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?
Thanks so much for the inspiration & the cost breakdown. I’ve been wanting to remodel our kitchen for 10 years but just didn’t think it was in the budget. Your cost breakdown helped me realize that we can have a nice kitchen for under $10K. I’m starting the plans NOW after seeing your beautiful, affordable kitchen makeover!
I am new to your blog and LOVE it! We have an older home, built 1968, in Carmel, Indiana. We have redone every room accept our laundry room, which I have been putting off, but now you inspired me to complete and our kitchen, which we were expecting to spend $25,000 on renovations. I love your kitchen redo and the fact that you went with IKEA cabinets, AWESOME. We have talked to the professionals at IKEA and have decided that is definitely the way to go. I am so excited to see your total cost on your kitchen makeover. Now I feel as though our complete kitchen makeover is closer to coming to fruition than I first thought. Thank you for sharing.
You did a great job with the kitchen. It looks beautiful and well planned. Don’t you just love the pantry pullout unit? I like your spice holders for the upper cabinets. We often Use Rev-A-Shelf add ons and just put IKEA’s doors over them. I have an IKEA in the old Nexus Birch front and its at least 10 years old. It still looks good and holds up beautifully. We do offer installations and IKEA designs in Oregon & SW Washington. For people questioning IKEA’s durability and quality….. Don’t be. They have a 25 year warranty that covers just about everything. Well done on your website.
It blows my mind that people spend that much money renovating a kitchen!! $50,000 is crazy! If you take the time to do research, you can find things at a fraction of the price. When we redid our kitchen, I started by making a list of my favorite things (which I’m sure could have added up to $50,000!!) and then one at a time tried to similar things for a cheaper price. If you hunt hard enough, you can get an amazing redo for an amazing price..and isn’t the hunt part of the fun anyway?!
Rhoda, I’m installing a similar spice rack as an upper in my little kitchen. I notice you used a knob on the door, do you find it hard to open? I want to use all knobs on my doors and cup pulls on drawers but my husband thinks a knob might make the spice rack kind of hard to open. Any issues with yours? Thank You!!
No issues at all with opening it with the knob. It’s very smooth gliding.
I LOVE your kitchen. You did a great job!
Beautiful kitchen! Can you please share what color of grout was used in the subway tile backsplash?
HI, Pamela, here’s all the info on the backsplash! Thanks!
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/how-to-tile-subway-tile-backsplash/
Can you tell me the color of your subway tile and grout color? Is the tile a bright white or an off white? I’m having trouble picking a backsplash to go with my kashmir white granite counters and your backsplash looks great. Thank you!
Hi, Sharly, the tile came from Floor and Decor and there’s a pic of the box in this post (Interceramic is the brand, look at the pic outside by the tile cutter) and it is an off-white not stark white, as well as all the info on the grout color, which came from Lowes:
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/how-to-tile-subway-tile-backsplash/
Experienced home-buyers know that most homes have something that needs to be restored.
Antonio can be a child who love to discuss his expertise about home-based business.
It could be daunting to first time home buyers.
We remodeled our old farm kitchen2 years ago with Ikea cabinets, buying also with a 20% off. Our kitchen went from a tired old farm kitchen probably more than 50 years old to a glamorous kitchen straight out of a magazine. Kitchen is 16×16 with a 5 x 8 island, granite counter tops, white farm sink and faucet from Ikea. My husband put the cabinets together and we (literally) hung them. First one was a bit trying, the rest however were a piece of cake. I would highly recommend anyone who wants to upgrade their kitchen to check into Ikea.
I love your home and your style. We did a Phase I small improvement to the kitchen and in the next couple of years will continue and probably finish in the next Phase. Although I’m not in love with the style door of our cabinetry, we will re-use them because frankly we have solid cherry cabinets and I can’t bare the thought of replacing them “just because” and spending more when we have good quality. My question is designing the kitchen. We would like to move things around a bit and I have a hard time picturing things and drive myself crazy. Is there a website/tool you are your readers use to help you plan the placement of cabinetry/appliances? I’d appreciate any feedback.
*or your readers
Hi, Lisa, space planning can be challenging. Ikea does have an online design program that does help visualize things, so you might try that and see if it helps. It shows the plan from above and also from different angles. It does help in seeing how the room will look.
Okay, I will check it out. Thank you for getting back to me. God bless! 🙂
I played with it in the wee hours of this morning when I couldn’t sleep, ha! Although measurements of cabinetry I’m sure will vary, it did really help me to get a visual. Thanx so much!
I’m so happy I found this! My fiancé and I just bought a house with a renovated kitchen (orange/brown granite, bronze details, mismatched backsplash, etc.) and I absolutely hate it. It’s substantially smaller than your kitchen, so I think we’ll be able to do it for about half the price – possibly less. You just made my day. Err, YEAR.
Hey Rhonda! I loved reading your post! I do have a question though, I originally planned on doing darker cabinets for my kitchen but am recently considering doing the white shakers like yours. Do you like them still? Are they easy to keep clean and would you do white again? I have 3 kids and we’ll have more children, am I crazy for leaning towards white??
Hi, Jessica, I’m sold on white and love a white kitchen, so there was not another choice for me. I don’t have any problems keeping them clean. They can be wiped down easily. I’m sure with kids you’ll have some getting dirty but they are easy to clean up. I definitely would do it all over again!
Hi Rhoda!
Your blog caught my eye because I recently redid my kitchen on a very low budget. Your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous! It’s a passion of mine to do projects for the lowest possible cost with fantastic results. For my 10 x 10 kitchen. I paid $6,500 for new cabinets, granite counters, sink, faucet, disposal, hardware, installation, removal of old cabinets, removal of half wall and re-connection of appliances. I am thrilled with the results. As many people commented, you can have a beautiful kitchen without a huge cost! Again, you have a gorgeous kitchen!
Wow, Grace, you did a wonderful job with that amount of budget. Congrats & thanks for sharing with me! Thank you so much for stopping by, I still love my kitchen every single day.
Wow, I love this kitchen! Did your price include the demolition too? Our kitchen is oh-so-80s so we are hoping to redo it within the next couple of years. I LOVE the open rustic shelves!! Thanks for posting this 🙂
Hi, Rachel, no paying for demo, we did that ourselves.
I am a huge IKEA fan. They make good quality cabinets and just about everything you need for a renovation. Your new kitchen is really beautiful.
Hi! I love your kitchen remodel and I’m looking at doing an Ikea kitchen remodel as well! I like how you built in your fridge with the side panels. Are those from Ikea or did you have those custom made?
Thanks!
Hi, Kathleen, thanks so much, I love my Ikea kitchen and yes, those side panels are from Ikea too.
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful kitchen makeover with us! It is gorgeous! Thanks also for giving us a breakdown on the cost! So many times I see things on blogs I would love to try, but because there’s no pricing listed, I don’t really know if it’s something I could afford. To have gutted the space and created such beauty for under $10,000 is truly wonderful! You have done amazing things with this house! I know you’re proud of the journey and results. Hats off to your dad too, he’s truly a jewel!
Rhoda, your kitchen turned out beautiful! I do have a question however. How did you pay for the renovation? Did you take out a personal load, pay out of your own pocket, refinance? Just wondering what the best options are for us. Thanks xo
Hi, Vanessa, I was very fortunate and had money saved to pay cash as I was renovating my kitchen. I was able to pay for everything as we went along.
You did a great job on your kitchen. I love it! It is very clean and fresh. Absolutely gorgeous and on a budget. I LOVE THAT!