Our kitchen remodel is done! It’s been such a crazy and fun learning experience for me. This was the first kitchen I’ve even designed from scratch and now that I’m on the other end I can’t wait to share with you all that I’ve learned. I’m sitting in my little home office (technically our dining room) as I type this and the kitchen is just to my right. I can turn my head and see the cement tile flooring, the reclaimed wooden open shelving, the copper accents and I just can’t stop smiling. The kitchen surpassed all of my expectations in function and form. Being in it, cooking in it, and even just staring at it makes me unreasonably happy.
I’m excited to spend this whole week sharing the whole process of the kitchen remodel with you guys. I took so many photos and learned so much along the way, that instead of doing one stupid long post and trying to cram everything into to one big-ass reveal, I thought I’d parse it out in more bite-sized pieces. So this whole week on the blog will be dedicated to bohemian kitchens, our bohemian kitchen and the remodel so that you all may share in on the process, from inspiration to budgeting, planning, layout, accessorizing. I am basically creating the posts that I would have like to have read before embarking on this mission myself. So here goes. Today I’m gonna talk about budgeting and layout.
Before I get too deep into discussing budgeting, however, I’d like to put a few things out there. Being a design blogger definitely has its perks–and having the opportunity to work with brands and get free stuff is pretty high up on that perk list. Before embarking on this remodel, I approached some of my favorite brands to help out…and some of them actually said yes. (I LOVE YOU LOWE’S!!) Sooo, our overall budget for the remodel was 32K but had we not received the sponsored goods, the actual cost would have been closer to 42K. (no joke!!) When discussing budgeting and costs over the course of the week, I will use the actual costs, so that things don’t seem cheaper than they actually were, and anything that I got a sponsored will be clearly marked as such. So now that we got that outta the way, let’s talk about mah GORGEOUS kitchen!
Here’s the before:
The kitchen was a very small galley kitchen with laminate flooring, faux pretty much everything, that brown tile (oy), and, the worst part, a ‘laundry room’ right in the middle of the space. From the second we saw this house and decided to put in an offer, we knew that the laundry room situation had to be the first to go.
What I didn’t know was how much that would cost. You see those pipes going up the wall? Yeah, I had a feeling that was bad news. It wasn’t just a wall we wanted to knock down, but a wall with gas, power and water lines. Yeeks. I also knew that this kitchen project was way above my pay grade so we decided to hire a contractor to guide us through the process.
We met our contractor last year. I was being crazy and I interviewed a handful of contractors to see about knocking down a wall in my rental kitchen. I even wrote a blog post about it here. Of the four contractors that we met with, instead of giving us a bid to redo our rental, our contractor looked us in the eye and said. “Don’t do this. Don’t spend your hard-earned money on a rental. Buy a place, It doesn’t matter how small. Just buy a place and when you do, call me.” Six months later they got the call.
I had done a bit of research and had read that a total kitchen remodel should cost between 5%-15% of the home’s total value. We bought our home for $587,000 (read about it here) so according to that figure our total kitchen remodel should cost around $58,000. YIKES. We definitely couldn’t afford that, so we met with our contractor and made a plan that we could afford.
Here was the plan:
So apparently there is some kind of golden triangle when it comes to kitchen design–you can read about it here but the gist is that there should be a ‘work triangle’ between the sink, the refrigerator and the stove to create a kitchen that functions well. This layout fit that concept perfectly. So here were our ideas:
-The open shelving up top would save us money on cabinets–which are pricey (plus we love the look).
-We’d keep the sink on the back wall so that we didn’t have to move the water lines.
-We’d demo the laundry room, currently in the center of the space, and move the washer and dryer to the garage.
-We’d create a pony wall and make a breakfast bar on the peninsula between the kitchen and the living room.
-We’d move the refrigerator from the corner near the living room to the side and put the range in the peninsula, and add in a Kitchen Work Triangle.
-We’d add a window on the wall above the sink (window not pictured because we added that on later).
He quoted us 28K for the whole project and said unless we added extra stuff on, the price would stay there. (This also included some electrical work and refinishing floors in the living room, den and dining room). We were to provide the tile, the wood, the countertops and the appliances. His team would take care of the rest. We salvaged the existing dishwasher and sold the other appliances, and the very next day our kitchen looked like this:
It was exhilarating and pretty nerve wracking too. Then here we were a few days after that, when the wall dividing the living room and the kitchen came down. I was REALLY glad we weren’t living here yet while all of this was going down.
And then once the whole space was empty, we could start the fun part…putting it all back together… Which we will discuss more mañana :D
Please let me know if you have any questions!! Also, all week on the Jungalow Instagram we will be gramming boho kitchens and kitchen inspo so be sure to follow along.
Sources:
To get everything you could possibly need for your kitchen remodel, go to Lowe’s.
For tiles, accessories, and everything else we used, check out this post.
Top Photo by Danae Horst for the Jungalow
#JungalowByTheRiver kitchen remodel created in partnership with Lowe’s
Doesn’t even look like the same kitchen! It’s beautiful. Copper Power!
xo,
Melanie
eeee! Thank you so glad you like it!
Where did the backsplash tile come from? What is it called? Thanks! LOVE it!!
