Ways I Saved Money During My Kitchen Refresh

Posting a little later than usual but I wanted to share with you a few things that I have done so far to say a few bucks during what I have now fondly named “My Kitchen Refresh”.

I shared with you here about my bargain paint brushes and primer.  Another obvious savings, was doing the work myself.

Another thing you might have noticed in the after pictures was that I changed out the hardware.  I started with this

And now we have this

{I still can’t stop looking at the before and after – good grief!}  The existing hinges were an antique brass.  Not awful, but it was not going to match the oil-rubbed bronze finish I had picked out for the new hardware.  So, after a little ORB spray paint, they were good as new and they matched.  And yes, I even painted the screws that would be seen – and I did them all at once just like this.

Yes folks, that’s an egg carton.  I just shoved the screws into the styrofoam and then sprayed them all at once.  🙂

As I was pricing out the hardware, I was pretty sure I was going to use the same knobs that I used in our living room built-in update, but I wanted pulls for the drawers.  Why knobs on the doors – a couple of reasons for me – so my kids won’t be as tempted to swing on them like monkeys, it gives things a cleaner look, and if we are being honest knobs cost less.  But back to the pulls.  I found the ones that matched the knobs, and although reasonable ($20), it was money I would rather spend elsewhere.  So, I put hardware on the back burner and kept thinking.  Then I remembered in my newly organized garage, I had a tub marked “household”, and I think in that said tub there are the pulls I took off the living room doors…YES!!  

I liked the look of them, and, even better exactly the right number.  Not so great – antique brass. So, a little ORB spray paint, and voila!!

Boom!!  Saved $20

And, if you are curious about the knobs…they came from Target.  

Yes, their Threshold brand strikes again.  Kind of an unlikely place to purchase hardware, but they really have a nice selection.  These are particular reasonable at a little over $10 for 10 knobs. They are simple but very sturdy.  Perfect for me!!

So, there you have it.  Look for ways to re-use the old stuff, and look for supplies in unlikely places.  

So far the expense break down is as follows

Paint and primer for cabinets and walls –  $100
Painting supplies – $20
Knobs – $35

Not too bad if you ask me 🙂