Kitchen Remodels are expensive! No doubt about it. This is why I decided my rental property wasn’t going to suck another penny from me that will not be a ROI. However, every time I walked into this out dated kitchen I’d cringe. Everyone wants a gorgeous kitchen. Lets face it, Kitchens and Bathrooms can make or break a sale. Though putting out the money on a rental property would just be insane, unless I plan on selling it. Which wasn’t the case.
If you have an investment property, second home or are renting yourself there is a cheap way to remodel on a budget.
The Sorta Before…
Golden Oak Cabinets and Blue Counter Tops. Yikes! As you see I already started this project and remembered to take a before picture. The walls here are painted a Navy Blue only because it was the only option to compliment the kitchen. It served its purpose and many people actually liked it.
Start with the Walls!
I picked White. After having the walls so dark with the Navy Blue, white seemed like the right direction. If its a rental property, pick a color that is neutral to appeal to many people, not a color you love or is trending. If you live there, pick a color that is pleasing to you and your decor. If you think you need help with how to paint interior walls, I’ve added a video here.
Cabinets!
Oh, the daunting task of removing all the hardware, taking down the doors, emptying the cabinets content, and cleaning. I did it in sections but only because I am the type of person who needs instant gratification. For me, I need to see something done to keep me going. Lets go…
Step 1: Remove the hardware – pulls, handles, and hinges. Make sure to label the doors if you have multiplies so you remember where they go. I knew I wasn’t going to reuse the handles and pulls so I packed them up – maybe for another project.
Step 2: Clean them. You’ll need a degreaser. I used Simple Green and it worked well for this job. A little bit of elbow grease and I did go over everything again with soap and water with a paper towel. I didn’t want to leave any cleaner on the wood. I made sure the wood was dry before I painted. Since I was using new hardware, I sanded down the holes I wasn’t using and filling with a wood filler. Sanded them smooth and cleaned the area once more gently with soap and water.
Step 3: Lets Paint.
I ordered it online along with the clear coat and brush recommended. It took 3 coats of black paint with about an hour dry time in between. Depending if it was dry to the touch to re coat. If you want a distressed look now is when you’d want to sand. It wont take much to do so and use a soft 120 grit paper, lightly.
Step 4: The top coat. Just like nail polish, you need to protect the paint. You’ll be using the cabinets daily so topcoat is very important. It dries super fast so move quickly. I worked from top to bottom using a brush where my small smooth, no nap roller wouldn’t fit. Brush and roller working together. Do NOT retouch. Let dry for about an hour and re coat. Give them ample time to completely dry before hanging doors.
Step 5: Picking the hardware. This is where I spent most of my budget. My interior design degree has served me well in many aspects of real estate. Along the way, I’ve discovered it doesn’t always have to be glamorous. Just like in fashion that little black dress with a stunning necklace is all you’ll need. Hardware is the jewelry for your cabinets. Pick something you like to dress it up.
Counter Tops!
Step 1: To start I used the Simple Green Degreaser again, followed by 2 washes of soap and water, let dry. I taped off any sections I didn’t want to paint and covered my bottom cabinets with a tarp.
This is the counter top paint I decided to go with. I am super happy with it. As you can see in the picture, its a pretty good result of what they say it is.
Step 2: Primer. Just follow the direction on the box. Roller in sections and move quickly. Dries very fast. Don’t worry to much of a complete coverage. You’ll be painting over it.
Step 3: This kit has 3 colors to use and my goal was to make it look as much like granite as possible. I used pictures of real granite to mimic the sections I liked. In nature nothing is perfectly symmetrical so enjoy the process and don’t worry to much. I went over it again with the white just because I wanted it brighter.
Step 4: The topcoat. Keeping to sections roller quickly and do NOT go over the same rolled spot. Wait for it to dry and give it a second coat.
Here is the youtube video on just how to do it.
Backsplash!
The last thing I wanted to do was a back-splash. I knew I didn’t want to cut tile, install, grout blah blah blah. There is some amazing products out there for peel and stick tile look-a-likes, which are easy to cut and install. However, keeping to my budget I decided to go with removable wallpaper. My thinking was it isn’t permit and I can change it easily if I’m bored one day.
I searched online for removable wallpaper and found many to pick from. It took some measuring and making sure my lines matched up. Actually, my least favorite part of this project, plus its not the easiest part of a wall to wallpaper. In the end, I was happy with how it all came out.
So, for about $350.00 this Kitchen made its way into 2020! It’s been about 3 months since its completion and everything is holding up well. Best of Luck – Go for it.
If you’re looking to actually remodel a Kitchen I have the most amazing Kitchen guy in town. Contact me if you’d like in the comment section of this post.
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