Affordable Modern Kitchen Entry: The kitchen that google built
There is no doubt that the internet can be a great resource for any remodel on a budget. I would wager that I spend almost as many hours researching products online as I actually do installing them. Wes stresses how important google was for a resource for him too.
Our kitchen suffered from an inefficient layout (no counter space) and the adjoining rooms weren’t getting used as much as we’d like because the floor plan wasn’t very open.
After DIY remodels of both of our bathrooms in the past 2 years we decided we were up to the task of tackling the kitchen (so we gutted the entire thing and started over.)
We replaced old appliances (oven, stovetop, fridge and rangehood) with energy efficient ones. We replaced old laminate glue-down tiles with laminate wood flooring to match the rest of our house. We opened the doorway between the kitchen and dining room from 3 feet to 7 feet (dramatically opening up the space) and opened up the kitchen footprint by combining an unused adjacent room. New lighting was installed and electrical updated. Every surface was replaced… walls, ceiling and floors. New cabinets and diy concret countertops.
The keys to our affordable kitchen were planning, the internet, smart purchases and ikea…. and the internet… did I mention the internet.
As weird as it might sound, I can’t imagine tacking this on my own without the power of google. Any time I had a question, felt stumped, or needed a photo or video reference along the way I was able to get help on the internet. Sites like ikeafans.com, thathomesite.com, youtube, froogle (for price comparisons) apartmenttherapy.com and countless other blogs and community sites all served as the ultimate reference library and source of inspiration. The availability of information online was solely responsible for giving me the confidence to tackle pouring our concrete countertops myself.
Patience, planning and flexibility also helped when researching and waiting on deals to become available. Our LG fridge was nicer than the frigidaire we planing on purchasing but was available at half its original price due to a model closeout deal plus the extra 10% plus rebates Home Depot was offering when we stumbled upon it.
• Our sink was purchased on ebay (HUGE savings)
• backsplash tiles from an online supplier (mosaictilesupplies.com)
• cabinets and some accessories from ikea
• dishwasher was reused but relatively new (from a bandaid reno on the kitchen a few years back)
• range was a special purchase sale item at hhgregg (almost half of retail)
• laminate flooring was special ordered but on sale 20% off (had to find a good match for our existing flooring in the rest of the house)The photos I’m attaching are the latest we’ve taken… we still want to get some art up on the walls (specifically around the desk area) but we’re very happy with how it all turned out.
Before during and after photos are up on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/wesc/sets/72157605825434732/
as well as some progress posts on our blog wesandsarah.com
Approx price $9,000
This desk looks like it is a counter top on top of two ikea uppers (maybe over fridge cabs?). I totally want to steal that idea.
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18 Responses to “Affordable Modern Kitchen Entry: The kitchen that google built”
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Love that backsplash! Great color!
The desk was actually a late addition to our kitchen remodel. We looked for a desk that would work well along this wall but wanted something that would look more integrated than anything we found. I loved and was inspired by this custom built floating desk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/uniform-studio/2429320036/) and knew I could create something similar with Ikea’s cabinets.
The desk is made up of 2 - 18″x36″ fridge cabinets, 2 - base cabinet cover panels (each was cut in half to make the 18″ height), and 1 - tall cabinet cover panel for the desktop. The cabinets house all the wires (cable modem, wireless router, external HD, printer, and scanner) and allow us to keep the desktop much cleaner than our previous desk.
The backsplash tile is “VERANDA BLEND ™ - Colorways ™ Glass Mosaic Tile Blends” from mosaictilesupplies.com
Looks beautiful. Do you have a resource for the DIY concrete countertop directions?
Chris,
I’ve had several people on other forums ask the same thing… Here’s my response:
As far a resources go, I think most everyone agrees that Fu-Tung
Cheng’s books are the best place to start (links below):
http://www.amazon.com/Concrete-Countertops-Design-Finishes-Kitchen/dp/1561584843/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221236919&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Concrete-at-Home-Fu-Tung-Cheng/dp/156158682X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221236919&sr=8-2
He also has a pretty thorough website where he sells his products ad
mixes: concreteexchange.com
I watched his dvd to see someone actually go through the process of
building the forms.
That said…. I didn’t use any of his mixes or formula. I ordered a
new product that quikrete sells that includes all the water reducer,
plasticisers etc. in a premixed form.
http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/CountertopMix.asp
A few other resources online that were very helpful:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/splatgirl/sets/72157594221836338/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Concrete-Countertops-for-the-Kitchen—Solid-Surfa/
http://www.concretenetwork.com/anne_balogh/installing_concrete_countertops.htm
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/how-to/articles/build-concrete-countertop-forms.aspx?nterms=62276
I wouldn’t say that it’s easy but I’m the type of person who will
research something until I feel comfortable and then jump in. It’s
definitely a DIY-able project.
I polished with hand pads only (no power grinding to expose aggregate
in the concrete). I purchased these pads:
http://www.calibrestonetools.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=P011%2DS1SET%2D03
I sealed with Cheng’s sealer and waxed with his wax product:
http://store.concreteexchange.com/CHENG-Concrete-Online-Store_5/Finishing-Products/CHENG-Concrete-Countertop-Sealer
http://store.concreteexchange.com/CHENG-Concrete-Online-Store_5/Finishing-Products/CHENG-Concrete-Countertop-Wax
Hope this helps point you in the direction you need. Let me know if
you have any oher questions.
Are the cost of concrete countertops included in your 9000.00 budget?
Hey Wes, thanks so much for the ton of helpful info on the concrete counters. Looks like I have some reading to do!
Oh, and one more question: what kind of sink?
KBolden:
Yes. The budget includes the countertops (the materials for the countertops were probably about $500 of that.)
Chris:
The sink is model T5131 from this ebay store:
http://stores.ebay.com/Premium-Sinks_Kitchen-Sinks_Single-Bowl-Sinks_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ977323QQftidZ2QQtZkm
I have personally been in this kitchen and it is awesome!
Wow!, I like it
April L.
Hi Sarah!
Oh, I wish y’all had not done this. Once Terese sees it, she’ll add “Remodel the Kitchen” to my TO DO list!
The kitchen looks great!
Awesome Kitchen.
Great job! I love the color scheme.
Terrific!! You are so talented!! What an amazing job of quality and co-ordination!!!
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Great job!
[...] Affordable Modern Kitchen Entry: The kitchen that google built … [...]
[...] to Wes from South Carolina for their winning entry “The Kitchen that Google Built“. Wes was able to do an amazing job on his kitchen through a lot of hard work and searching [...]