Cheapskates Style Kitchen Makeover
I am a relatively new member of the wonderful Cheapskates Club so I thought I would share my kitchen makeover with you.
My kitchen in this 1960s house just wasn't working for me, so my DINK cabinetmaker son-in-law gave me a quote that a local cabbie could probably do, $10,000 to fix my appalling (his word) kitchen. Well, it was too late, I was a Cheapskate, have always been one at heart really, and on the Age Pension, and so I set a figure of $1,000 to do the job!
The first thing I did was totally empty the kitchen, cupboard tops, pantry, all the cupboards, then I gave everything a good wash.
The counter tops were water damaged and past recovery, splitting and lifting, so I called in a local cabinetmaker, who removed the old tops (not an easy job) and replaced them with new ones, and, because I really needed more counter space, made me a top for the fuel stove, all this for $700.
I discovered that the top cupboards were really fine, just needed a good scrub. The lower ones I gave a good scrub, and then sealed all the gaps inside – with No More Gaps (great stuff) - then got to with the sandpaper and smoothed off all the chips and knocks from the doors and shelves. I painted them with Tile and Laminate Primer and because the tiles above them were a bit shabby, I painted them too. The tiles were finished off with tile paint and the cupboards and pantry doors and drawers painted with a good quality water based enamel. Effort to this stage had cost just $850, so I went to IKEA and bought a small gate leg table to replace my huge clunker, two mats for the floor and some storage bins for the cupboard tops (went a bit mad here, but hey!).
I then replaced all the china and cooking utensils to work where my new counter spaces were and for my $1,000 I have a kitchen I am really happy with, it serves my needs perfectly, will see me out (I am 66 years young) and I saved at least $8,500! Am I cheap or what!
Robyn MacKellar
See my finished $1,000 kitchen renovation:
My kitchen in this 1960s house just wasn't working for me, so my DINK cabinetmaker son-in-law gave me a quote that a local cabbie could probably do, $10,000 to fix my appalling (his word) kitchen. Well, it was too late, I was a Cheapskate, have always been one at heart really, and on the Age Pension, and so I set a figure of $1,000 to do the job!
The first thing I did was totally empty the kitchen, cupboard tops, pantry, all the cupboards, then I gave everything a good wash.
The counter tops were water damaged and past recovery, splitting and lifting, so I called in a local cabinetmaker, who removed the old tops (not an easy job) and replaced them with new ones, and, because I really needed more counter space, made me a top for the fuel stove, all this for $700.
I discovered that the top cupboards were really fine, just needed a good scrub. The lower ones I gave a good scrub, and then sealed all the gaps inside – with No More Gaps (great stuff) - then got to with the sandpaper and smoothed off all the chips and knocks from the doors and shelves. I painted them with Tile and Laminate Primer and because the tiles above them were a bit shabby, I painted them too. The tiles were finished off with tile paint and the cupboards and pantry doors and drawers painted with a good quality water based enamel. Effort to this stage had cost just $850, so I went to IKEA and bought a small gate leg table to replace my huge clunker, two mats for the floor and some storage bins for the cupboard tops (went a bit mad here, but hey!).
I then replaced all the china and cooking utensils to work where my new counter spaces were and for my $1,000 I have a kitchen I am really happy with, it serves my needs perfectly, will see me out (I am 66 years young) and I saved at least $8,500! Am I cheap or what!
Robyn MacKellar
See my finished $1,000 kitchen renovation:
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