I’ve never been too shy about talking about how much I spent for things, so as promised, I figured I’d do a breakdown post of the kitchen costs. Would you like to hear that? I know most people love hearing how much things cost (I do!). I want to see if things are affordable or how much something costs in other parts of the country. I’ve heard so many stories about people spending $30 to $50K on a kitchen renovation and I know a high-end house would be so much more than my humble fixer-upper, but my kitchen came in really well-priced, so I’m sharing the details. I’ll list them all at the end. Ya’ll like details, right?! Me too! So, let’s take another look at the kitchen BEFORE and you can really appreciate the breakdown of costs on the new one. I should have taken more of those, but only took a few at the beginning before we tore it all out.
Take note of the door we took out that went to the living room. NO regrets on taking that out either. This is where my big bank of base cabinets sit now and my pretty rustic shelves.
This one definitely needed plenty of work and I’m happy that we replaced everything. No regrets about that!
Now, again for the AFTERS!! We’ve had some really dreary weather lately, but I opened up the blinds and took some more shots with no lights so you can see even more detail. This is not a huge kitchen at 7’ wide by 13 1/2’ long, but it’s very functional and the layout has proven to be super efficient. In other words, I love my kitchen! Paint color is Fennel by Pratt & Lambert, but I had it mixed at Sherwin Williams, they have the formula too. Kitchen bamboo blinds are from Payless Decor (I’m an ambassador for them) and are Java Vintage, lined with privacy shades. I love them!
The island fits nicely in front of the windows and is handy for taking things in and out of the fridge. Chevron runner is from Ballard Designs and it’s an indoor outdoor, perfect for a kitchen.
Fridge side with built in cabinet around the refrigerator. So glad I opted to pay a little more and get that done too.
The over the fridge cabinet has plenty of room for storing things I don’t use all that often, but are still easy to get to.
Sink base and dishwasher side. I’ve got plenty of room in the glassfront cabinets for my glasses on the right and my every day dishes on the left. I’ve had questions as to why I didn’t take the cabinets all the way to the ceiling. Simple answer is that Ikea cabinets are not made to go all the way to the ceiling. They recommend placing them at least 4 to 5 inches below the ceiling line. Now, it can be done and regular crown molding can be added to make them all built in, but that adds more cost to the project. When I hired my installer I didn’t ask him to do that or figure in the cost, but he said it would add more cost and time to the job. I just decided to do it with the small crown running around the top and for this kitchen, I’m totally fine with it. Cutting crown molding right can be a tedious job, with walls and ceilings that are not level (as I’m sure is the case in this older house). If I wanted, I could probably go back and add that later, but really I’m very happy with the way it looks.
It really is a nice kitchen to cook in. I bought a pull-out caddy garbage can at Lowes and love that. I’ve had these for years and can’t live without one now.
Sink and window. Love my Ballard Designs green glass pendant over the sink.
Almost forgot the little spice cabinet. It was ordered online and my installer fit a small door front onto it and I added a knob. It was the perfect 6″ filler for this space and I’m really glad I got it.
Sink is a Blanco Silgranit Super Single in Metallic Gray. I ordered it from Blanco to Go.
I love this deep single bowl sink. It can handle the biggest platter, pan or pot. My faucet is Moen Annabelle in oil rubbed bronze and it was given to me by Moen.
The right side with the bank of lower cabinets. One of the things I had my installer do was build in this little 12” open cabinet at the end of my base cabinets. Otherwise, that would have just been wasted space. I opted to take the cabinet all the way to the window sill edge and I think it looks fine. It certainly doesn’t block light from coming in these 2 huge windows and my blind tucks in behind it just fine. Having a dedicated space just for platters and cutting boards is great! These big pieces take up so much space otherwise. I think I’m going to take a cue from others I’ve seen who have Ikea pieces and fill in those little holes with caulk. That would make them disappear even more.
This side of the kitchen has plenty of countertop space for prepping and cooking.
Those rustic shelves from Southern Accents (Cullman, AL) are another fave of mine. So glad I saved them for this project and they just make my kitchen. Those lower cabinet drawers are something else. That feature is definitely one of my favorite things about an Ikea kitchen. The drawers glide like buttah! And the soft close? Get out. Love that feature too.
OK, here’s a good look at those big drawers. There are two in each cabinet and they pull all the way out. I have all my pots and pans in this one.
And the one above holds all my glass bakeware and measuring cups.
To the left, more plastic storage pieces, colanders, baking pieces.
