When Jessica sent us before-and-after photos of her kitchen, we were amazed at how far she and her husband stretched a $400 budget. Here’s her note:
I’m always inspired by what I see featured here. My husband Josh and I recently tackled a budget kitchen makeover and discovered that $400 can dramatically update an 80s-style kitchen. That amount covered paint, an electric sander, a jigsaw, hardware, primer, construction adhesive, nails, and beadboard — which is what truly transformed the space. The “before” photo was taken before we moved in, so please excuse the old light fixture and furniture. We disliked the faux wood paneling under the bar and along the cabinet sides, so we covered it with beadboard and painted it white. It was simple to install, especially since we had the boards cut at the store and borrowed a tack gun, and it’s our favorite part of the whole project. For paint, we used Benjamin Moore’s Mountain Lane for the green and Sherwin-Williams West Highland White for the white. There’s more about the kitchen redo on our blog. Our next project is preparing a nursery — we’re adopting a baby from Russia — and I can’t wait to see how yours turns out. I’m sure I’ll pick up more ideas. Thanks for all you do! — Jessica (& Josh)
Here’s their kitchen before the renovation:
And here’s the same space after about $400 in improvements:
It’s an impressive transformation. Jessica and Josh’s enthusiasm for DIY shines through: they chose bold color and used simple materials like beadboard and paint to hide what they didn’t like and highlight the room’s best features. Their project shows that a striking kitchen update doesn’t always require thousands of dollars or professional help — thoughtful choices and a modest budget can make a big difference.
Want to tackle painted cabinets like Jessica and Josh? There are plenty of helpful tutorials that walk you through the steps to get professional-looking results.