When we were thinking about redoing our kitchen, the first thing that we had to consider (besides what we hoped to accomplish) was how much we could spend. Seeing as we have a small income, we always try to design for the biggest bang on the littlest buck.
We had hoped to replace our kitchen cabinets before putting on a new counter top, however the price was way beyond what we could budget for. Our cabinets still function, and since we had painted them they look much nicer than they are. We decided to keep them, and focus on finding the best counter top for our budget.
I had actually seen the Wilsonart HD in a home that was being remodeled in my parents neighborhood. Luckily the owner was excited about what he was doing, and more than happy to show us around and give us the low down on all the products he had used. The kitchen counters in the home used to be laminate from the early 1990s. When we first walked into the new kitchen we really thought it was stone! So when he told us what it was we knew we had to look into it. After all, it was being used in a home that was worth 3x more than ours.
Sure enough when we saw it in person at our local Lowe’s we were sold. Not only was the price going to fit well in our budget, but it was a product that we knew would look amazing in our kitchen! A stone look and feeling, with out the stone price tag. We decided to start saving up in hopes to do the kitchen in the summer. Luckily for us, Wilsonart donated our counter top and our integrated sink as part of their Ambassador Program (learn more at the Lean Remodeler). We were thrilled to learn that we would be able to get our new kitchen much sooner than expected.
Like most people with bigger dreams than budgets, we always want to make the biggest impact with the money we do spend. It really helps that we are handy and can do a lot of the work ourselves, since labor can cost quiet a bit. One thing that we have learned over the course of making our home our own is that it really doesn’t take much to make a big impact! Paint, simple accessories, and even doing just one big change (like a counter top, or new flooring), can refresh a space without breaking the bank.
What about you? Do you have big dreams and a small budget too?
Absolutely….
We have learned patience. Take one project on at a time, keep it in budget, plan like hell, expect the worst and collect along the way all the parts that will be needed to make it happen. This is where the patience part comes in.