(click on photos to enlarge)
An old built-in-place hutch was cut down in places, given a new counter, and provided with a set of pullouts. It has a nice old fashioned look, but functions much better as a main food prep area.
Affordable Custom Kitchens
Though custom kitchens can be and often are quite expensive, there are a variety of strategies to reduce cost.
1. Keep it simple. This is the first rule anyway: develop a simple, compact, smart layout. It will be more efficient and pleasant to work in than many large and more costly layouts.
2. Do your own finishing. It’s not unusual for the varnishing or painting of cabinets to cost $1500 to $2,000 in our shop.
3. More open shelves, fewer doors, particularly in the uppers, though open shelves below are OK, too. This gives better visibility, with no loss of function, and great savings.
4. Simple counters: Regular laminate counters are inexpensive, and function well. Sometimes we make counters out of hardwood plywood, with a beautiful wood edge. We do this sometimes thinking they will be temporary, replaced one day by something fancier. But often they become permanent, as some in my house are, because they are perfectly nice. Or, they can be replaced with slate or butcher block later.
5. Build as you go: Sometimes we build what a family can afford now, and add more later. When more money becomes available, a shelf can be removed, and a new set of drawers slid in its place.
6. No-drawer drawers. We’re experimenting with some Blum hardware which eliminates much of the cost of building a drawer. The drawer hardware becomes the drawer side.
7. Recycle and Reuse:: Old sinks have often found new homes in new kitchens. An old stainless steel drop-in sink can be re formatted as an undermount, and be ready to go for another thirty years. Existing cabinets, an old table, or an old chest can sometimes be repaired and incorporated in your design. All new is nice, but a mix of old and new can be even nicer.
Give us a budget, and let’s see what’s possible. The lead photo under “ecological kitchen” shows some of these ideas.
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