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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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.
Diy Kitchen Remodel Tips
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.
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.
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.
How To Redo Your Kitchen For Under $2,000
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.
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.
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.
Is A Kitchen Remodel A Diy Project?
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.
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.
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.
Diy Kitchen Renovation: One Year Later
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.
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.
Before And After: My Budget Kitchen Remodel
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.

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!
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.
A Custom Diy Kitchen Remodel
Hardware may seem like a small thing, but purchasing more modern handles, knobs or consider painting your existing hardware to match your new style.
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.
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.
Diy Kitchen Remodel
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.
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.

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.
Diy Kitchen Remodel Design Consultation
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.
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.
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)?
Diy Kitchen Remodeling Projects
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.

Diy Kitchen Remodel Ideas: How We Did It For Under $1,000
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.
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.
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!
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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.
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
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