The Cost of Sprucing Up My Old Kitchen

Four years ago, I bought a little house that I loved, though it was full of questionable design choices.

This year, I received an unexpected tax refund thanks to a work-related travel deduction. Once I knew I was about to come into $1200, I went back and forth between several options: Save it! Invest it! Pay off debt! Go on vacation! After a Saturday afternoon spent in front of the computer browsing Sears, Amazon, and Lowes, I went with a fifth option: home improvement.

Four years ago, I bought a little house that I loved, though it was full of questionable design choices. Every room was painted a dark shade of mocha that made the small rooms seem even smaller. A navy carpet covered the original pine wood floors. The updated ceramic tile shower is amazing — but there’s no bathtub. And the kitchen—I had to turn off my senses when I went into the kitchen. The old wood cabinets were painted a blinding shade of glossy white, plus the mocha walls and red Formica counter and backsplash that I suspected dated back to the 1980s, maybe even the 1970s (I looked it up recently and found the pattern in a catalogue from 1953). I had a vision of gutting the whole thing and tearing out the wall between the kitchen, dining room, and second bedroom to create an open-concept masterpiece.

The masterpiece was not in my budget. I settled for new paint throughout the house and I used my own two hands to tear up the ugly carpet in the living room. I accepted that it would be a really long time before I could afford to make the kitchen look decent. For that reason, I decided to treat myself to a dishwasher. If I had to have an ugly kitchen for the rest of my life, at least I wouldn’t have to spend hours there washing dishes. I chose an 18″ Frigidaire model ($560) that would easily fit into what was at that point a column of drawers next to the sink. And if the counter had to come off to put the dishwasher in…might as well replace the countertop. I researched recycled glass and concrete option (about $2,000 for my 8.5-foot space) and custom laminate (about $400 and ugly). I settled for a 10″ prefab sold at Lowe’s for $110. The color is “Kalahari Topaz.” It is surprisingly nice. Together, with taxes, those two items were $737.

My next expense would be installation fees. Lowe’s was not an option because they only work with existing plumbing and there had never been a dishwasher in the house. I played with the idea of DIY installation and was quickly shut down by someone who knows better: my Dad. He sent $200 for the sake of my kitchen not being destroyed by incompetence. I have a reliable handyman who works side jobs on weekends who quoted me $600 to install everything and suggested I buy a new faucet ($117) in order to improve water pressure and to make the installation according to code. He came at 11 on a Sunday morning and brought a friend. They didn’t leave until 6 that evening. At the end of the day, he tacked $40 onto his fee for miscellaneous plumbing supplies. I had to ask him to hold my check for a couple days, and then I requested another $180 from my Dad. Buying the new faucet had blown the budget (though it did solve the water pressure problem).

Behind the Formica backsplash, there were ancient, and in some places, crumbling, plaster walls. I lived with them for a couple weeks before spending $160 on Smart Tiles in Minimo Cantera, which I installed myself. I skipped over the step of preparing the walls, which I will probably regret at some point in the future. I just really wanted those tiles up.

I’d painted my wrought iron table and chairs red in order to make the red countertop look like it was supposed to be there. One week after the install, I rushed out for five cans of white spray paint ($35) and redid it to go with the new look. I also bought new canvas ($14) to recover the chair pads in teal.

I don’t have to spend as much time in the kitchen now because of the dishwasher, and when I am there I get to enjoy a calming neutral palette. However, the project is not complete. I still need to invest in Smart Edges to finish the backsplash, as well as caulk to seal the counter and backsplash. I bought a gallon of paint for this room two years ago and can’t find it (it’s the only room still in the original mocha). I’d also like to see if it’s possible to make the cabinets look better with new doors or a coat of paint.

As of now, I’ve spent $1,703 on this project. The room looks bigger and I actually enjoy walking into it.

Rachel Mack is a writer and therapist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She collects her writing at rachel-mack.tumblr.com.

Previously:

On Not Shaving My Head For a Cancer Fundraiser

Support The Billfold

The Billfold continues to exist thanks to support from our readers. Help us continue to do our work by making a monthly pledge on Patreon or a one-time-only contribution through PayPal.