How To Get A Huge Bang For Your Kitchen Renovation Buck

Kitchens can cost a lot of money. And people who buy them rarely get the money back at resale in even in good real estate markets.

But there are things you can do that will cost less money and still get you a reasonable return. A return means that you actually get a buyer and a decent price for your house, and make more than you spent.

1. Find a way to open your kitchen to the dining room and family room. In many older ranches and split-level homes it may be as easy as taking out the upper cabinets between the kitchen and breakfast area. Be careful about taking out walls. If they are load bearing walls your house might fall on you. You can pay a professional for it and then handle the rest yourself.
2. Many older homes have good quality solid wood cabinets that are better than what you could purchase new to replace them. Explore alternatives like painting or stripping paint and other refinishing options.

Watch out for lead paint. Many older homes have it and it requires expert removal. Lead paint was outlawed in 1978. If your house is older than that it might have it. It is a hazardous, though natural substance that can cause permanent brain damage. Surprise! "Natural" stuff can hurt you, both adults and children. Check it out online and act accordingly.
3. You can buy good stuff second hand. One of the cutest kitchens I ever saw was built from a nice assortment of second hand furniture. You can even buy nice cabinets second hand. Second hand windows and doors can become china cabinets for the dining room.
4. A big pantry makes excellent storage for a kitchen for very little money. A pantry about 5 feet square has room for a small chest freezer and plenty of shelving for things that don't fit in cabinets or canned foods. Shelves that are not too deep work best. An effective cabinet can be as shallow as 3.75" with a door between 2 studs.
5. You can create the look of a custom kitchen by finishing off the ends of you cabinets and the backs of islands and peninsulas. It's a subtlety that people will notice but maybe not understand. It says "quality" without costing a lot of money.
6. Don't break the bank buying granite. That stuff is expensive and it's not very green either. Try papercrete, recycled marble or other stone, bamboo butcher block, ceramic tile, stone tile or anything that is on the cheaper side of materials. You can also paint or skim coat existing counter tops.
7. A nice cook top and 2 separate stacked ovens are generally cheaper than the big commercial ranges. Buy energy star rated appliances and save big dollars every day. You might even find them second hand.

So there you are. These are all my favorite ways to save and still have a nice kitchen. We once refaced a whole big kitchen with 46 door and drawer panels for $1,200. We had a cabinetmaker make the doors and then spray painted them ourselves. It helped our home sell and close in 6 weeks when we decided to move. The previous owners had it for sale for over 2 years with the old tired 80s style cabinets. Faster resale says you don't have to keep making payments. Many house payments are more than we spent on our kitchen.

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