I may be crazy, but I’ve decided to do a kitchen makeover – for $100. Holy moly, is this even possible? I sure hope so! I think it is!
Several years ago, I found a lot of people were jumping on board the $100 room makeover challenge. I found so many blogs where people were making over their bedrooms, or living rooms for around $100, and I thought how appropriate for today’s times.
I mean everything is just so expensive these days. Trying to make over any room, let alone a kitchen, for $100? Challenge accepted!
And our kitchen…..
Well, it’s time for an update!
And I do realize that I have to put my money towards something that will give me the biggest impact for my $100. And what better way to do that than paint the cabinets?
Paint is a powerful tool that almost anyone can learn to use. And if I’m doing a thrifty kitchen makeover, I need a powerful tool!
$100 KITCHEN MAKEOVER CHALLENGE
Now our kitchen currently has black painted cabinets. It feels like a cave and always looks dark. And it isn’t the largest kitchen for sure. But we do have enough storage, so I don’t really have to think about adding more storage, thankfully.
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So where is my $100 going in this kitchen makeover? You might be wondering. Well, here is my list of things that I would like to be able to accomplish for this challenge.
- Paint
- New kitchen rugs
- A few new decor items if I have any money leftover
I’ve mapped out my timeline for this one because I want to make sure that I can get this done in 4 weeks. I have got to stay pretty organized to get this thing done. In addition to my regular job, my YouTube channel, writing this blog, 2 horses, 2 dogs and a husband. Not a lot of spare time. But it WILL be worth the time investment for sure.
My Plan For The $100 Kitchen Makeover Challenge
Week One: I will start with removing all of the excess from my kitchen. I want to start with a clean slate, and I mean a REALLY clean slate! So I will be taking down everything, and thoroughly cleaning everything.
This cleaning job will take me at least a day.
And then, I will start painting!
The paint I am using is my most favorite all in one paint by Heirloom Traditions. No need to prime, no special prep work needed. This paint is TOUGH and is easily able to withstand the abuse of a very busy kitchen.
Week Two: Paint the inside of the cabinets
Week Three: If I have any money for decorating, I’ll get a few things or just shop at my house! And then put it all together!
Week Four: Review, and look for any missed paint spots, or areas that need touch up. Clean everything again, stage, and take photos for final reveal!
$100 KITCHEN MAKEOVER CHALLENGE
Just writing this list out is overwhelming to me. I know this will be worth it in the end, but it’s definitely a large undertaking for 4 weeks. I don’t like when areas in my home are out of sorts. And I don’t like doing projects unless I can get them done in a short period of time. Hopefully I’ll get this done.
And here’s some before shots so you can see what I’m starting with.
Kitchen Before:
We will see how it goes. I hope this works out, because if it does, I will call that a huge win, and have a gorgeous ‘new’ updated kitchen! Stay tuned!
$100 KITCHEN MAKEOVER CHALLENGE – WEEK 1
Welcome to Week 1 of the $100 Room Challenge! Yes, week 1 is included in this post because, well – I can’t leave you hanging with just talking about the challenge right? Right! So here we go, for week 1 of my $100 kitchen makeover challenge!
What was I thinking???? Just kidding, but I’ll admit, this is a big undertaking. I know by choosing to paint the kitchen cabinets that I am in for a ton of work! So come along and find out where I am in my one hundred dollar kitchen makeover after the first full week!
Just so we are all on the same page, I have plans to update my kitchen with only $100. You can see all my detailed plans for the next 4 weeks , just look for the updated posts.
I mapped out a timeline to keep me on schedule. So did I stick to the schedule??
One of the biggest reasons I love this is you don’t have to spend a fortune to change the look of a room, seriously.
One Hundred Dollar Kitchen Makeover – Week 1 Recap
And here’s what I’ve accomplished each day in Week 1:
Day 1: Remove all of the excess ‘stuff’ from my kitchen
Day 2: Cleaned all of the cabinets, and degreased everything in the kitchen. This was a much larger job than I thought it would be.
Day 3: Nothing – My favorite show was on tv, and I had a very busy day at work.
Day 4: Nothing – Another long day at work, and I had to edit a video for my YouTube channel
Day 5: Clean cabinet frames with TSP and wipe with liquid deglosser, caulk the seams in the cabinet frames, and give the first coat of paint to all of the cabinets – on the outside.
Day 6: Remove all of the pots and pans from the cabinets, and clean out the pantry and cupboards.
Day 7: Finished the second coat of paint on the outside
So I was actually able to get a large portion of my makeover completed in just one week. And wow – what a difference.
And I made a few changes to the plan:
I decided to make a few changes to the plan.
For starters, I decided not to paint the 2 cabinets that I had added to the dining room area that connect to the kitchen. I decided this for two reasons:
- I want separation of the space. And these 2 cabinets were cheap to begin with, so I want to keep them how they are. I like the way they look different when compared to the gray of the new cabinet color. It provides separation of the space, in my mind.
- And this extra storage that we created a few years ago isn’t going anywhere. I love the extra storage it provides. And they were affordable, I found them on Amazon – can you believe it? Sure they aren’t meant to be kitchen cabinets, but they work. And I love how they offer storage, and a place to keep our big items, like my Kitchen Aid mixer, storage bags, etc. Sure it may infringe on the footprint of the dining room, but it’s only my husband and I now since our children are all grown and starting their own families. So it works fine for our situation.
What I have Spent So Far
Here’s the list so far of what I’ve spent on this 4 week challenge:
Paint: $83.98 (Heirloom Traditions All in One Paint in Stonehenge – 2 32 ounce containers)
Chalk Style Paint Brush $14.95
TOTAL: $98.93, LEFT TO SPEND: $1.07
Awww Snap! Only $1 left to spend?!?!? Well crap! So if I want to do any new decor items, I will have to get crafty with what I already have in my craft room stash.
That should not be difficult though. I mean, have you met me? I have tons of stuff that I can make in my crafty room.
But it looks like my thoughts of adding in new shelf liners will have to wait until the next time I get a little extra money to add to my makeover.
But I am not disappointed, really. By repainting the cabinets, I am getting a pretty substantial makeover for around $100 so I call that a win!
What’s Worked, What Hasn’t
It’s definitely helpful to work in sections. However, I will say that if you have the room to lay everything out at once, I would do it this way at least for the painting. I took everything out of the kitchen, and then I could focus on the cleaning, as well as the painting. It did take 2 coats of paint for the cabinets. Probably because they were black, and I went with a lighter color.
I also started painting with a foam roller. And I think this used a lot of paint. So much so that I had to buy another container of paint. That’s why I had 2 containers of paint instead of one. I think if I would have started with the chalk paint brush, I would have used less paint, and possibly have a little bit more money for my total project.
$100 KITCHEN MAKEOVER CHALLENGE
Ok, now back to the cabinet makeover…
My painting has been going very well. I think because I started this project right by removing everything first, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning has made all of the difference in the world as far as making this makeover project move along a lot faster than even I anticipated. So know I have to set my goals for week 2!
Week 2 Plans
Since I am actually way ahead of where I thought I would be at this point, my plans have changed a bit for week 2:
Paint the inside of the doors
Paint the bottom kickboards of the lower cupboards
Deep clean the floor, and backsplash
If I can knock out all that in Week 2, I’ll be even further ahead in my plans!
Let’s get ready to rock and roll this kitchen!
