At Swedish Door, we see it all the time. Homeowners call us or come into the showroom with all kinds of design ideas but none of the budget that will make it a reality. In order to help you, we are here to share four things you’ll want to keep in mind when it comes to updating your kitchen on a budget.
1. decide if you really need a new kitchen layout
The most important first step is deciding if you really need a new kitchen layout. If there are structural or functional issues with the way your kitchen is laid out, you will need a bigger budget. Otherwise, decide if you can live with the layout you already have so you can get simply get new cabinet doors. You could also save your appliances, spend a little bit of your budget on a new countertop, give your kitchen a new paint colour and then you'd save yourself thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars.
2. Use IKEA KiTCHEN CABINETS
We would guess that two out of every three new Canadian kitchens are IKEA kitchens and that's because the value of their kitchen cabinets is hard to beat. It's also worth saying that IKEA cabinet boxes are really versatile. This means that you can go to IKEA to get the cabinet boxes and go elsewhere to buy replacement cabinet doors for IKEA cabinets. You can go to an IKEA store, design your kitchen using their design tools and order their boxes. Then, take your plans elsewhere and get the doors, hinges and everything else you need.
3. Spend wisely on Doors and Accessories
If you are cash-strapped, you can still be smart and spend money to give your kitchen a custom look without the custom price tag. Save yourself money by using inexpensive IKEA cabinet boxes but spend a bit extra and upgrade your doors and accessories. If you think about it, the cabinet boxes are largely invisible to people looking at your kitchen. So save on your boxes and spend a bit more getting nicer doors, hinges and pulls.
Good quality hardware is a great place to spend a bit of extra money. You don't want to get a door that keeps falling off its hinges or a drawer that keeps sticking because it can’t handle the weight. Hinges and drawers that are soft-closing are more expensive, but this is one piece of kitchen "bling" that many of our customers are asking about and spend a bit extra on.
4. watch out for common budget pitfalls
One of the best ways to save money is to have the construction work of a kitchen done DIY-style as much as possible, hiring professionals only for the stuff you are unsure of doing on their own. There are tons of home renovations books out there that tell you how to do tiling, for example, so there are resources out there that can help with this aspect. Maybe you get a contractor to do your countertop but you do the backsplash yourself.
Avoid buying things such as sinks or taps at regular price -- wait until they go on sale or shop around (and online) before buying them. Also, spend some time thinking about whether a certain design element is a "need" or "want". You may need a tap, but you don’t need to pay lots of money for one. Sticking to needs as closely as possible will help you stay on your budget.
Watching common money pitfalls is usually the hardest part of a kitchen renovation, and it’s where most people fail.
Contact Us
If you have a kitchen design idea you'd like to make into a reality, you’ll want to talk to Swedish Door. We have a great selection of custom-made materials, and they’re designed to fit IKEA Akurum and Sektion cabinets.
We also have well-qualified partners, who are have experience helping homeowners like you make their kitchen design dreams come true.
If you want to know more, contact us or come to our showroom. We won’t be satisfied until all of your questions are answered.
