If a kitchen remodel has always been on your to-do list, or if you’ve just outgrown the décor and design of your kitchen, the simplest solution isn’t to sell the house and move. You will be much happier if you put in the effort to make your house feel like home again with an affordable kitchen remodel. Remodeling the kitchen or the bathroom is the fastest and often the most economical way to add value to your home. However, kitchen remodeling price tags can often be upwards of $10,000. Of course, it doesn’t have to be that much.
In an era when more and more homeowners are looking for ways to save and keep money in the bank, smart, affordable remodeling is within your reach. Ready to embark on your own affordable remodel? Hire a kitchen contractor and use him as a reference for choosing the best, most cost efficient products and materials on the market. You can also keep these tips in mind as well.
Smart Remodelers Make Smart Choices
With any remodel, the name of the game is creating a new look and feel. Feeling like you’re walking into a brand new room doesn’t necessarily have to involve stripping the room and starting from scratch. If you love the layout of the kitchen, but hate the look, refinishing your cabinets might be a smart choice for you. By taking what you already have and refinishing it, you create something brand new out of something you already had. This saves you money, but you’ll still have great results.
When you’re trying to keep a manageable kitchen remodeling budget, you’re going to have to make tough choices about materials. It’s completely understandable if you have your heart set on having a new granite countertop installed. They are durable and, of course, absolutely gorgeous. However, in your kitchen remodeling project, it might be more cost efficient and just as attractive to use slate or granite tile instead. With the money you save on granite, you will be able to either save more, or add to your budget for another part of your remodel. Talk to your contractor about the elements of the kitchen remodel you really don’t want to live without and see if he or she can help you make your décor dreams come true without breaking the bank.
An affordable kitchen remodeling doesn’t mean a cheap and unattractive one. You can have some of the materials you want in your home and still save money. It’s simply a matter of making compromises and really understanding the pros and cons of your choices.
So if we are seeking to embark on an affordable kitchen remodeling project we might surely ask ourselves about the ROI (return on investment) of various updates.
As mentioned in our last post, ROI really depends on what sort of “return” you are seeking. For real estate investors, “return” is the sale price of the house or the rental fee they can get. Thus, ROI is essentially asking “how much more can I sell or rent this house for” divided by “how much did this project cost”.
For many homeowners, its not just about resale but also about your appreciation of where you live. Thus, gauging “return” can be a bit more vague. But you can rather easily measure the latter part of the ROI formula – the investment.
Here are some ideas for low-cost kitchen remodeling projects:
Paint – this one is easy, a new coat of paint goes a long way in any room. The kitchen is no exception. Unless you just recently painted, its hard to beat a new coat of paint in a kitchen remodeling project.
Cabinet Refacing – “reface cheaper than replace” is the slogan here. The idea is that your cabinets frames (plus the installation of them) is a big part of the cost of new cabinets. In most cases though, cabinet frames are in great condition. Most people replace cabinets because they want a new look or style. For that, you can either a) paint the cabinets, or b) reface them by replacing the doors and hardware . As such, kitchen cabinet refacing is a great ROI project. You can also refinish them but this is a bit more of a project!
New Countertops – Everyone wants granite counters, and they certainly add to a home’s value. But they aren’t cheap. Consider granite tile as a more affordable alternative, or lower-cost Corian or Ceramic. If you are replacing laminate countertops than any of these new kitchen countertops is a great option. You might even check into Butcher-block.
New Flooring – Again not the cheapest, but consider a product like Pergo or QuickStep in place of real hardwoods. Depending on where you are starting, this can really upscale your kitchen quickly and easily.
Appliance Refacing – this is a pretty new concept, but basically for $10-30 you can reface your appliances by covering them with a coating or film. This can make a regular dishwasher look like it has a stainless steel finish, without the price tag. Be careful though, you want to do a good job here so it doesn’t look tacky. Also don’t go too cheap on the materials.
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Tags: cabinet ideas, cabinets, countertops, granite, kitchen, kitchen cabinet pictures, kitchen remodeling
