Do you love to makeover rooms in your home but have a very limited budget? Your kitchen is one of the most used rooms in your house, so it is important that you like spending time there. Bring your old kitchen into this era with some of our favorite cheap DIY kitchen projects.
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Table of Contents
Our 90s “Before” Kitchen
Our original kitchen, which was built in 1992, had a dated oak design with only a few stainless steel appliances added by the previous owners. Over the years, we completed several different budget-friendly kitchen DIY projects.
From adding a glass tile backsplash to some new appliances there have been small renovations and improvements along the way. The first time we painted the kitchen cabinets white made a big difference.
However, home decor styles and personal styles (No more low-rise jeans for me :)) have changed and it was time for a fresh and new kitchen.
We definitely bought our house when oak was all the rage and even 8 years ago beige was still an okay color choice. We still love our favorite neutral wall color, but our style and tastes have evolved. The good news for us is that we were able to use budget-friendly DIY projects to update our kitchen once more.
Kitchen Remodel Ideas You Can Do Yourself
- Change cabinetry-just make sure that you use the right cabinet painting supplies
- Add a new wall color
- Give your kitchen a good cleaning
- Spray paint hardware, change hardware or simply clean it including the hinges
- Replace or redo countertops (we have seen countertop painting, makeovers using contact paper or spending money to replace your counters). Yes, I know it’s not DIY, but at least everything else is.
- Add new seating like our easy barstools
- Change out light fixtures (we love our splurge of a West Elm chandelier over our island)
- Paint your backsplash or replace your backsplash
- Replace, paint appliances or add contact paper if you are daring.
How to bridge the gap between old and new home decor styles?
We now try to find more timeless options when picking our home decor. However, we didn’t want to add anything new to this kitchen if we didn’t have to.
Consider Painting Some Elements
You could paint the walls, cabinets, and even your tile backsplash to help really transform a kitchen to fit with your current aesthetic. A fresh coat of paint can go such a long way. Initially, we planned to only repaint the bottom cabinets, but once we started, we realized that everything needed a fresh coat or two.
#1: Change Your Cabinets
Whether with paint, replacing doors or completely gutting your kitchen, your cabinets are an excellent place to start when designing the kitchen of your dreams. The good news is that you don’t have to paint them if it is not your style.
Ideas Without Painting The Wood
For example, in this small kitchen makeover, our friends achieved a modern feel without painting the oak cabinets! We love the modern touches like the new matte black hardware and faucet upgrade.
Read more: 13 DIY Projects To Get Rid Of That Ugly Oak
Painting Your Cabinets
Since our oak cabinets had seen better days, we chose to paint them instead of replacing them entirely. Painting them was our cheapest and best option.
How much would it cost to professionally have the cabinets painted?
For reference, our kitchen has 12 upper cabinets with doors, an island with 3 levels of drawers and two cabinets and 11 lower cabinet doors, and 12 drawers. The general layout of our kitchen is 12’ x 14’=168 sq ft.
The upper cabinets are approximately 40 sq. ft and the lower cabinets are approx. 43.5 sq. ft. of the actual cabinet.
Therefore, using the above painting statistic our guesstimate is that a professional paint job would cost around $2800 to professionally get our kitchen cabinets sprayed.
12 upper cabinets/doors x 100=$1200
13 lower cabinet/doors X 100=$1300
12 lower drawers x $25=$300
According to Homeserve, an average cabinet paint price for a 200-square-foot kitchen is between $2000-$5000.
How Much Did We Spend On Paint
Around $150 for the paint and supplies. Please note we also have paint and supplies left over. It is safe to say that to have our kitchen professionally painted would not just be a few hundred dollars.
The 150ish dollars spent on paint and supplies (new foam roller, Frog tape, deglosser, paint tray) was definitely worth it to not only paint the cabinets but also the backsplash tile.
You can read all about our cabinet door painting process and other DIY cabinet painting tips.
