Here’s what you can do with your kitchen remodel budget

So you want to remodel the kitchen and have a firm budget set. Now, what can you get for that money?

If you’ve had contractors visit your home to make bids, you may have been surprised at what the price might be for your plans.

Here are some rough estimates of what you can do based on your budget, but keep in mind that every home has different issues and that prices seem to keep going up.

$5,000-$7,000

You can make your kitchen more pleasant, contractors and kitchen designers said, but you can’t buy new cabinets. If you really like your cabinets and don’t have a huge kitchen, you could install new countertops and put in a new sink and faucet.

Or you could refinish or repaint the cabinets, paint the kitchen and put new handles and knobs on the doors and drawers. If you can do it yourself, adding a new tile backsplash can be an easy job or you can do some under-the-cabinet lighting.

What about new appliances instead of all of the above? Some major manufacturers, such as GE and Whirlpool, will even sell you the three big ones — stove, refrigerator and dishwasher — in an affordable package. For three higher-end appliances, you could spend $30,000 or more, so a Sub-Zero refrigerator is probably not in the cards.

Redoing the floor is possible if you have a limited area to cover, but even then you can’t do much else. Many of our kitchens flow into other areas and have a lot of square feet to cover, meaning new flooring could break your budget.

$10,000-$12,000

For this amount ,you can remove and replace countertops and put in a new sink and faucet or, if you like the countertops but not the cabinets, reface the cabinets instead.

Refacing works well provided the boxes of your cabinets are sturdy and clean even though the exterior of the cabinets looks dated and worn. During refacing, workers remove and replace all the doors and fronts of the drawers. Sometimes they replace the drawers, too.

The doors and drawer fronts can be done in the style you choose. A veneer of the finished wood that you choose will also cover the sides of cabinets and edges. Hardware and hinges will be new.

You might have money left to do under-cabinet lighting.

$20,000-$30,000

You can probably buy new cabinets, but it will depend on how big your kitchen is and how many you replace. You won’t get the highest-end cabinetry, but your cabinets will be very nice.

You can also install countertops and put in a new sink and faucet. There will be some demolition in your kitchen, but moving walls won’t be an option.

If you can go a little bit over budget, you can get three new appliances between $5,000 and $7,000. You can’t switch from electric to gas, as a modification could cost as much as $1,000.

If you forego appliance changes for now, you can do them later, but leave 30 inches for a range, 24 inches for a dishwasher and a standard opening for a refrigerator.

You can’t redo the floor, but you will probably have money left for a new backsplash or to repaint.

$40,000-$50,000

You can rework the layout slightly and get high-quality cabinets. You can pick a fancier grade of granite or quartz for the countertops. You’ll undermount the sink instead of dropping it in, and you can buy a European faucet with special features for the sink.

You can redo the flooring and remove the soffits in the ceiling and put in taller cabinets than you had before. You’ll put in new light fixtures as well as cabinet under lighting.

You can buy better appliances and maybe add a gas stove and a fancy ventilation hood over the range, plus install a backsplash and repaint.

$100,000 or more

You’ll get everything that $50,000 can buy, but now you can make some changes in the kitchen’s layout, such as moving the sink. The sky’s not the limit, but you can add to the wow factor.

Rework the layout by ripping out an old wall of cabinets to install a new granite-topped island. Maybe you’ll have two types of countertops — granite or quartz, plus a butcher block area.

The new cabinetry will include such features as self-closing drawers, shelves with spice racks and lazy susans and special compartments for silverware.

You can also buy some very nice appliances — maybe a restaurant-style stove or a refrigerator covered with wood panels — but a full-slate of professional grade appliances could cost as much as $50,000, so you’ll have to be careful. You might add a cabinet with a desk for a laptop or a built-in wine rack.

You can remove the soffits with the old boxy fluorescent lighting in them and get rid of the popcorn ceiling. Hang pendant lights over the island. You may have to change the air conditioning ducts and some electrical circuits to do all this.

That new backsplash will be made of glass tiles that go for $20 per square foot. You’ll probably be walking on travertine or hardwood and that new flooring will run into the family room and hallway.

For more homeowner advice, DIY tips and videos, and information about all the projects around your house, home, castle or cabin, visit Arizona’s largest collection of homeowner DIY advice and information at RosieontheHouse.com.

And if you are in need of a quality contractor you know you can trust, visit our list of Arizona’s very best contractors or service providers for your home improvement projects at RosieontheHouse.com – Arizona’s most-trusted referral network.

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