If a kitchen with custom-designed cherry cabinets and granite countertops is not in your financial picture, don’t fret. There are ways to add stylish touches to a kitchen while on a small budget. The answer is in the details.
In new houses priced around $200,000, the standard kitchen packages often include laminate countertops, three or four styles of cabinets, and vinyl floors. Many buyers in those price ranges cannot afford to add granite countertops, more expensive cabinets and wood floors. If they could, the bill would be several thousand dollars.
A more realistic approach is to focus on adding a few products from the builder’s list of upgrades. This approach will add some individuality to the kitchen design without exceeding the budget.
Instead of asking about a granite countertop, which averages about $200 a linear foot, stay with the standard laminate and upgrade to a granite pattern. Forget about ordering a more expensive line of cabinetry, but look for decorative wood molding to accent the standard cabinets.
The countertop is an easy place to start adding individuality, as it can be a strong visual element in the kitchen. By keeping the builder’s standard laminate countertop instead of adding granite or solid-surface material, buyers can save several thousand dollars. That doesn’t mean the countertop has to be boring, however.
“You can replace your (standard) laminate countertop with a different color and really change the whole look of the kitchen,” said Julie Saviano, sales coordinator for Lincoln Ridge, a condominium development in Skokie being built by Robin Construction. The development has one-bedroom units base-priced from $209,500 and two-bedrooms, from $249,500.
“Most people don’t think about it because they think it’s a big job to do, but it’s not really as big a job as people think.”
That builder offers a white laminate countertop as the standard. The cost to upgrade to a different color or design is $150 to $400, depending upon the size of the kitchen, Saviano said. The cost in a condominium with a 10-by-12-foot kitchen is $182, for example. “We have solid colors, (speckled) patterns, granite-looking patterns and there are some that look like stone,” she said. “It used to be that laminate was only available in a few patterns, but they’ve expanded so much.”
A laminate countertop also can be accented with a wood trim or decorative edge. “If they’re going with an oak cabinet and floor, they can add an oak edge on the countertop,” said Nancy Klinck, sales manager for Mallard Point in Sugar Grove. “It all ties together and it adds a nice, rich look.” The homes, built by Sugar Grove Associates, an affiliate of Kenneth James Builders, are base-priced from $168,000 to $250,000. An oak edge will add $300 to $600 to the cost of a laminate countertop, Klinck said. Countertop edges also can be rounded or have a beveled edge, which is angled along the front of the countertop.
While kitchen cabinets upgrades can cost several thousand dollars, there are ways to change the look of the cabinets for a few hundred dollars. Decorative molding around the top of the cabinet or near the toe-kick area can create a sophisticated look that pulls together the overall cabinet design.
Molding is designed by cabinet manufacturers to match the look of the cabinets. Among the popular styles used above the wall cabinets are dental molding, which resemble rows of teeth, and molding with ornate carvings or detailed scrolling. The height of the molding also will add dimension to the cabinetry.
“You can go anywhere from 3 inches to 5 inches — it depends on how detailed they want to get,” Klinck said. “It gives a nice finished look to the top of a cabinet.”
Another option is to vary the height of the cabinets, said Kathleen Eiben, vice president of sales and marketing for Streamwood-based Kirk Homes, which sells townhouses base-priced from $120,000 and houses, from $180,000.
Instead of having 36-inch wall cabinets throughout the kitchen, a consumer could add a few that are 39 or 42 inches high. In an L-shaped countertop design, a taller cabinet in the corner would draw attention to that area. A taller cabinet on each side of a range or at each end of a countertop also would make the space more visually appealing.
“People are doing a lot of customization in the kitchen,” Eiben said. “Even in the lower end (housing) we’re seeing them picking a few of these things to give the kitchen a customized look.”
The cost to upgrade cabinets, perhaps by adding more expensive doors, varying the cabinet height, adding crown molding and a few glass doors is approximately $2,000 to $3,000, depending upon the size of the kitchen, Eiben said.
Adding an island is another way to make the kitchen more interesting. This option is only available in floor plans that are large enough to accommodate an island. “It depends on whether they’re going with a 4-, 5- or 6-foot island and whether you upgrade the cabinets, but it can be anywhere from $200 to $1,100,” Klinck said.
The island adds storage and work space and provides another focal point in the kitchen. A buyer may choose to use a different, but complimentary, color on the island countertop to further distinguish the space.
The cabinet doors are another place where details can go a long way. Builders often include cabinets with standard white or brass knobs or pulls. There are a variety of other styles sold at home improvement and specialty stores, however, that can add more design to the cabinetry.
“Sometimes people have a particular theme in mind, like southwestern, so they want little chili peppers,” Saviano said. While Robin Construction does not sell decorative knobs and pulls, they are sold in retail stores for $2 to $30 each, she said.
Buyers would install the knobs or pulls themselves after moving in. They should decide what style they want and ask the builder to drill holes for them before they move in, she said. “Then they have the holes in the cabinets and they’re centered.”
Another way to add individuality in the kitchen is to create a black and white motif with the appliances, Saviano said. “Your refrigerator would be white with black handles and the dishwasher would be white with a black insert panel in the front.”
The top part of the stove would be white, while the door, handles and background of the control panels are black. The cost to add different appliance panels instead of having all the appliances in the standard white, almond or bisque is $100 or more per appliance, she said.
The trick is to create the color combinations without making the kitchen look too busy. Saviano suggests keeping the countertop pattern in a solid color. “It could be a fire engine red countertop, but a solid.”
Ceramic wall tile also can add some design to a kitchen. At Lincoln Ridge, the cost to add a tile backsplash between the countertop and wall cabinets on two walls is $400 to $500, Saviano said. “We offer almost any color under the sun,” she said. “You could do white cabinets and white countertop and put a multi-colored ceramic tile in the backsplash.”
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Allison E. Beatty is a Chicago-area freelance writer. If you have questions or information to share regarding new home buyers’ product and design choices, write to Choices c/o Chicago Tribune, New Homes Section, 435 N. Michigan Ave., 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611.