And my plastic and glass storage piece drawer. I have room for it all.
My shelves are fun to change up, but for now I like them simple with a few pretty pieces on top. These shelves are 4′ wide and 12″ deep. Since I got the question about the spacing on the shelves, I’ll answer this: My ceilings are 8′ tall. The top shelf is 17″ from the ceiling and the bottom shelf is 17″ below that. The bottom shelf is 23″ from the countertop and the brackets are spaced 3′ apart (shelves on top are 4′). This was all done by eyeballing the shelves as they were put up by my BIL, Bruce and I’m very happy with how they are placed on the wall. Here’s the post showing him putting them up. The iron brackets are also from Southern Accents and they were screwed in with long screws into studs, so they are very secure.
I added one of my vintage paintings to the back of this shelf and love the extra texture and color.
The big pantry sits right inside the door and I’m so glad I had room for it too.
These 5 pull out shelves hold so many things.
I haven’t even filled up all my cabinets yet. The lazy Susan on the bottom corner cabinet hardly has anything in there. Nice to have room to spare!
The top has a few bottles of oil and vinegar handy but it’s nowhere near full either.
The over the microwave cabinet is extra deep and can hold some out of the way pieces that I don’t need all the time.
And, the cabinet to the left of the microwave holds all my pretty green bunny dishes for now. To go cups up top. That’s a complete tour of this Ikea kitchen and I really couldn’t be happier with it. I would recommend an Ikea kitchen to anyone looking to have a pretty kitchen on a budget. It has all the bells and whistles I need.
Ikea Kitchen Breakdown:
Ikea Adel cabinets cost, including hardware (with their 20% sale price) 14 upper and lower cabinets, plus pantry: $4,133
Spice Cabinet pullout from here: $75
Labor to Install cabinets: $1,075 (included installing microwave, extra open cabinet for platters/cookie sheets, bridge over sink, building out the cabinet over the fridge). My installer was Victor Marti, at 678-983-5550, here in Atlanta area. I would highly recommend him.
Ikea Microwave: $200
Maytag Range: $657
Refrigerator: $810 (bought with a $750 giftcard from Lowes) Big blessing!
Dishwasher: Installed by the bank when I bought the house.
Sink: Blanco Silgranit Super Single in Metallic Gray. I ordered it from Blanco to Go, but they seem to be out of business now. But, if you’re looking at Blanco sinks, check the internet for pricing as it changes all the time. Here’s a link to Amazon with pricing. I paid $359.
Pendant Light: $56 (from Ballard Designs outlet)
Kashmir White Granite: $1,300 (Purchased from Legacy Granite in Alpharetta, GA: when I bought it was $32/s.f.) Faucet: Moen Annabelle oil rubbed bronze (given to me by Moen) Another big blessing!
Subway Tile: $125 including tile and grout (Bondera tilemat was sent to me for free). Tile is from Floor and Decor, Interceramic, in Bone. You can see all the tile and grout info on this post, Subway Tile and Backsplash.
Total Cost of Kitchen: $8,790
Not including flooring in this price, since the whole house was done with the same flooring. This is just kitchen cabinets, fixtures and appliances. The cost of the rustic shelves was $125 from Southern Accents, but I had already bought those 2 years ago, so I’m not going to add them to the kitchen cost, even though I used them in there.
That’s really not bad at all for a full kitchen of this size, don’t you think? I know most average small kitchens can’t be done for less than $10K, so I feel really good about what I spent on this one and very thankful for the help I got from sponsors too. I’m so grateful that I had the cash to pay for it as we went along, what a blessing that was. Just thought you’d like to know how much a kitchen like this costs. It’s more than I thought I’d pay originally, but overall very decent for a pretty kitchen that I’m totally happy with. Hiring the installation added some cost to the kitchen, but I’m SO happy I did that too. I can’t imagine how tedious and hard it would have been for me and my dad to try to tackle that alone. Sometimes you just have to know when to hire the professionals! I’d love to hear your experience with kitchen remodels. Have you remodeled a kitchen? How did costs compare with mine?
Ivy B. says
I, too, have been looking at IKEA kitchens on their website. My issue is how I decide what look I want, and if I should have them do all (measure, install). I have a small 8′ x 9′ KITCHEN WITH EARLY 70’s cabinets. It’s a mess, really. I also need to have the existing cabinets taken out. I am a single gal, who is fearful of being ripped off by any local people. You hear such awful stories. I’t’s pretty clear that have trouble “pulling the trigger” on this project. Any calming advice would be greatfully appreciated.