Find the best white color paint for kitchen cabinets
We compared different white paints and decided on the cleanest and purest color in the Emerald paint. We did not want to contrast with the current white on our moldings. Make sure you test out your paint colors in different lighting situations and compare them to your current paint colors on moldings, etc.
Sherwin Williams says that a gallon of paint should cover around 100 square feet. And with my calculations above, this makes complete sense why I would have a little more than a ½ a gallon left of the paint. I have a little less green left because I also had to paint the outside of the island and I didn’t include that in my sq footage estimates.
#2: Add Energy Efficiency With New Kitchen Appliances
We opted for a large French-door refrigerator with a bottom freezer, which has served our family well. Now we are able to easily store and grab our food. Not to mention we have had a version of this LG fridge for over 10 years now and it is still running well!
#4: Clean Your Kitchen
You would be surprised at the amount of gunk that can accumulate on your hands, hinges, and ridges of your cabinets. Don’t forget to wipe down the tops of the cabinets and appliances as well. Starting with a clean slate will make a significant difference, especially if you’re not doing a complete demolition.
#5: Change Your Hardware
Hardware may seem like a small thing, but purchasing more modern handles, knobs or consider painting your existing hardware to match your new style.
#6: Replace Or Redo Your Countertops
There are a lot of DIY countertop ideas out there such as:
- DIY concrete countertops
- Painting your existing counters to look like marble
- DIY epoxy pour counters
- Finding remnants of real stone to work for your space
If you are looking for nice counters, but have a tight budget you could use mixed materials like a butcher top island with stone on the outside to help save money.
For our kitchen, this is the one place we splurged and purchased new granite counters.
#7: Replace Old Lighting Fixtures
Adding a new capiz chandelier over on the kitchen island helped pull all of our design choices together. Have fun adding texture, warmth and character when choosing your light fixtures.
#8: Add New Seating
You can repurpose old items, or just buy newer modern stools or seating for your kitchen. No need to completely replace that table if new seating can just give it a modern feel.
#9: Change Your Backsplash
The glass mosaic tile we had in our kitchen was truly dating it. Either we had to take it off and redo the whole thing or try to paint it. We figured if it looked horrible we were going to take it out anyway.
Painting Our Backsplash Instead Of Tearing It Out
However, this DIY kitchen project turned out so much better than we anticipated. We just love the clean and simple look. The only thing that is a little off is the bright white with our current countertops, but white was definitely the safest bet for the color.
Before & After DIY Kitchen Remodel
Our Kitchen 8 Years Ago
Same Kitchen With New DIY Improvement
As you can see, structurally our kitchen really never changed. By making small improvements over time, we were able to get an overall look we are proud of while working within our price point.
Finished Kitchen
We love our two-toned cabinets. I never would have thought to do this a few years ago. But with younger kids, the idea of darker lower cabinets was really appealing. Anyone who has come over always comments on how they love this green color.
I am so happy I chose to be daring with these on-trend bold kitchen cabinet color.
Kitchen Makeover FAQs
According to Home Advisor, a professional cabinet painter may charge up to “$100 per door and $25 per drawer or $75-$150 per cabinet”. Normally spraying and just brush/roller are similar costs. Yes, you will get a better finish with a sprayer (but at what cost)?
Prices may vary based on your location, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $50-$100 for a high-quality cabinet paint. In our local store, the list price is so $95.99. Proclassic was our favorite paint (before we discovered Emerald) is 79.99. However, don’t let those prices fool you. I was able to get 30% off. For the Emerald Urethane Enamel Trim, and I paid around $67 a gallon.
Yes, it is possible to renovate or remodel a kitchen yourself especially if you are working with some existing fixtures and features. With proper planning, DIY projects such as painting, installing a new backsplash, upgrading light fixtures and cabinet refacing can all be done by beginners who are willing to put in a little sweat equity. When in doubt, call a professional because you may end up saving money in the long run.
