What Does a $10-15,000 Kitchen Remodel Look Like?

Every kitchen renovation project with a tight budget is a give and take. Like the clutch on a car, you push forward to spend on some things while pulling back to save on others. When your remodeling budget is in the $10,000-15,000 range, you probably can’t afford an upscale dream kitchen, but careful design decisions will get you a super functional and stylish space that a drastic improvement over the old one. What’s possible at this price point? It depends on your priorities, as these five kitchens demonstrate.

The owners of the Dexter House (also lead image above) did a lot of the work themselves and reused some old cabinetry to save money. In exchange, they splurged on some of the finishes, including the lighting and a small cement tile backsplash that makes a huge statement. The grand total for the job was $11,820.

For $12,000, Dala and her husband kept the same layout of the old kitchen, which meant not having to spend a lot on plumbing costs. They did replace all the appliances with new stainless steel ones, and changed the oak cabinets to just a lower level of glossy white cabinets from IKEA. Instead of the old uppers, they DIYed some shelving out of pipe conduit, which is secured to basic subway tiles.

Judy also kept the same galley style layout to her kitchen, and mainly changed cosmetic parts of the room. Although they didn’t do most of the work themselves, they did act as their own general contractor and hired local labor to do the job. To save, they kept the old appliances and shopped rigorously for budget fixtures. At the end of the day, the total cost was $13,000.

This $10,000 kitchen renovation was a labor of love. To keep costs down, Lesli of My Old Country House stayed patient and waited for bargains to keep her on budget (the project took a couple of years). To save money, she also kept the existing cabinet boxes in her outdated kitchen and hired a local carpenter to create new fronts. She herself painted the floor a subtle grey pattern, and made the island from an old desk.

Pearson and Projects took on this small kitchen model for $14,020 NZ (which is just about $10,000 in US dollars). The original space was configured oddly, so their fist priority was to make it more open and workable. To save, they stuck to a basic black and white color scheme, and shopped for very affordable materials from unlikely places.

1. Whenever possible, preserve the the original kitchen’s footprint.
2. Do at least some of the work yourself.
3. Shop smart and slow.
4. Compromise on some things in order to splurge on others.