Aug
The kitchen – how do I create a usable kitchen in such a small space on a budget?
The Kitchen
I love renovating kitchens, especially when I’m challenged with space – which is the case with all units. I wanted to create as much kitchen as possible for a small price! I also wanted it to look stylish and be practical. I met with three cabinetmakers, all of whom were lovely and had some really great ideas. Tradesmen are the experts, since they are dealing with these situations all the time, so I thought I might as well listen to what they had to say.
To keep expenses down we didn’t want to move plumbing, nor electrical wiring, so we were pretty much stuck with the existing layout… or so we thought. Below is what we had existing….
The key things I wanted for this kitchen were:
- pantry;
- dishwasher;
- microwave;
- at least two banks of drawers;
- overhead cupboards;
- an overhang for a breakfast bar;
- caesarstone benchtops; and
- a mix of timber and white finishes.
I am pleased to say that I got everything except the breakfast bar! Had I insisted on the breakfast bar it would have encroached on the dining space, which was only 2 metres wide to begin with!
After going back and forth with our sparky, we discovered that by channelling (which means running the power around the wall in a small groove) we could move the oven/stove and rangehood to the opposite side of the space. That meant we could fit in a pantry!! Yahh. I was so happy.
Our cabinetmaker has great buying power on pre-fabricated board, which means it arrives already constructed, much cheaper than the cabinetmaker having to glue the laminate onto MDF board. So… in listening to him and choosing the product he recommended and could buy at a good price I have a beautiful 2 Pac looking finish and a pre-fab laminate that looks and feels like timber. And I was able to get my beautiful caesarstone benchtop in the latest colour – Fresh Concrete – love it! Love Caesarstone – it passes the red wine test! And you got to like that!
For the kitchen splashback I was going to use the same feature tile as I had in the bathroom, however I decided against that after a change of bathroom tile. Instead, I sourced beautiful rectangular tiles for Amber (Albion store) at a great price and they have been laid in a brick pattern. My tiler was so pleased with me!!!
I love this kitchen!! Below are the pictures of it being installed.
The kitchen – how do I create a usable kitchen in such a small space on a budget?