Since our cabinets were already primed and painted white, I did not have to prime them. We talk all about how to repaint painted cabinets here. For this cheap kitchen remodel (8 years later), I purchased a gallon of SW Rookwood Sash Green and SW Emerald Urethane Trim in the base color (High Reflective White). I have about half of a gallon left of each paint. I also used white paint to paint the backsplash.
Room Decor Sources
- Lower Cabinets: SW Rookwood Sash Green Paint Sample
- Upper Cabinets: SW High Reflective White Paint Sample
- Wall Paint Color: SW Liveable Green
- Zig Zag Capiz Shell Chandelier
- Geometric Pendant Lights
- Metal Bar Stools
- LG French Door Refrigerator (newer model than ours)
- Moen Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet (similar to the one we have)
- Curved Satin Nickel 5 1/16″ Hardware Handles
- Glass Knobs (similar to the ones we have)
Pro Tip: When shopping for paint at Sherwin Williams I always make sure to buy the paint on sale. In the past, they have had even a 40% off sale in the summer. However, my store associate told me that this year this was probably not happening due to the supply shortages they have been experiencing.
Follow us on Pinterest, Youtube or Facebook for more DIY inspiration!
Related Reading
- Easy Bathroom Remodel Ideas: You can see this whole transformation for under $300!
- How To Paint A Faucet: make sure you use the right primer!
- 46+ Unique DIY Shelving Ideas To Try This Weekend
Hopefully, my home decor tastes won’t change too much. If they do, I can always try another budget-friendly kitchen renovation to fit those current tastes.
Quincy
Monday 27th of February 2023
Wow, this is a terrific post! My family and I are planning to remodel our old kitchen in the next few months. We are debating a few things, such as the total cost, whether we should do it ourselves or hire someone, whether we need a dumpster rental and what style and color scheme we would like. Your post is helpful and we will definitely be using your tips!
Rozie
Sunday 8th of January 2023
Looks great and thanks for all the tips. So did you use a countertop kit on your countertop?
Erin
Monday 9th of January 2023
Hi Rozie. The one expensive thing we did in our kitchen was getting granite countertops put in. We have seen some awesome DIY ideas using countertop kits and wish we would have given that a try a first to see how it worked.
johnny
Thursday 13th of October 2022
Amazing. My wife and I have been slowly, very slowly, updating our own kitchen. most recently we did cabinet refinishing in coral springs and it went great. We are considering updating our pantry or doing new hardwood floors next.
Selina
Monday 28th of March 2022
Hello Erin, Thank you for sharing your experience. It is much appreciated. Can I ask if you could see the wood grain after painting? How much did you sand and how is it holding up? I have pretty much the identical hand rail and cupboards and google brought me to your story. Thank you.
Erin
Tuesday 29th of March 2022
Hi Selina. Painting the lower kitchen cabinets with Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel was a game-changer. Our painted oak in our home with SW proclassic was great but after 8 years needed some touching up. This led me to add color and repaint the white. I did not mind seeing the grain a little and the Emerald line got rid of any tannin bleed through we had. You can always use a product called Aqua coat first if you are worried about the grain. I will put a link in the post above. Good luck with your DIY kitchen remodel project.
Alex Sutton
Wednesday 9th of February 2022
I love this! The two-tone looks and amazing and makes your kitchen feel fresh and open and I bet they look a lot cleaner with kids running around than the white ones would. Painting my cabinets has been on my to-do list for the longest time, but have never wanted to commit to starting it and need to stop halfway through or messing something up. I love the idea of painting over the backsplash to give it an update. Did you have any issues painting over the mosaic tiles? Thanks for sharing!
Erin
Thursday 10th of February 2022
Hi Alex. Thanks for your comment on our two-toned kitchen cabinets. We love the green and white cabinets and the backsplash tile project was honestly one of the easiest DIY painting projects we have done.