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Super Thrifty Budget White Kitchen Makeover Reveal

We’ve lived in five houses now.

Six, if you count this investment property that we lived in last summer.

It’s kind of a crazy story… living in a property while you renovate it. Maybe not the most fun. Or relaxing. Or sane thing to do.

But it served it’s purpose. The house is finished. It turned out beautifully. And our renters love it. Plus we managed to do it while keeping to an amazingly tight budget. And the thrifty Kitchen Makeover Reveal that I am sharing today shows you just how gorgeous your kitchen can be without spending a fortune on a brand new one.

Super Thrifty Budget White Kitchen Makeover reveal at thehappyhousie.com

If you missed my first post about this Big Reno Project that we tackled last year, here is a glimpse of how the kitchen looked “Before”….

Straight out of the 70’s. Solid plywood homemade cabinets, beige-cream-faux marble laminate counters with a matching laminate backsplash, and wallpapered bulkheads. The insides of the cabinets were completely (and I mean, completely) covered with contact paper in a floral pattern. Plus- check out the floor. Pretty retro, right?!

Super Thrifty Complete Kitchen Makeover Reveal at thehappyhousie.com-1

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Oh – and just off the kitchen there is a large double laundry closet, as well as a single pantry closet. Just take a moment to appreciate those vintage closet doors. Talk about mixing patterns and colours – wallpaper, doors, floors. Wowza.

A Big New Reno Project at thehappyhousie.com-16

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We started by painting the insides of the cabinets and then the doors. I will be back on Thursday to share how we managed to achieve a super smooth finish on these flat plywood cabinet doors {I’m really excited about it: I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out!!}.

Here is a shot of the progress mid way through the project. At this point we had already installed the click laminate tile flooring that I picked up at the Home Depot. I would have loved to have gone with one flooring throughout the whole main floor but I didn’t want to risk ruining the whole floor if our future renters weren’t careful about laminate in the kitchen. So we opted for the completely waterproof click tiles.

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After….

In addition to painting the cabinets and switching out the floors, we also installed a new countertop and sink that we picked up at Ikea. I’ll be back another day to share more details on how we installed the Ikea countertop – they are a great solution for a thrifty kitchen makeover like this. We also installed white subway tile (left over from our own home kitchen renovation) – and it makes SUCH a big difference, right?! I will also be back soon with some tips about what NOT to do when you are doing a DIY tiling job!

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Well?!? Isn’t it pretty?

Want to see some more pictures?

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Isn’t this hardware absolutely fabulous?

These Waterfall Satin Nickel cup pulls from D Lawless Hardware give the plain cabinets such a modern and fresh feel. I couldn’t be happier with my choice.

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And the clear cut octagon glass knobs?!?

I. LOVE. THEM. They look almost identical to the ones we used in our home kitchen makeover – but at a fraction of the cost. I also ordered these from D Lawless Hardware.

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Now, one thing that I didn’t want to “cheap out” on was the faucet. I know from experience that cheap faucets do not hold up very well, having been through several myself in previous homes. This gorgeous Moen Hensley faucet  fit the bill perfectly. It is in a spot-resist finish that perfectly accents the hardware on the cabinets. The spray button can be on the front or back of the faucet head, depending on your preference. I take comfort in knowing that this faucet will last years and years through multiple tenants. Plus, it’s gorgeous and provides a beautiful feature against the white subway tile.

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I actually found light fixture in the exterior lights section at Home Depot Canada. I gave it a few coats of spray paint so it would match the rest of the finishes in the kitchen. Isn’t it cute??

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We replaced the fridge {why not keep Harvest Gold?!} but kept the black microwave. It was brand new and recently installed so it wasn’t worth changing out despite it’s dark colour.

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Oh, and remember those closet doors?!?!

Well, sometimes I can’t quite believe what high quality primer, paint, and a sprayer can do! {More details coming soon.}

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We added paneling to the walls and painted the room in Benjamin Moore Simply White and Benjamin Moore Moonshine. That is the same colour that we used throughout the whole house. It is such a pretty, neutral greyish tone…

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Budget Breakdown:

Click Tile Laminate Flooring (Home Depot) –  approx $200

Paint and Primer (Benjamin Moore) – approx. $150

Countertops and Sink (Ikea) – approx $300

Faucet (Moen) – approx $250 (available at Home Depot US)

Cabinet Hardware (D Lawless) – approx $150

Exterior Light Fixture and Spray Paint (Home Depot) – approx $50

Makeover Total: approx $1150 plus the cost of the new fridge (which we already owned)

 

Not bad, right?!?! For this transformation….