Rhoda says
HI, Ivy, I have no regrets about my Ikea kitchen at all. I’m really very happy with them. I found a local installer and that might be your best bet too if you can find someone recommended to you who can install them for you and probably put them together too. I know that Ikea can do both, so compare costs. The more you compare costs and find out the entire breakdown, you can then make an intelligent decision. We did manage to put them together ourselves, but didn’t feel at all comfortable with the installation, so just get a cost comparison on all those steps and then decide.
MJ says
I’m with Ivy. Since my husband died I’ve been ripped off 6 ways from Sunday.
Mostly because i just want to ‘get it done”!
But after looking at your great makeover, I hear the kitchen in my 70s ranch mumbling about it being time for a change. And now I think I have someone reliable who will do it for about what you paid
But I want to sell the place and move to something smaller, and if i put in a new kitchen all the rest of the house will look that much shabbier. Sigh.
Caught between a rock and a hard place.
But I’m bookmarking your post for the next house because it’s the best kitchen makeover I have seen. Well done. Kiss your dad for me, willya’?
MJ
amy r says
I was curious about your demo costs?
Rhoda says
HI, Amy, we demo’d ourselves, so no demo cost.
Ivy says
DID YOU JUST WHACK AWAY? I’m afraid to start the demo and possibly ruin the plumbing or electricity.
Rhoda says
Hi, Ivy, yes we just started ripping cabinets off the wall and out of there. No problems with any of that.
Dacia Daniels says
Gosh, this is such a warm and happy place– I’d want to find room for a chair or stool so I could just sit in there with my coffee and enjoy the charm! Wonderful job. (p.s. I hope you add the crown moulding later; I think it will be icing on the cake!)
katy says
I love love your kitchen. I just decided to do an Ikea Kitchen and your blog has helped me get great ideas 🙂 Thanks so much!
PS: I also have a few (filler spaces) where I could use that spice rack. What did your installer use to put a door on it?? Was it a piece from Ikea? I am not sure how I would put a door on it or where I would find the material.
Thanks
Katy
Rhoda says
HI, Katy, the door on the spice rack is a skinny door (probably a 12″ one) that came from Ikea. I just bought an extra door and my installer cut it down and added the banding around it. NOt sure how he did that, but banding is what he did. I’m sure a good kitchen installer could do the same for you.
Mandy says
Been so upset that Ikea didn’t sell a 9 inch cabinet for my filler space! but I’m so glad i found your blog. So your installer just purchases a plain white board from ikea to cut down to size? and you love the look and function no regrets?
renovations are so stressful. I just don’t want to make the wrong decisions. =/
Thank you.
Rhoda says
Hi, Mandy, yes he cut down a 12″ door front for my 6″ filler piece and did a great job. I have no regrets about any of my Ikea kitchen and would do it again.
katy says
Thanks so much! One more question, which lighting did you use for under the cabinets? I heard they are just plug ins but I don’t see where you plugged yours in? they look great!
Rhoda says
Hi, Katy, I bought some under cabinet LED lights from Lowes that plug end to end and had an electrician put in outlets that are hidden inside my cabinets to plug them in. The plug end to end and we have them tacked up underneath and plugged into those hidden outlets. I actually ran wire behind the molding of my window on the sink side, to hide the wires and they are continuous plugins. It’s good to have an electrician do that part so they can get things just right.
Leah C. says
Your kitchen is just lovely! We recently re-did ours which was also a total gut job and I love how it came out. I have a blog post about it here.
http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-kitchen.html
Our cost was a bit more than yours, but we got custom cabinets of alder wood, higher end crown molding as well as more expensive granite, but I still think our cost was great. We spent just under $13,000. I adore my kitchen and though it’s not big either the galley style is SO wonderful to cook in, which I do for hours a day. Would love it if you stopped by 🙂
Carpenterken says
Definitely an improvement although misleading on the “cost” of an “entire” kitchen renovation.
You didn’t include or mention the cost of the under cabinet lighting , or the electricians cost . Unless the electrician was an uncle or brother you probably paid at least an additional 500.00 / 750.00 for just his labor . Overall cost close to 1,000.00.
Also new flooring is a huge aspect to an “entire” or “full” kitchen remodel , even in a small space such as this one your looking at an additional 750.00 /1,000.00 labor and material.
Your installer also was extremely “cheap” considering he did some custom work . The average cost of this job would be higher than you paid , most likely nearer to 1,500.00.
