7 Smart Ways To Reduce Family Kitchen Renovation Expenses

A basic kitchen with grey cupboards and white surfaces. Sintra

How can you save money and refresh your kitchen?

Collaborative post by another author.

Reducing kitchen renovation costs is something that concerns most families, especially those on a budget. Even if your kitchen looked great when you moved in, over time wear and tear happens and eventually things need fixing or replacing. Cutting down these expenses can be challenging, but refurbs can’t always wait.

Fortunately, if you need a kitchen makeover but don’t have the funds to do everything the professional way, then this post can help. It explores some clever ways to reduce your costs so that everyone in your family can enjoy a brand-new room.

Shop For Second-Hand Fixtures

Start by shopping for second-hand fixtures. Look for discounts and sales items on places like eBay or at thrift stores.

When you look in this fashion, it’s amazing how the demand seems to arrive like a wave. So many people want to sell things for low prices, just to get rid of them so they have more space in their homes.

Know What You Can DIY

Next you’ll want to figure out what you can do yourself and when you’ll need a professional. Generally you need experts for many things in kitchen renovations (don't even think about messing about with gas or electrics), but if you can follow tutorials, then there are some elements that you could potentially do without having to pay extra money. Just be warned that the results from trying to do it yourself might not be as good.

Reface Cabinets

Replacing entire cabinets with new ones is expensive and doesn’t affect how your kitchen functions. In a sense, it is wasted money (unless the interiors need replacement because they’re damaged or broken).

The answer for many people is to simply reface their cabinets, changing the external doors and handles, but without ripping everything out and starting again. Many don’t even go this far and instead hire a kitchen painter who can refresh their existing cabinets and make them look new again.

Haggle

Haggling is another way to reduce the cost of a kitchen renovation. Good contractors will offer a fair price and will often have enough work that they don't need to negotiate. It is better to pay someone who is well recommended and will do the job right, rather than the cheapest person who might cause damage and cost you more in the long run. But if your funds are limited there might still be ways you can get the work done for less.

Make sure you shop around to understand what is a reasonable amount to pay for quality work (3 quotes are generally recommended) and make sure you compare like with like. If the quote is too high talk to the tradesperson and explain you are on a tight budget, ask them if there is a different way to get the desired result for less. They might be able to suggest different materials or changing the scale of the work to save on costs, for instance if you can agree to do prep or finishing work yourself to save them time.

Use Open Shelving

Another cost-saving measure for family kitchens is to use open shelving. These units are far less expensive to install and provide easy access to all your cooking implements and equipment. On the downside though it's harder to hide the mess away and it doesn't protect items from dust or grease so items might need washing more often.

Use Old Materials

If you are creative or have good DIY skills, you could might want to repurpose old materials and turn them into something new for your kitchen.

For example you could use reclaimed wood flooring, old doors as a table top or even old windows or mirrors as an interesting splashback. You might need to spend a few afternoons cleaning the items and preparing them for their new use, but you'll end up with an original feature that will be a talking point.

Use Affordable Countertops

You should also use affordable countertops for family kitchens. Quartz, granite and marble might look amazing, but they are expensive. Instead look at laminate, polished concrete or butcher block which can help you lower your costs substantially.

So there you have it: some of the cheeky methods that families have used over the years to cut the cost of kitchen renovations and get more value for money.