Thrifty Thursday: 8 Money Saving Tips from my Kitchen Renovation to yours!

I can’t believe it! It’s been a whole year since our renovation and living in our “new” home has been amazing. Our house feels twice as big and we are so happy we did it! I’d do it again and recommend it to anyone contemplating such a change.

Last year, my family and I went through a 3-month kitchen renovation and while it felt like a year without our kitchen, we are so happy we did it because of the openness it provided to our home.  And while we were spending a good chunk of change because of the entire renovation, we knew we had to also be conscious of our spending and save money where we could.

Below are eight money saving tips we did that you could use if you are thinking or wanting to do a renovation of your own.

1. Utilize your Resources

Renovations aren’t cheap and neither is the planning process.  Time is money and it took months of this before actually doing the renovation itself to figure out what we wanted. Look at magazines for ideas or online websites like Houzz to give you a guideline on where to start. If you’re lucky like we were, and have a friend who loves interior design to use a software to help us decide what we wanted for our kitchen, then great! (Thanks, Ryan!) He had these renderings made for us and we honestly used them as our layout for everything we did moving forward.

(There are plenty of online sites or apps that offer rendering software.)

2.  Hire a Hybrid

Once you’ve figured out what you’d like to do, it’s time to hire a professional you can trust to do your work.  We hired someone who was both an architect and a contractor so we didn’t have to hire both. He was able to draw up what we wanted, present it to the City and execute it! It was much easier working with one person than dealing with a bunch of people.  You definitely want someone who understands what your City wants and someone who can handle any situation that may come across like the dreaded inspections, but dealing with just one person put us at ease.

3.  Reuse Perfectly Good Items if You Can

Our home was renovated in the late 90’s by the previous owners of our house and they kept the house in great shape and while we knew we wanted to re-do the kitchen at some point, we knew that some of the cabinetry could be saved.  We definitely saved money by reusing some of the cabinets. We kept some in the same spot while we moved some for the island. We also had someone paint them to match some of the new cabinets we bought and if I didn’t tell you this, you’d think they all came together.

We actually went to the same cabinet place the previous owners did to make sure the cabinets would match once we had them painted.  It was a pretty seamless transition and they all fit together like a puzzle.

4.  Keep Important Pieces in the Same Spot

We definitely saved on keeping the oven and sink in the same spot.  Doing this meant we didn’t have to move any major gas or water lines. We did, however, have to move our refrigerator which meant we had to add a water line, but that wasn’t too bad because it shares a wall with the garage which has easy water access. This is definitely something you want to keep in mind when you are creating your renderings.

5.  Be Two-Toned

 We knew we wanted to do a big white quartz countertop island with some marble-like patterning and of course, it was pricey. So, we opted to go for a cheaper countertop on the exterior and chose a different color as well. This saved us a lot and both selections have worked out well for us.

6.  Buy Appliances at the End of the Year 

Appliances took us a bit of time to buy, because they’re big AND they’re pricey! But we definitely saved by buying items at the end of the year. We were able to buy our stove and received the dishwasher for free. Also, we bought our fridge for a much better deal since we bought it in December.

7.  Don’t Go Too Crazy with Patterns or Colors

Remember, your home is your investment and you must always keep this in mind if your circumstances change. Choose colors and combos that are neutral and think if someone else would want to live there if you ever moved.  We also chose a subway tile for our backsplash which was definitely much cheaper than any other fancy tile which saved us money. For color, we just used plants and other kitchen accessories for pops of color that we can always change.

8.  Shop Around for the Best Deal!  

Before starting the whole process, we shopped around to many places to make sure we were getting the best deals. Quality and price go hand in hand when dealing with renovations but it doesn’t mean you still can’t find good deals for great items. We popped into mom and pop shops versus big box stores and sometimes found better deals and vice versa. And whatever you choose to do, be sure to enjoy the process!

Here’s a slideshow of our renovation from start to finish, enjoy!

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