As most of my regular readers know my husband and I have been slowly (very slowly) renovating our home. In about a month we’re going to finally finish our living room dining room.
All that needs to be done in the living room dining room is to put up the tin ceiling tiles and then put molding up around the ceiling and at floor level. Then our long time living room/ dining room reno will finally be done.
Sometime after that I think we’ll start to work on renovating our kitchen. It’s a tiny kitchen, but I think if we rearrange the way the cupboards are set up and move the refrigerator from the area between the back door and basement door (unsightly!) we can modernize the kitchen and make it look quite nice.
Moving the fridge will make a huge difference in the look of the kitchen. I can’t wait to be able to do that. Of course as I said we have to rearrange the cupboards and probably move the sink over in order to do that.
Speaking of the sink. We currently have a double sink, but each sink is on the small side. I think I might look at a large undermount sink as a replacement for our small double sink. It will be nice to be able to soak a large roasting pan instead of only soaking half at a time!
As usual, if we do start renovating our kitchen sometime later this summer we’ll be doing most of the work on our own. We really don’t have much money to spare and we’re pretty handy Do it yourselfers. It will just take longer for us to do it on our own!
Have you ever done a kitchen reno on your own? Any advice?
Good luck with all the renovation works, hope to see some pics when its all finshed
hi i’m gaurav from India i just renovated my bedroom with limited budget of 3000 dollars. You can see my bedroom pics at this link
Do consult a good affordable designer in your local area. Best of luck! 🙂
Good luck with the renovations. I actually find it quite relaxing.
Any space for a small mosaic or pattern around the sink or wherever there are tiles? That can add a little color and uniqueness.
A home renovation is a huge project to undertake.
Moving the fridge and cabinets is a pretty good undertaking! Redid our kitchen a couple years ago. Love the idea of the undermount sink. We hung new lighting, which helped a ton. And sometimes the little things add a lot. New hardware on the cabinets was a small thing that really helped looked great. Made the cabinets look much classier.
Sounds like your well ontop of getting the renovations underway
don’t forget to put bright colors, maybe in the new kitchen chairs, roses on the tables or even the kitchen tiles, it sure wiLL bring something extra :D, show some pics when u’re finished!
If your kitchen is small you may want to consider a few mirrors around to increase the sense of space. There is some awesome furniture out there that maximises space. Good luck with the renovation.
I’ve tried to help with a few kitchen reno’s, it certainly is a large but rewarding job! I’d suggest ezine articles for ideas on most renovation projects, its at least a start.
Wow, you sound like my father and my stepmother. They have been renovating their house for over the past 5 years. The living room is still not finished! It can be a huge project, but try to get organized so that it doesn’t turn into a over-hauled project.
I tried renovating my home kitchen last summer and after the project I got a beautiful kitchen but boy how it triggered my perennial problem which was my lower back pain. I guess I won’t be doing any of home renovation projects for quite some time because of this lower back pain.
Never tried on my own, but workers did some kitchen renovation 2 years ago when i moved to a new place (I didnt like the old kitchen, it was too small and full of useless items) so i smashed a wall and expanded it a bit, removed all that was unnecesary and bought some new cabinets. looks quite good now.
I think you should put some pictures up so that we have an idea of what you’re working with and how far the renovations have gone. Don’t feel bad about how long its taking. Real life isn’t like the HGTV channel where complete home renovations only take half an hour. It took me and my husband about 2 years to finish our projects.
Home renovation is not that complicated as long as you have the right budget for it. In my experience, when I try to scrimp on my budget by hiring cheap workers and cheap materials, I get to spend more later in re-work and re-purchase of better materials. Yes, you get what you pay for.
Moralde I agree with you; it’s better to buy good materials, even if they are more expensive, than cheaper ones. So, even if takes a little bit more longer do not make any compromises when it comes to your home!
Good luck!
I just bought a home in Markham, Ontario last month. I went there this past weekend to work on some basement stuff. I am currently working on renovating the basement. I am adding two rooms, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen. I have not yet begun the kitchen part, I just finished one room. I have hired plumbers to help with that, and same with electricians. Best of luck on your project. I will post back once I start my kitchen work.
In the last house I rehabbed, I put in a large single bowl undermount, since I had a relatively small kitchen. Between that and the dishwasher it worked out very well. If you have the room you can put in a large double bowl undermount, or most popular is where one side is smaller, and shallower, and the other larger and deeper, with the faucet in the middle. Most of my meal prep cleanup is relatively simple, ie. not a lot of grease because I am into raw vegan food.
Hope that helps,
Regards JuanDon
Kitchen remodeling is a whole lot of fun and I hope you get the larger sink. I had helped my buddy renovate his kitchen and we decided to reface the cabinets and stain the space in between. That alone can save you a lot. You can also go with a nice laminate counter top that resembles granite. It only cost around $50-$60 dollars and it is easy to install. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your renovated kitchen 🙂
Home renovation is a very time consuming task, however, the end result is well worth it. I love seeing pictures of the before and afters.
Home renovating can be a lot of fun! Be sure to take before and after photos 😀
Well it sounds great that you’re thinking to renovate your kitchen. I have recently remodeled my kitchen and just like you I have limited budget. But renovating kitchen own your on is really not a good idea as it is most important section of the house and you really need to be very careful while doing any renovation. I think you should consult a kitchen designer who can give you proper advice.
I totally disagree that a kitchen remodel should be left to a professional. True, there are some aspects of the remodel that should be done professionally, like specialty countertops. But most things in the kitchen can be done by the DIYer.
If you are going to install a dishwasher then a single bowl sink is a great choice. But if you aren’t going to install a dishwasher then a double bowl sink may be the better choice. You can get various bowl sizes, like a 70-30, 60-40 split where the main bowl can be large enough to soak a pan and still have two bowls.
I’m planning to renovate our kitchen but I’m still reading and looking into the latest 3D kitchen designs. I’m really excited to start the renovation process. =)
This sounds a lot like my remodeling project I’m in this business and it took me so long to finish it, but at the end everything was fine and I enjoy it,and all the money and time is defiantly worth it.Good luck