The kitchen renovation that cost half of what you think
Same layout, better light and three decisions that saved eleven thousand dollars.
The quote came back at a number that would have funded a small car. The finished kitchen came in at less than half, and looks better than the drawing did.
Rule one was refusing to move plumbing. Every dollar saved in this project traces back to leaving the sink exactly where it was.
Where the money actually goes
Cabinet carcasses were kept and refronted. Countertops were the single splurge, chosen in a remnant yard rather than from a catalogue.
Lighting did more visual work than any other line item, and cost less than the tap.
The lesson, repeated by every contractor interviewed: the expensive part of a kitchen is never the kitchen, it is the walls behind it.
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