The kitchen is the heart of the home. How many times have we heard that? The kitchen is one of the most important rooms to consider when it comes to updating or remodeling because it’s where we seem to spend the most time, cooking, family dinners, holding celebrating special events, and more. Because of that the kitchen is one of the most remodeled rooms, it’s also one of the most expensive rooms to remodel.

How much should you spend on a kitchen remodel?

According to HomeAdvisor.com you should follow the 5 to 15 percent rule which means no less than 5% of your homes value and no more than 15%. So if your home is worth $500,000 that would mean somewhere between 25,000 and 75,000.

How much can you expect to recoup?

How much can you expect to recoup from the average kitchen remodel? The national average is 54% so if you spent $50,000 on your remodel, you can expect to recoup $27,000. Keep in mind what prospective buyers are interested in so you know where to prioritize – new appliances and upgraded countertops.

Our Remodel

This leads up to our recent kitchen renovation. We moved into our home in May of 2017. The kitchen had off white cabinets, dark granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. That may sound nice but it was quite dated. The stove top gave out after a few years and cabinet doors started to fall off their hinges. We knew we needed to start thinking about remodeling. With that in mind we started coming up with a plan. Then Covid hit. Not only did we not want people in our home, we did not want to put that kind of money out in such uncertain times. After more than a year of planning, wishing, and dreaming we thought it was time. We got referrals from friends who were in the business, set a budget and made a plan.

First thing we did was hire a handyman to help my son-in-law with the demo. If you can demo your kitchen you can save quite a bit and put that money towards the project. The cabinets, which were original to the house, were heavy and solid wood. Fortunately, they came out whole and we were able to find a good home for them. It’s amazing how fast you can get rid of something when it’s free! We also sold our appliances quickly by pricing them right.

Existing Kitchen layout cropped.jpg — Our Existing Layout

Our existing layout just wasn’t working for us anymore.

New Layout

Here’s the new layout. Note we lengthened the island and eliminated the peninsula. Probably the biggest change was getting rid of the wall ovens and going with a more traditional range with range hood.

The Process

This is the least favorite part of a kitchen renovation. But I’m happy to report we lived through it. And looking back I can honestly say it was worth it!

Some Before and After Shots

The Finished Kitchen

We ordered our cabinets from a local cabinet company – The UniqHouse – simple shaker style white cabinets with gray cabinets for the island. To add to the look, we added decorative end pieces. We selected white quartz with subtle gray veining, stainless steel appliances, and black hardware. And of course, a stainless steel farm sink. Our appliances are from KitchenAid and Zline. We softened the wall color a bit still staying in the aqua family. Our new wall paint is Serene Journey from Behr. And since the floors needed to be repaired, we had our local hardware specialists, ShowFloors darken them a bit.

What I learned…

Expect problems. The first appliances we ordered were backordered until fall so I had to change the brand. I ordered through an online company (to save money) and we had to send them back because they arrived damaged. We ended up paying more but ordered from our local Home Depot. While it cost more, the process was much smoother and easier. They were delivered quickly and installed.

I ended up ordering 4 or 5 microwaves before finding the perfect one for under the counter. Do your research. I thought I had but I was trying to save money. Oh well. We love our microwave drawer.

What would I do differently?

The only thing I might do differently (besides ordering appliances locally) is to raise the cabinet above the range. Finding the right hood seemed a bit of a challenge. The first one was too big and had to be sent back. We love the final one although it proved quite challenging to install.

At the last minute we decided to add light rail. We didn’t want anything fancy. I’m a firm believer in less is more but we didn’t want to be looking at the underside of the cabinets from the table. We used a two pieces of cabinet wall filler to create 1 inch light rail. We found some ideas and tutorials on YouTube and my son-in-law installed them in less than a day. I am very happy with the finished look.

We love our new kitchen. It’s a joy to cook. It’s even a joy to clean up (my job). Let me know what you think.

So what’s our next remodel project? The laundry room!

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