You probably spent closer to 11,000.00 if you added the floor and “entire” electrical cost . You say the kitchen is 7 feet by 13 feet ? Based on the cabinets I see in the photo’s where exactly are you measuring from ? Front of cabinets or wall to wall?
Rhoda says
Ken, the undercabinet lighting was around $100 for the lights (off the shelf from Lowes & on clearance) and I hired an electrician who I paid by the hour (and yes, he was very reasonable), so that cost was minimal. He worked on other things besides the kitchen too. So I didn’t pay anywhere near $1000 for under cabinet lighting or electrician. More like $200-250 total (that was the only thing I think I didn’t include in the total). I didn’t add in the new flooring because that was part of my whole house remodel. I broke this down just by kitchen costs because that is usually what most folks are looking for. Everyone doesn’t always replace flooring in a kitchen, so I didn’t include that cost.
I measured floor space in my 7 x 13′ dimension. So, yes, front of cabinets.
Carpenterken says
Rhoda, “Most ” electricians familiar with codes or that do it for a living full time don’t work for less than 25.oo per hour , many are near 35/40 , which is closer to an average per hour price for labor . I would assume the job took close to a day in labor if he added outlets installed the lights and as you say some “additional work”, so indeed he must have worked very cheap.
Under cabinet lighting can vary significantly in cost , typically LED is the choice for the longevity of the bulb life , however also costs more . I’m assuming your under cabinets are “not” LED , if they are there must be only a few fixtures even at a clearance price.
I just finished a kitchen with 5 wall mounted cabinets this required 4 under cabinet lighting units to disperse the light correctly . Installation also required some minimal cabinet alteration underneath , also hardwired a transformer and dimmer switch underneath the cabinets. Those 4 LED lights at a 40% off retail price ,along with the transformer and switch ,plug ins and wire , ran close to $ 600.00 “ONLY MATERIAL” . They were Kichler and high end admittedly .
Your kitchen looks good and you achieved what you wanted it appears , in the end it’s what “you” wanted and live with . “But” you had some items donated if I recall and your labor cost is below the average by about 25-35% , it’s hard to tell the quality of work from a photo at this distance . My contribution is “only” to alert others expecting to duplicate your kitchen they may indeed pay a bit more for the same amount of labor and materials. In closing my labor cost runs about 30.00 per hour and at that rate I am almost always the “cheapest” bid. Good day and thanks for the reply.
Sue says
Rhonda,
Love it! We gutted our 90’s white washed kitchen and put in an ikea kitchen two years ago. I love everything about it! It’s a dream cooking in it. We put a 24″ deep cabinet above the frig and it holds cookie sheets, griddle, 9×13’s, ect. We have the roll up metal cabinet that hides all our paperwork/mail. The corner cabinet with the pull outs is amazing! I have all my appliances in there: food processor, crock pots mixer, pop corn machine, blender, fry daddy, ice cream maker….lol. We are planning on buying a mobile home in Florida and doing an ikea kitchen there, as well. You can’t beat them on storage and it’s easy to be creative with “Hacks”. We used an eight inch extra space to add shelves for cook books. Awesome company!
Sarah says
I love your kitchen. We just purshased a 1920 small story book cottage. We gutted the kitchen and will be installing our own ikea kitchen. Yours offered some great ideas. I will be including the spice rack pull out and take inspiration from your selection of knobs and handles on your cabinets. We purshased new appliances,so our costs will be more than yours. Thanks for your post it was very helpful.
Sara says
I love it! I am also in Atlanta. Who did you have do the flooring in the house? What was the cost of the flooring? Which company did it? Also, do you know an inexpensive but good general contractor / handyman for renovations? We just bought a major Fixer-Upper “Handyman’s Special” in East Cobb, and the place needs to be gutted!
Rhoda says
Hi, Sara, here’s a whole post on my flooring and the person who installed them is at the end of the post, complete with name and phone number. Installation cost for the flooring was $2500.
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/week-15-hardwoods-installed/
I did get a great deal directly from Shaw for my flooring, so I didn’t purchase from a local retailer. I don’t know a really good handyman for renovations. Best of luck to you on your house reno too!
Carmen says
Hi Rhonda,
I love your new kitchen. I live in Bay area. Do you have an installer in the area that you recommend?
thanks!
C
Rhoda says
Hi, Carmen, sorry but I don’t know anything about your area.
