You’ve spent YEARS dreaming about it.
You’ve spent MONTHS designing it.
You’ve spent WEEKS planning for it.
But, here you are, only a matter of DAYS into your kitchen renovation project and already you are stressing about your overspend. How did this happen? After all that time in preliminary preparation, what went wrong?
Here are 5 important kitchen renovation Mississauga cost-cutting tips that we have picked up over the years:
- Fresh Coat of Paint. Whether you want to cut back spending on new cabinets or on tiles for the wall, a fresh coat of paint is a quick, cheap and easy way to save some money. Not only will you save on the materials, but you’ll probably be able to do it yourself and not pay someone else. Double savings!
- Laminate Work Surfaces. I know, there is no comparison to natural stone work surfaces and, if money is no object, you’d have them every time. But, what we’re talking about here is SAVING money and you can get the same function from using laminate at a fraction of the cost. Laminates have improved drastically and today you can find them good enough to imitate their (much) more expensive natural stone alternatives. The amount you save on using a good quality laminate compared to stone could purchase you a new major kitchen appliance.
- Island Alternatives. The first thing a kitchen renovation designer wants to get their hands on is a free-standing island. What they won’t do with that thing is not worth doing: double sink; built-in hob; integrated dish-washer; 8 diner spaces; the list goes on. Great, but all this comes at a cost. You can achieve the basic functionality of an island unit by using a good, solid table. You’ll get people round it to eat; you can prepare your food on the top; and you can place some storage underneath. OK, you may have to walk 5 paces to the sink; can you live with that for several hundred dollars saving on project costs?
- Get Creative. Probably the most powerful cost cutting tool is your creativity. Dedicate an area of your kitchen as a creative project and transform it. Try using royalty-free images from the internet; print out a load of your favourite ‘selfies’; or hunt down some cheap or pre-owned art in your local flea-market. Use these things to transform a wall, cabinet end or unfinished space. You will not just get something cheap, but something completely unique to YOUR kitchen – something that will inspire and excite guests and get them talking over dinner.
- Consider Pre-Owned or Recycled. In the same way as we recommended trawling the flea-markets for some pre-owned art, you can also consider this, or recycled items, for all aspects of your kitchen renovation project. You can save hundreds of dollars on used kitchen cabinets, appliances, tables and chairs this way.
Keeping your kitchen renovation costs down does not mean you have to sacrifice your dream kitchen – you just need to be a little creative in your thinking. Start with these 5 tips to keep your kitchen renovation costs down and keep your kitchen design project within budget.