What should our kitchen renovation budget be? We don't want to "overimprove."

[Anonymous]

We are first-time homeowners, having bought late last year. We are waiting for our savings to recover before planning any renovations, but will start looking into this soon. I noticed there are a couple of other recent threads where other posters mention not wanting to "overimprove"--not sure quite what that means? I gather that it's tied to how much your home is worth, but we're complete novices with home renovations.

Our situation is this--our home was purchased in the $700-750K range, which is probably average for our neighborhood of 1930s-1940s homes (range ~$600K to about 900K, with a few over 1M). The kitchen is spacious enough, and I think it was last renovated about 10 years ago. The white appliances are showing their age--mildew in the fridge door seal, a dishwasher that occasionally malfunctions, etc.--as are the cabinets, which are also not ideally situated and not very deep. There are also linoleum counters, and tiled floor which has a large design that while not hideous, is not my taste. The previous owners seem to have been thrifty and veered towards the traditional, whereas my taste is more contemporary/minimalist.

However, we're practical people with busy jobs, young children and a large dog--so we don't want to spend too much or go too fancy. Any renovations would be largely for cosmetic reasons. Can we just do an IKEA kitchen renovation for $10-15K and be done with it, or will this be considered too cheap should we want to sell in a few years? Should we instead save up a couple more years to do something more high-end? Neither of us is very handy, so any DIY is probably out of the question. Also, we've got other expenses to attend to--windows need to be replaced, painting, etc.

TIA.

[Anonymous]

Our house is worth about the same as yours (though we bought a while ago and so paid less) and we just did an IKEA kitchen. It is fabulous: looks great, works great. Our reno cost more like 30,000 but we completely reconfigured our kitchen, moving doors and windows and plumbing.

[Anonymous]

I live in a 1920s home and just updated appliances, refaced cabinets, subway tiled and added a hood and light fixture. This alone cost me 10k and I have a galley kitchen. I doubt you will be able to change appliances, flooring and cabinets at 10k-15k even using Ikea. Also we have lived in our home 3 1/2 years and only intend to stay another 2-3 years, so 10 was our max at this point. Had we remodeled when we first purchased we may have put a little more money in as we would have had more time to enjoy it. At this juncture I think your budget will probably need to be in increased to get a kitchen you will be 100% pleased with.

[Anonymous]

Pp here, forgot to add that older homes always seem to need something. Every project we have started has always cost us more due to unforeseen things. So keep that in mind. I think if you keep your cabinets, you may be able to swing 15 I but your appliances will probably not be top of the line. I suppose it all depends on what's important to you. I remodeled my kitchen for my family with only about 10% thought into what a future homeowner would want because I want to enjoy my kitchen and no matter what you put in the new homeowner will most likely make changes.

[Anonymous]

Another cabinet option is Barker Cabinets. They are an online custom cabinet manufacturer. Custom was the best solution for our 40s house because the off the shelf boxes were too big for our space.

[Anonymous]

OP here--thanks for the suggestions! Sounds like we may need to wait a while for a kitchen reno--hoping the appliances last until then. Will keep some of these suggestions in mind.

[Anonymous]

14:15 -- I 've been looking at Barker cabinets online.

Did you use them? Did you put them together yourself or hire someone?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Anonymous]

NP here - I honestly can't tell the difference between an IKEA kitchen and some of the more modern non-IKEA kitchen cabinets. One thing to keep in mind is that IKEA completely revamped their kitchen line this year (or is about to, I don't think they're out yet) and that from what I've read, they are expected to be more expensive than the current kitchen line. At this point, IKEA is going to be at the same price point as Home Depot, Lowes, and even some custom cabinet companies. That said, they are consistently rated as being among the best quality kitchen cabinets out there and I've seen them in some expensive houses where they fit right in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here - I honestly can't tell the difference between an IKEA kitchen and some of the more modern non-IKEA kitchen cabinets. One thing to keep in mind is that IKEA completely revamped their kitchen line this year (or is about to, I don't think they're out yet) and that from what I've read, they are expected to be more expensive than the current kitchen line. At this point, IKEA is going to be at the same price point as Home Depot, Lowes, and even some custom cabinet companies. That said, they are consistently rated as being among the best quality kitchen cabinets out there and I've seen them in some expensive houses where they fit right in.

Maybe that is why they are having a 20% sales on their kitchen line.

[Anonymous]

You can always do the appliances now and the cabinets later - there's no need to do them all at once, especially if you're keeping the same footprint. I did the appliances in my last house as they needed replacing and then did the cabinets, counters and tile a couple years before I moved. (To retile, you just move the appliances into a nearby room, and then move them back.)

Since you don't necessarily want a matched set of appliances - certain makers are better at certain appliances than others - just decide now what finishes you're likely to want and you can replace as needed.

[Anonymous]

We love our Ikea kitchen. It can be really affordable if you're not doing structural changes. And PP is absolutely right, you can switch out appliances later (or first) instead of doing the whole thing all at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can always do the appliances now and the cabinets later - there's no need to do them all at once, especially if you're keeping the same footprint. I did the appliances in my last house as they needed replacing and then did the cabinets, counters and tile a couple years before I moved. (To retile, you just move the appliances into a nearby room, and then move them back.)

Since you don't necessarily want a matched set of appliances - certain makers are better at certain appliances than others - just decide now what finishes you're likely to want and you can replace as needed.

OP again. Thanks for the suggestions--we may have to consider doing the kitchen reno in stages, given our current budget. However, how do you know whether you want to--or should--"keep the same footprint?" What considerations go into this? I'm really showing my ignorance here--but neither of us have ever watched HGTV, rarely look at Houzz, etc. Any advice? Or is there no straightforward answer and perhaps the best advice is to make time in our schedules for HGTV and Houzz? We don't have the budget to leave the creativity up to a professional (e.g., design-build firm, etc.).

[Anonymous]

For keeping the same footprint or not-live with the kitchen long enough to know what bugs you. Is the workspace too far from the oven? Does the fridge door block the entry? Is there no good place to put a cooling rack, etc. Is there a good flow of traffic and a good work triangle (oven, sink, fridge). If you are basically happy cooking in your kitchen but just want a new style, better appliances then keep the footprint. If you get aggravated when cooking, the something probably needs to change.

[Anonymous]

OP, you keep the same footprint if your kitchen makes sense the way it is laid out. Do you find it pretty easy to move between the sink and stove and fridge? do you have enough storage and counter space? Keeping the same footprint is the easiest way to save money - you don't have to blow out walls or move plumbing or gas lines or do new outlets or electrical hookups.

You can upgrade the cabinets, extend them to the ceiling if they're not, change out the cabinets for granite, do a backsplash, etc. without changing the footprint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in a 1920s home and just updated appliances, refaced cabinets, subway tiled and added a hood and light fixture. This alone cost me 10k and I have a galley kitchen. I doubt you will be able to change appliances, flooring and cabinets at 10k-15k even using Ikea. Also we have lived in our home 3 1/2 years and only intend to stay another 2-3 years, so 10 was our max at this point. Had we remodeled when we first purchased we may have put a little more money in as we would have had more time to enjoy it. At this juncture I think your budget will probably need to be in increased to get a kitchen you will be 100% pleased with.

My galley kitchen in a small 1100 sq ft townhouse cost us 17-22k with Mid range Home Depot cabinets, 2k countertop(silestone brand?), higher end deep sink but still from Home Depot, cheaper back tiles, cheap tiles, and cheaper labor (not as professional or as experenced).

On another note I'd do Ikea modern cabinets next time.