Eowyn West says
Hello Rhoda,
Your kitchen looks amazing and it must be such a joy to be in it everyday! Maybe it was mentioned somewhere but I could not find any mentioned of where you bought your hardware for your cabinets. I love your drawer pulls & knobs. When you have a moment can you kindly share some info. on them please? Thank you so much. Many blessings to you in your home!
Rhoda says
HI, Eowyn, it all came from Ikea. Thanks for stopping by!
Eowyn West says
Thank you so much for the information, Rhoda! Take care!
Jocelyn says
Rhoda, your little kitchen is perfect! Can you tell me where you got the cabinet height lazy Susan? Was it already part of the IKEA cabinet? Thanks!
Rhoda says
Hi, Jodelyn, the lazy Susans in the corner cabinets are all from Ikea. Thanks so much!
Emily says
Hello!
I think you did an amazing job – your kitchen turned out absolutely lovely. I’m not sure you’ll even get this post from me or respond considering you wrote this blog back in January. I have just one question really because my husband and I are about to embark on renovating our 9 x 10 kitchen and we are also planning on going with Ikea cabinets as they are running their sale again right now. My question is – How long did the entire project take? I would just like to get a rough idea. I would love to be able to finish our kitchen on time for Thanksgiving but I’m not sure if that is too ambitious. Thanks for any input. Sincerely – Emily from Wisconsin.
Rhoda says
Hi, Emily, thanks for stopping by my kitchen. I still love my Ikea cabinets and would do it all over again. Great, that you are getting in on the sale, I did the same thing. i think you could possibly get it done before Thanksgiving, if you have plenty of days to work on things. I’d say mine took about a week total once the cabinets were put together. I had to go back to Ikea several times to switch things out and find little parts, etc. THat’s just going to happen on kitchen remodels like this, so be prepared for that. I had extra panels to buy, had to do some refiguring on a couple of areas after we got started and I had a cabinet installer come and do mine. He did most of it in 2 days, then had to come back another whole day to finish up once I had all the correct pieces. There are things that have to be cut and installed on site and he did a great job. If you’re doing countertops and backsplash, then of course that is going to take longer, but I think you could get it all done in 6 weeks or so if you keep moving on the whole project. Good luck!
Andrea says
Very lovely kitchen! I love the countertops and cabinets that give a almost see through look. We built (literally!) an Ikea kitchen when we lived in Germany, since it’s customary for people to take the kitchen with them when they move. Ikea has great, affordable, nice looking pieces. They’ve really stepped up and provided some high end looks with a budget price. I’d love to do a kitchen makeover, while our house is only a year old, everything had already been builder ordered when bought it (boo).
I like white kitchens because they are timeless and it’s very easy to add color through accessories that can easily be changed.
susan says
Great job! I see someone had already asked…can you please let us know which subway tile you chose? Everything looks fab!!!
Rhoda says
Hi, Susan, my subway tile was from Floor and Decor, Interceramic IC Brite in Bone & it says 110 by the Bone name.
Bliss says
Beautiful transformation. Now I have sink envy!
Lori says
Rhoda – your new home is unbelievably elegant and beautifully done, especially your kitchen. I have been drooling for 2 days over your renovations! I tried to find your sink with the blancotogo.com link that you have above, but it isn’t a working link. Have they gone out of business? Thanks for sharing your life with us.
Rhoda says
HI, Lori, thank you for stopping by! Evidently Blanco to Go is out of business and I saw a few bad complaints about them, so I’m glad I didn’t have issues with my order. Here’s a link to Amazon, but do your research online before you buy. The prices on these things are constantly changing. Look for a company who seems to have a good reputation and you can definitely save money by ordering online.
http://www.amazon.com/Blanco-511-653-Diamond-Kitchen-Metallic/dp/B0002YXQV4
I love my sink!
Amanda Brajevich says
Hi! I have a few questions as I am starting my own Ikea Adel remodel in my 1958 fixer upper! Your blog has been great for information and your transformation is beautiful!
How did you do the divider in your small open cabinet at the end that you’re keeping baking sheets in?
Any advice on how you built in your dishwasher? Did you use two “cover panels” to frame?
Thanks!
Amanda 🙂
There might be more Q’s later 😉 haha
Rhoda says
Hi, Amanda, thank you! I love my kitchen. I used a 12″ cabinet base for that open cabinet for baking sheets with an extra panel for the divider. You can buy all of that separate. I just got the 12″ cabinet with no door. My installer built in the divider by cutting it and adding it. My dishwaher is flanked by the sink cabinet on the left and the large fridge panel on the right, so nothing else was needed. Hop that helps! Feel free to ask more.