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Before and After: My Budget Kitchen Remodel

I’m going to show you my DIY kitchen remodel before and after that can be done on a budget.

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot and contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

So while home on maternity leave, I started the plan to renovate my kitchen. I will provide more details on the layout and cabinet selection later. But I will tell you my budget was VERY lean. My kitchen cabinets were literally falling apart. I had to totally gut my kitchen and rebuild it for under $5000-$6000 max. This meant I had to get creative, very creative.

Watch the video of my kitchen renovation.

From demo to install, check out the tools that I found absolutely essential during my kitchen renovation.

Before

I bought my house a little over 8 years ago with the intention of one day totally renovating my kitchen. It was beyond dated. And the blue ceiling was disgusting!

I updated it multiple times over the years by removing the ugly blue tile, painting the existing cabinets and I even tiled over the existing countertops. But there are so many times I could put a bandaid over something that is falling apart and lacked the usability I need.

Kitchen Renovation From Demo to Install- Essential Tools @ToolboxDivas (14 of 139)
The particleboard laminate kitchen cabinets were falling apart as you pulled on the drawer.

The kitchen cabinets layout and style didn’t work for me. I had no room for my huge tea collection (I have a tea obsession). And why did people put in soffits? I HATE soffits. I mean give me back my wall and ceiling space. I’d rather taller cabinets.

So I partnered with The Home Depot to show you how you can totally transform a kitchen on a small budget using in-stock cabinets and a fresh coat of paint. We took the kitchen down to the studs and transformed the space into something you’d see on Airbnb. Hahaha.

Demo

For this project, I enlisted the help of my friend, once again to help me with the demolition and the heavy lifting. I also worked with him to do my deck renovation. So I work full time and I have a newborn. So the idea of me trying to tackle this project all by myself, well it just wasn’t happening. LOL I have to be realistic. Knowing you can do it, doesn’t mean you have to actually do it all.

With help, I was able to demo the kitchen in one day.

Install

We maintained the basic layout of the kitchen to cut down on any additional costs. That also made cabinet selection a lot easier.

With the walls back up and the cabinets in place, I could start to see my vision come to life. I just didn’t know what color the vision would be. Hahaha.

ProjectColor™ App

ProjectColor App by The Home Depot

I was all over the place in terms of what color I wanted to paint the walls and cabinets. I couldn’t decide on a color. But luckily I was able to plug the images of the kitchen into The Home Depot ProjectColor™ App and test out a whole variety of color combinations without picking up a paintbrush.

At the end of the day, I decided on Smoky White for the walls and Nature’s Gift for the cabinets.

Customization

I customized the stock cabinets by adding a decorative molding I made using 1x3s and 1×4 lumber. I also added a board as a filler above the refrigerator to make it look like a built-in. The countertop really took it to another level. I went with a High-Performance Marble Solid Surface called Birch Bark. I then paired the cabinet color with gold accents like the gold handles and faucet.

The Paint

The color combination for my kitchen renovation Credit: @ToolBoxDivas

After – The Big Reveal

Learn how to make these open shelves.

Time for a Staycation! Till Next Time. ~T.

Materials I Used

Tools I Used

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Budget friendly before and after kitchen renovation remodel DIY green cabinets @toolboxdivas

I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in the Home Depot Paint Program 2019. As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

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23 Comments

  1. How did I miss this? It’s stunning!! Love the blue and gold combo and the countertops and open shelves are so pretty!

    1. Thank you so much Kathy!! The open shelves and gold hardware might be my favorite part.

  2. What a transformation! I’m glad I found your web-site, as I’m ready to start using power tools! Where did you guy the wooden shelves?

    1. Thank you so much!! I am so glad to have you here. I actually made the open shelves. I will post the tutorial shortly. It’s super easy and affordable.

  3. This is such a beautiful remodel! I’ve been helping a friend plan a kitchen remodel and this is one of their inspirations now!

    1. Thank you so much! It was a project I kept putting off for way too long. And now that we are in this Pandemic I’m so glad I did it before all this came about. I hope I can continue to provide inspirational projects.

      1. Looks great. What color paint dud you use for cabniets ?.

  4. Awesome!! I want to do the very same thing but don’t have a lot of $$$ to spare. You inspired me!

  5. Great job! Beautiful work on a budget — I’ll be using this as inspiration.

  6. A pretty excellent pictorial representation of the kitchen renovation process. It gives me a clear idea of what to do and how to do it. Thanks for sharing the process.

  7. What a great process! You gave me some ideas that I could use with my kitchen. Thank you!

  8. Umm… that’s impressive work. What a great budget remodel. I’m impressed!

  9. What an amazing transformation. Your budget kitchen remodeling is simply unbelievable. The photos are gorgeous and loved the way of your step-by-step explanation. Awesome work.

  10. Stunning transformation!!! I am in the middle of attempting to remodel my eyesore of a kitchen. Thank you for sharing that Home Depot App for color picking, I will be using that! Also, LOVE the tea station. Fantastic job!

  11. Wow! Love the color palate and the gold accents, such a serene combination!

  12. How long has it been? How are the cabinets holding up?

    1. Hi, It’s been 2 years and the cabinets are still looking great! I am finally selecting a tile backsplash so I’ll have an update coming soon.

  13. Alex Sutton says:

    I love this, especially the fact that you were able to do it on a budget! I’ve been wanting to refinish my kitchen for ages, but have never had the money to hire a professional. This is definitely making me consider trying it on my own again. Thanks for sharing!

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