Suggestions on what to do with my old kitchen

[Di1]

Hi there, I'm now thinking of my kitchen reno, having almost finished my tiny bathroom.  (Will post pics of the bathroom as soon as it is painted.)  Inspired by the makeover kitchen posted recently which now looks fabulous, btw, wondered if anybody could suggest a makeover for my old kitchen.  I am now on a very strict budget and so wanting to save as much money as possible but yet do the very best I can with it.  Here's a couple of pics of it.  The room is quite large.  I have an old wood stove in one corner and the picture of the kitchen sink and window just shows it on the left hand side.  I am wondering whether to have it removed and try and sell it and then take away the mantlepiece but that will cost money on its own!  Help!  Keeping it there means I lose valuable counter top space.  Any suggestions would be helpful, thank you.

  

[Jason · Accepted solution]

Hi @Di1,

Great to hear that you've made fantastic progress with your bathroom. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

What a classic kitchen you have! I take it you are planning a kitchen makeover rather than a full-blown renovation? What do you think it needs? And have you got a rough idea of your budget? This will help our members provide more useful advice. 

Thanks,

Jason

[ProjectPete]

Would love to throw a few ideas in @Di1 

Is there anything in particular you'd live to have in it? Is this somewhere you'll live for a while to come? What sort of budget do you have?

These answers and anything else you can tell us will help determine if you're looking at a facelift like @Jason shared, a mini reno on a budget like I recently did - https://www.workshop.com.au/t5/Kitchen/80s-kitchen-reno-on-a-budget/m-p/22993 or something more.

[Di1]

Thanks to both of you! What I want is to get rid of those old cupboards and counter tops, firstly. The counter tops are far too narrow, the cupboards are not lined and the lower cupboard shelves are now not straight which means things tip over and you have to try and find a level bit to put anything on. So not keepable! I've had a look at Bunnings kitchens and although some of the cupboards seem quite budget-priced, when you drill down you realise that each cupboard has so many add-ons to the price, it works out that they are not cheap at all. I just want a clean serviceable cupboard. I will forsake all the trims due to my budget. I would love timber counter tops as in your suggested pics, but again can I afford it? My budget? I have about $12,000, not much more. I will make do with the stand up stove. It's not so bad. I have my fridge already. I would need a new sink and I was hoping for a large pantry-type cupboard in one corner of the kitchen, perhaps on the opposite side to the sink. So it's the cupboards and counter tops, really, that I need to replace. God only knows what the plumbing is like once you reveal it if the bathroom is anything to go by!!!!!!! I also wondered whether I will be better off keeping the cupboards in the same style, following the walls around the kitchen or could I be a little more daring and inch out into the centre of the room with some kind of cupboard? Does this make any sense to you at all?. Oh, I will be replacing the floor with vinyl and painting the ceiling and walls, of course, plus light fitting and all the trims.

Oh, re your question on how long I'm likely to stay there, I'm thinking two or three years, try and sell it and move to a larger town where there are more facilities, etc.  I'm in my 70's now but I bought this house as a project for myself as I wasn't ready to go into decline yet and I'm enjoying it in a nightmarish type of way but I just want to get it to an acceptable, functional level.  I'll let the next owner put the frills on it.

[redracer01]

I've done a rough calculation with your budget in mind :

5,500 kitchen cabinets, doors, hinges, handles, kickboards and benchtops ( Gloss white doors, laminated bench tops )

320 for your vinyl floor

99 sink

99 tap

190 for 2 cans of 15ltr paint

240 for 6 cartons of tiles

80 for 2 bags of tile glue

23 tile grout

100 new lights

50 new power points

500 for the electrician

500 for the plumber

2000 for the kitchen installer / flooring / tiling / painting

180 delivery

Estimated total of : $9,881  ( round it off to 10,000 for miscelaneous items, silicone, nails, KFC etc... )

Estimated turn around 2 weeks if the gods align the planets and there are no delays.

Oh I did forget something! The appliance pack oven and cooktop! Add on about $800 for a ceramic cooktop and oven package.

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Here's some purty drawings!

[Jason]

Amazing work once again @redracer01. You’re a star. I’m sure @Di1 really values your input. 