Thrifty Budget Kitchen Makeover with Benjamin Moore Simply White Painted Cabinets and D Lawless Hardware at thehappyhousie.com

And the other side…

Thrifty Kitchen Makeover on a Budget with Benjamin Moore Simply White Kitchen Cabinets D Lawless Hardware and Moen Faucet at thehappyhousie.com

And those doors!!!

Paint Laminate and Faux Glass Doors updating our super thrifty kitchen makeover at thehappyhousie.com

Find a little inspiration?

Do you have a kitchen you want to tackle on a shoe-string budget?

 

This is awesome! Pin it to remember it!

Thrifty DIY White Kitchen Makeover with Benjamin Moore Simply White, D Lawless Hardware, Ikea Countertop, Moen Faucet, and Home Depot Click Laminate Floor Tile at thehappyhousie.com

Other posts and projects that I’ve shared in this Investment Property Renovation Series…

And if you are into kitchen renovations, then take a look at our home kitchen makeover... {not done on such a thrifty budget}!

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Disclosure: Some product that we used in this kitchen makeover was provided to us by companies in exchange for our honest review. I am always 100% honest and all words and thoughts are 100% my own.

I may link up at some of these fabulous places below, for more info check out housie partiesMonday Funday Inspiration MondayNifty Thrifty Tuesday, Project Inspire{d} , Inspire Me Tuesday, The Scoop, Hit Me With Your Best Shot,  Wow Me Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday From Dream to Reality, The Inspiration Exchange, Wow Us Wednesday, Live Laugh Rowe Live Laugh Linky, Thursdays Are Your Days, Inspire Me Please, Catch as Catch CanFabulously Creative Friday, Party Junk,  Pinworthy Projects , Link Party Palooza,, Weekend Bloggy Reading, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Spotlight SaturdaySuburbs Mama , That DIY Party

 

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23 Comments

  1. Hi! Just wondering what paint colour and finish you used on your kitchen cabinets so they would look seamless next to your white appliances? Most colour swatches I’m looking at end up being too yellow next to the stark white of our oven and dishwasher. Thanks!

  2. Hi Krista,

    This is great stuff. Looking to DIY my kitchen and counter top too. Two qns: 1) I am going to paint my cabinets and add a new counter top + sink. what should come first? counter top fixing or cabinet painting? and 2) how long did it take for you to do the kitchen?

    thanks much

    Ananth

    1. Hello – we took the doors off our cabinets and painted the doors and boxes. I believe that we installed the countertops before the cabinet doors went back on. Then we hung the newly painted doors last, if I remember correctly. It took a couple of weeks or more for the project, though it was kind of stretched out because we were renovating an entire house at the same time! Good luck with your project:)

  3. Thanks for the inspiration my wife has been on to me to update our gloomy kitchen. Me being a contractor i am looking for the most bang for the buck i can get. I will let you know how my project goes. keep up the good work.

  4. Krista – I just have to say how inspiring you are! Where do you find all the time to do this stuff?? While we’ve just finished our all white kitchen remodel (which turned out fabulous and I definitely used you for inspiration), this makes me want to go out and flip a house! You ROCK!

    1. Hi Katherine! We did spend most of our summer on this house renovation:) (I’m a teacher, so being off all summer helps). I’m glad to hear your kitchen remodel turned out so well!! I think you can never go wrong with a white kitchen. Thanks so much for your super kind works:)

    1. I totally agree Cheryl- you can’t go wrong with a white kitchen. And it is often the cheapest and easiest way to fix up a dated and tired old space. Amazing how it can look after a few good coats of paint!

  5. Wow Krista, what a difference! Those gorgeous chrome pulls take the old cabinets up several notches. Looking forward to seeing more of this fixer upper!

    I was surprised to see you were able to get IKEA butcher block here in Canada. A couple of years ago when helping someone with a kitchen makeover, our local store said they were discontinuing them.

    1. I agree totally about the pulls – they make the flat cabinets standout. The countertops are actually faux butcher block (hard to tell, isn’t it?). But they did have real butcher blocks at the Ikea we went to (Coquitlam – near Vancouver).

  6. Hi Krista – Love what you did to your kitchen… great transformation. I hope to be doing the same to my brown kitchen soon. I laughed out loud at your laundry area doors. I have the same set up, but my doors are brown louvered bifolds. 🙂 They will be meeting a can of paint soon.

    1. Weren’t those doors a hoot? Seriously, the house must have been pretty on-trend when it was built in the 70’s, between those doors and the flooring. There is almost nothing that a some good quality white paint can’t improve. I can’t wait to see your kitchen progress!!

  7. Your reno looks great! We just bought that identical faucet to replace a cheap one we had in our kitchen. I love the way it looks and feels. I think you made an excellent choice. 🙂

    1. Thanks Gena- I love the faucet we went with. You can just tell it is good quality and will stand up to the test of time and usage! Plus, it’s beautiful:)

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