Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Our low budget kitchen

I'm finally adding photos of our kitchen which we've been enjoying for several months now.  We'll do the trim, floors, and ceilings last so it will stay "almost done" for a while still.


We didn't change any of our appliances.  They're all still mismatched but working just fine so I can't bear to spend the money on that right now, if ever.


Jeff keeps asking me if I'm ready to get a new stove to the point that I'm starting to wonder if he doesn't like it as much as I do.  The burners don't have a truly medium heat setting and it bakes a bit unevenly but that's fine by me since I'm far from the best cook and when things don't turn out that great I can just blame it on the stove.


We bought our cabinets and  granite counters, which only come in six foot lengths, from a discount building supply store and it saved us a bundle.  Jeff also set every tile himself rather than buying the tiles in sheets.  It took a little longer but would have cost so much more otherwise.


Jeff experimented with the under-mount lighting using discs on the right side of the cabinets and went through a huge amount of trouble to hide the cords.  Then we decided to use a bar light under the open shelves and he's not happy with it so we just left the cord till we get around to switching it out to the disc style lights.  It's been so long since I've been able to see very well while working at the kitchen counters that I forgot just how nice it is to have good lighting, dangling cord and all.

So, we started with appliances which are all second hand (super-duper cheap or free) and then built the kitchen from the ground up for under $3,000.   Not as cheap as the kitchen set up we had before but I'm so thankful to have it!


And these flowers have nothing to do with our kitchen but I've recently discovered how much I love having living plants in the house even if I know they'll most likely be dead in a few months.  These cyclamen have such unique and colorful blossoms, only cost around $3.00 and they'll far outlast any fresh bouquet...although I still love fresh bouquets from time to time too. 


8 comments:

  1. Your kitchen looks wonderful! And what a great budget. We were able to do an IKEA galley kitchen for about $4600. We did have to buy a fridge ($500) and a microwave. I bet it is a pleasure to cook for your family in your new space. I'm looking forward to following news on your addition.

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    1. Thanks Isabella! I sure wish we had an IKEA closer to us, $4,600 is a great price too!

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  2. Your kitchen has turned out so nicely! I am sure you are really enjoying it. Well done!

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  3. Love it all, and by no means dose it look low budget. I love the open structure in your ceiling, dreamy.

    Xx
    Dore

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  4. I love your kitchen! It is so fun to see how it has evolved!

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