Jason

[ProjectPete]

@redracer01 has given you plenty to work with @Di1 but just to answer your question about timber benchtops...on a budget, very easy to do however a) your max width is 600mm with the project panels and you may end up with too many joins depending on length of benches as the project panels are limited in length (usually 2200mm max).

Don't underestimate how much you can do with $12,000 - it's a very reasonable budget and you'll obviously save a lot by doing your own painting. Even vinyl floors are simple enough to install, it'll just depend on your skill and your will as you'll spend a fair bit of time on your knees and bending over while you do it.

Keen to see what you end up doing!

[Di1]

Hi @redracer01 and @ProjectPete - Firstly, to Redracer01, thank you SO MUCH for mapping out my kitchen for me. You've followed the original plan for the cupboards. I thought that I should do that, too, for budget reasons but then started imagining how nice it would be to put an added bench in the middle. You've brought me back down to earth, Redracer! I notice you've calculated on the cupboard fitter costing about $2,000. I doubt I can find somebody to do it for that price around here. In the last few years, Sydney house prices being what they are or were, quite a lot of people have come up to Coonabarabran and bought much cheaper housing. However, tradesmen or very handy work men (or women!) are very thin on the ground in these country towns and the ones that are here know their value and charge accordingly. Having said that, your estimates are very handy for me because I had no idea where to start. You've set it all out for me! I can now take the plan into a local kitchen cupboard place and see what they can do for me cost-wise. It looks like you think I'd be better off keeping the old wood stove and just retiling around it and even boxing-in the oven portion to make it look tidier. Also, the bathroom guy who's just finished my bathroom is going to give me a quote for fitting the cupboards so I'll see what he says. The bathroom and kitchen are the two main rooms that I think are essential. I've done other things, too. There was an old air conditioner fitted into the wall - didn't work and needed to come out which left a huge hole in the wall. I had to have a new wall there and a new aircon put in a little higher up. That cost me quite a bit. I also had to have two external doors taken out and new walls put up. That also took a portion of my budget. I had to call in the plumber yesterday to repair a leak in an outer pipe (a lot of the pipes are on the outside of the house). He had to put in new copper piping but no cold water from the kitchen tap! Turns out the previous owner had connected the cold water in the house to the water tank outside! I had noticed there was no force when you turned it on. Anyway, my worry now is that if we have another drought summer like last year, my tank will run dry. The plumber suggested I keep filling the tank up with the hosepipe but I can't get up there to fill it. It's on a tall platform. That leaves me with wondering whether I'm going to have to pay for connecting town water up! Some nasty surprises in this house! Well, that's where things stand at the moment with my reno!

Thank you, too, ProjectPete for the kind words. I needed those! Feeling a bit worried that I can't do as much as I planned. The best laid plans of mice and men, etc etc!

[redracer01]

Please take a photo of the water tank ( whole thing including stand ) and post it on the site so we can have a look.

[Viena]

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Well I was inspired by @redracer01 to upload some pics of design suggestions.  The drawing is a little limited so imagine your fridge/freezer where the huge twin door fridge is, and your existing wood stove and mantle where the fireplace is.  Other than that, and having to guess the room dimensions, this is a real kitchen - all the parts, including stovetop, rangehood, oven, sink, mixer, microwave, worktops and all the cupboard parts and pieces (shelves, handles, hinges, a light in the corner cupboard) are included in the total which worked out to $7381.  *The cupboards are white, not grey as they appear but the image doesn't work with this.  What it doesn't include is splashbacks, wall paint/tiling and if you updated the floor or lighting. You would need to add the cost of installation (unless you un-flat pack it yourself which isn't too hard), plumbing and electrical work, and demolition/ removal of the old kitchen.  Personally I would keep the wood stove if it works; it becomes a luxurious addition when you have an electric oven and convection cooktop for everyday use.  Have you looked at what these things cost to buy/ install!? If your budget/ plumbing allows I would swap the drawers next to the sink for a dishwasher to take it to the next level (last pic). This is a functional, easy to use kitchen with all the critical elements in easy reach of each other.  I assumed that there was a door on the other side of the kitchen to the rest of the house.  An overhang on the benchtop and some breakfast bar chairs would also fit well in this design. 

Something to think about.  Good luck with your renovation!