It looks incredible!! I love how vibrant and watery that gorgeous tile is! I am so excited to finally see all of your hard work!
Thanks Caitlin! We were so nervous about the tile. It looked SO dark–we had so many moments when we wanted to exchanges it–but in the end we are SO happy with how it turned out. :)
Please tell me the name and or color of that backsplash!!!
I know you posted the website.. But I’m having a hard time finding it!!
a) The kitchen looks incredible! So warm, and so very you. Enjoy every moment in it. Or just looking at it.
b) Love your writing. Very detailed, honest, informative..overall, I’m so freaking tired from our own remodel, that the fact I am physically able to read about yours, not look through but actually read, AND enjoy the writing, speaks for itself))
c) Golan sounds like a great guy.
Thank you so much for these kind words–they mean a lot to me!!
Your kitchen turned out so beautifully! I know it was a pain, and spendy, but it’s so worth it!
I have been waiting for this!! That tile is just gorgeous.
I’ve been following your remodel on instagram- I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate these honest numbers you gave us! There’s nothing that bugs me more than seeing complete remodels when the homeowner doesn’t give details about the actual project cost. Also- I loved seeing the numbers in comparison to the cost of the house…..so thank you for that!
This project turned out so so great- I love that you trusted your gut and went with green! Definitely not a color we see much of in kitchen design. Can’t wait for the followup posts- this is all really amazing! Nice work- so incredibly swoon worthy.
I’ve been anxiously waiting for this post, and boy! it was worth the wait.
The whole process of your buying a house and now decorating it is and then SHARING the experience is beyond amazing.
I’ve mentioned this on your IG thread, but could you please show a layout of Jungalow by the River? For those of us living small, it would really help!
Cheers!
Hi Susie!!
Yes I will add this to tomorrow’s post!!
Hope it helps :)
I love your story of how you knew he was the right vendor. Those amazing vendors that speak candidly with you are so freaking helpful. The only such person I’ve found is my electrician, but I am NEVER letting him go.
LOVE the green backsplash tile! Could you give us more detail on the type of tile and color choice? Lovely lovely kitchen, congrats!
Check today’s post! I’ve linked to our tile post from a while back!
The end result is amazing. You’re making me consider coloured tiles for my walls now instead of the white metro ones ive picked out…im in the middle of a kitchne reno – its hellish! Dust, no water, building regulations. If mine looks anywhere half way as lovely as yours i’ll be chuffed to bits. How you managed to cope with cats and kids i dont know! Love your blog – its really inspiring and different.
Maxine
Thanks to the FB post I just got caught up on your job and your life. This looks so amazing, so much fun. Thank you Golan for convincing you guys to buy!!!
So happy to be catching up on this reading!! Has it been tomorrow already?
Off to check the rest of the saved mail!
I’m so kitchenvy! I want Moroccan tile floors and a farmhouse sink and everything!
justina! this house used to keep me up at night because it is so dreamy and cute and i remember finding out that YOU were the one who bought it (working with you at the yeah! furniture pop up!) and feeling so excited to see how you would transform it. the kitchen is sooooo perfect! great work :)
Awwww sweet yes we are very happy here :) thanks for the kind words and see you in the neighborhood!
love your kitchen! Can you tell me where you sourced the shelf brackets? They are very interesting.
Yes please! I love them! I am in australia and ADORE your site. Cant find any brackets similar here:(
I really like the green tile backsplash, I came across these I think they are are some nice kitchen tile backsplash at tilemarkets, you gotta check them out. I think it makes the space looks flashy and would be interesting to work in that area.
Can’t find a link to the info for the tile.
all sources are here: http://www.thejungalow.com/2015/08/boho-kitchen-reveal-the-whole-enchilada.html !
Please leave the sku# is the backsplash tile.
Because I’ve been looking of and on for about a year now. And can’t find.. It certainly can’t tell which one it is!😘
Hi, gréât résult, I suppose you envoyé il a lot.
M’y wifés trying to find the same green tile backsplash. Would you give us Nay help to find it anywhere ? (Reference, shop, …)?
Tank you !
Hugo
Omg this is my dream kitchen!
When i saw this i was like, i`m going to by a house and I’m going to get the kitchen! Love this.
Justina.. really Hats off ! Your kitchen looking so amazing. It turned out to be a perfect dream kitchen!
Wow! Love what you’ve done with it – looks amazing.
Just check out the new varieties of marble and tiles… they looking perfect for the kitchen and bathroom !!
Beautiful kitchen designing ideas.. green tiles for kitchen tiles like this post very much.
Beautiful kitchen designing ideas.like this post very much.
it is amazing I like this kitchen I want also like that
hi this blog is so beautiful and the kitchen is amazing patterns
this blog is relly have bonanza article its really good.
Thanks JUSTINA BLAKENEY . You saved my life.
My wif has been asking for Kithen design from so many days. However just visting to your blog has given me every thing that I need…. You are savious
Amazingly accommodating post. This is my first time i visit here. I found such an extensive number of captivating stuff in your blog especially its trade. Genuinely its unprecedented article. Keep it up. You can also try home remodeler for more amazing details.