen and it looks the same nearly 3 years later. I’m so excited for your remodel! Let me know if I can help answer any other questions for you.
Love the white and the hardwood floors .. looks amazing!
Beautiful kitchen, with white and gray make the kitchen became more bright and clean. Fabulous job!!!
What countertop did you go with?
Mountain Danny marble and I’m using it in our new as well!
Do you remember what your source was for the new hinges? I prefer to buy new ones. We are painting BM White Dove which is a little different than the stock white which the hardware store probably offers. Hoping the difference wouldn’t be noticeable. That would be one reason to paint them. I worry, though, that the paint job wouldn’t hold up as well as we want. What do you think? Would the two shades of white stand out?
I think you’d be better off going with new white hinges and trying to find something similar van painting I think you would be very disappointed and the paint would peel. I actually just purchased them at Ace Hardware.