You’re picking out a new home and, naturally, you dream of including the ultimate kitchen with high-end cabinetry, granite countertops, a large island and the latest appliances.
Your budget, however, dictates some restraint. How can you achieve a well designed look without spending a fortune?
There are many ways to achieve this goal. The key is in the details and how well the materials and various design elements blend together.
Kelly and Bob Rakosnik took a moderate approach in picking out their kitchen when they bought a house from Smykal Associates. The four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bathroom home is in Park Place of Oswego, where the base price of homes ranges from $215,000 to $276,900.
The couple found a standard kitchen plan they liked that had a large island and plenty of cabinet space. They spent less than $1,000 to add decorative elements and some extra storage features in the kitchen.
The Rakosniks added crown molding on top of the cabinets, rollout drawers in the standard tall pantry, rollout bins for recycling, and a customized Lazy Susan storage system.
“You don’t have to have custom cabinets to get a custom look,” said Kelly Rakosnik. “You just start by accentuating the basics of what you’re installing.”
While kitchen options will vary by builders, most builders have several choices in their standard cabinetry, countertop and other product lines.
It can be costly to upgrade the main kitchen components — cabinets, appliances, countertops, and floor.
With kitchen cabinets, this is particularly true when selecting thicker doors, extra storage options and cherry wood instead of a more standard maple or oak.
By choosing standard cabinets and enhancing the room design in other ways, a home buyer can keep their costs low. In a 10-foot by 12-foot kitchen, for example, a home owner can save $1,200 to $1,800 by using a stock cabinet, said Alan Zielinski, owner of Better Kitchens, Inc., a kitchen designer based in Niles.
There also are ways to use stains to mimic the look of certain types of wood cabinets.
“Instead of paying 10 to 15 percent more for cherry cabinets, you can do a standard maple with a cherry finish,” Zielinski said.
Another way to add a high-end mood to a standard kitchen design is by varying the heights and depths of the cabinets. This adds a customized look and eliminates the sometimes monotonous wide row of cabinet boxes along one wall.
“It’s thinking outside of the box and using standard items and turning them different ways or stacking them differently,” said Trisha Fotsch, a kitchen and bath designer with SpacesandViews in Highland Park.
This mix and match approach can be achieved in any kitchen. As long as the builder is willing to make a few changes, it is easy to break up the standard 36-inch cabinets with a few 42-inch cabinets.
A 42-inch cabinet can be added on each end of a row of 36-inch cabinets, for example, or placed in the corner of a row of 36-inch cabinets. The extra height will add storage space and create a more dramatic look.
Cabinets that are 42 inches high instead of the more standard 36-inch height will cost an extra $500 to $800, depending on the builder and cabinet manufacturer.
If the kitchen includes an island, home buyers also can change the layout of its cabinets.
“A lot of people put three cabinets facing one way,” Fotsch said. “I’ll put two cabinets facing one way and one facing the opposite way and a little wider so the island becomes a different shape.”
Another way to enhance the cabinet design is by adding glass doors to help showcase special glassware and bring extra light to the room. Or, the home buyer could remove a few doors and leave the space open or hang a decorative curtain across the space.
“Maybe you remove some doors so you have open cabinetry facing an adjacent hallway,” Fotsch said. “As you walk toward the kitchen it invites you into that space.”
Cabinet hardware is another inexpensive addition to the kitchen and one that can make a dramatic difference. Instead of selecting the builder’s standard round knobs for the cabinet doors, a buyer can choose from hundreds of styles and finishes. Decorative knobs and pulls are priced from $5 to $30.
“Even if your appliances are not stainless steel appliances, having a little metal on the cabinet hardware adds a little interest,” said Helen Velas, president of Eleni Interiors, a design firm in Naperville.
The top of the cabinets also can become a focal point. Decorative molding is available in rope, dentil, and other styles. The cost to add molding is about $250 to $500, depending on the size of the kitchen and style of molding.
The countertop is another main kitchen element and one that can be an expensive upgrade. Many home buyers like the look of granite or solid surface countertops, which can add $2,000 or more to the cost of a kitchen.
Another alternative is to select the builder’s standard laminate countertop and spend a few hundred dollars more for a custom color with a granite pattern. A decorative wood or beveled edge will enhance that design for an extra $100 to $300.
Those who insist on a solid surface material for the countertop, however, can save by selecting a solid color.
“The more solid and plain the color, the less it costs,” Zielinski said. “When they get a pattern that looks like granite, they will pay a higher cost.”
When selecting a kitchen floor, start by looking through the options in the least expensive floor material, which is vinyl. This is sold in 12-inch squares or as one sheet that covers the entire floor. Smykal Associates, for example, includes sheets of vinyl as standard in their kitchens.
The cost to upgrade to ceramic tile or wood in the kitchen, foyer and nearby powder room is about $2,000, said Peggy Taheri, vice president of sales:
“Some people like the idea of sheet goods in the kitchen because they have pets and children and it’s easy to maintain.”
Those who want a stone floor can reduce their costs by buying ceramic tile that resembles stone.
“If you want a stone floor, there are various ceramic tiles that look like limestone or a tumbled marble,” and cost 30 to 50 percent less than natural stone, said James W. Livingston, president of Smartrooms Inc., a kitchen design firm in the Merchandise Mart. “The labor to lay it is the same–the price differential is in the material.”
Appliances can add significantly to the budget, but there are options that can give buyers the look of stainless steel without the $5,000 to $20,000 cost of a commercial appliance.
Many manufacturers have introduced stainless steel into more moderate price lines or sell stainless steel panels that can be added to the front of an appliance.
When buying through a builder, the cost to upgrade to moderately priced stainless steel appliances will range from $800 to $1,500. Another option is to order a wood panel from the cabinet manufacturer and have it installed around the refrigerator to mimic the look of a built-in refrigerator.
“You can take a free-standing refrigerator and box it out and achieve at least a similar look to a built in refrigerator look,” Livingston said.
Among the other cost saving options are:
– Painting and stenciling walls instead of adding tile. This can work for the walls or just the backsplash wall section between the wall and base cabinet. “Instead of putting tile on the wall you can do stenciling,” Zielinski said. “That reduces the cost and then you are not married to the tile.”
The savings can be sizeable. “Normally, tiling might be $800 to $1,200 and they’re doing it for the cost of paint,” Zielinski said.
– A drywall niche. Many builders will add a square or rounded niche in the wall where a kitchen table will be place. This draws attention to that area of the kitchen and add an interesting storage option.
– Decorative columns. Ask the builder about adding a few columns to flank the opening to your kitchen. The columns can be simple rounded designs or have more ornate carvings near the top.
It also is wise to shop around for storage options.
“A lot of times someone will go to a home center and buy a set of storage organizers that will be less expensive than buying them through the manufacturer,” Zielinski said.
