There's a thread called "scrimp on this, splurge on that" that's worth hunting down. A lot comes down to personal choices. For example, one person commented that it's better to stick with polished chrome finish for the faucet instead of one of the pricier finishes. I splurged on the granite, which is a very visible part of the kitchen, and scrimped on the backsplash; splurged on the Thermador range, hood, and DW but scrimped on the LG fridge and Panasonic MW; splurged on decorative $27 knobs for my island but scrimped on $6 knobs for the wall cabinets; splurged with a nice quality (IMO) cabinet but scrimped with tweaking design features, to my KD's chagrin, such as partial overlay cabinets. Also, what's a scrimp to one person might be a splurge to another -- Thermador is sorta snubbed on the appliance forum.

I think the main thing that this forum has reenforced, is shopping around. For lighting and faucets, (csnlighting.com and everyfaucet.com)I did shop online though I would have been happier buying locally.IT just didnt work out that way, and I was pleased with those online vendors. Definitely search for feedback here on the many online vendors. The choices were not as readily available in the stores.
I did also buy hardware online and was delighted with that purchase.(yourhomesupply.com)
As for granite, I think it varies a lot by region. I am in NJ and here some granite yards do installations, but many do not. I went with a much raved about fabricator and their price I think was in the ball park of others, but I had great peace of mind knowing that they were so reputable. The material is expensive, so to take a chance on someone messing it up was not worth it.
WE did not change out our cabinets so I am clueless on that point.

Buy as much quality as you can afford on the things that you will use everyday.

That said, you asked about granite. I think that the different pricing for granite comes from simple economics (abundance/scarcity of the particular colors) and the fact that some places just charge more than others for the same thing. Other than that, I think that granite is granite. I'm not so sure about quality differences. Maybe others on GW are better informed.

Good choice on the sink! I love my Ticor sink.

Any work that you can do yourself will save a lot of money. My DH did the cabinet demo and all the painting. Also, he installed the laminate floor. Big savings there.

Our cabinetmaker made the comment recently that what he's seen happen frequently is that people splurge during the early parts of their remodel but towards the end they get "splurge-burnout" and end up scrimping on the things that are most visible to themselves and to others. So great plumbing and great wires but cheap fridge, for example. We thought that was an interesting way of thinking about the splurging...and the cutting. On the other hand, we're not convinced we want to cut too much on some of those unseen things--but maybe we'll learn more about ways to do that as we get further into it. We're still in about the same stage as you so not a lot of real experience yet. It seems to be a never-ending review of decisions...

"Saving" money is a complicated thing. Yes, you can go cheap on many items but they will not last, causing you to re-do at a later date and, probably, ending up spending at least as much by having to buy twice as you would have to buy quality the first time. Don't go in with the mindset of "saving a buck or two," rather, what is the best (quality) I can afford.

If your budget is limited...

IMHO, the first think you can do is look at what you can do now and what you can do later.

• E.g., If you need new cabinets, it's better to get the best you can up front. Your kitchen usually revolves around your cabinets...sets the style and feel for your kitchen as a whole. Note that door style and finish often have a big impact on the price. (You might also look at IKEA cabinets, many people here like them, but door style is limited. You can go to someone else for doors. There's at least one thread about IKEA floating around.)

• Some woods, like cherry, are usually a 10% to 20% overall upcharge. Others, have no upcharge.

• Glazes are also often an upcharge, although some cabinet lines include them at no upcharge (but check what kind of glazing process is used and get a sample...there are cheap glazes and there are more expensive ones)

• OTOH, if you need a new floor, you can go with an inexpensive laminate/vinyl now and upgrade to hardwood or tile later. Yes, it's easier to put in a floor while the cabinets are out, but it's also not that difficult to put one in later.

• A backsplash is another item that can wait. Go with painted walls for now and put in a backsplash later (that's actually one of the things we did to cut costs).

• Other things that can wait...furniture molding, decorative door end panels. Yes, they give a more "finished" and upscale look to a kitchen, but they can also be added later.

• Faucets are also easily changed out. Reuse what you have now until you can afford your "dream" faucet.

Granite: As others have mentioned, price is mostly driven by "supply & demand" + fabrication cost. First, not all granites are the same. Some require more upkeep than others. Some are busy, some calm, some plain. Decide how much maintenance you're willing to do and what look or feel you want to extend to the kitchen (in collaboration w/the cabinets). Ask yourself what is to take "center stage"...cabinets (then a calmer or plainer granite will work better), granite (then a busier or more striking granite will be better). Oh, and don't scrimp on fabrication...in this arena you often get what you pay for. But note that fabrication costs are different...some fabricators include a cutout or two or other holes, others charge for every hole/cutout. Look at edges...some only include an eased or straight edge & charge per linear foot for anything different (ranging from $10 to $25 to more!) while others let you "upgrade" the edge for no cost. So, do your homework!

Ticor sink...we also have one (S405D) and love it!

Check out the...

There is something called "pre-fab" granite. It has been polished and usually has the edge on it (all done in China). Much cheaper, but only available in certain sizes.

You can really save a ton of money on appliances if you get floor models. We did most of our kitchen by first researching the range of options, deciding what we wanted/needed and then price shopping EVERY item. You would be amazed at how much you can save if you shop on line. It takes time to hunt things down but it's well worth it. And researching your options is invaluable - you'll be much happier with your kitchen. Think "good value" versus "cheap" or "expensive". Good luck!

Do your own painting-- it really isn't hard.

Consider Ikea cabs-- just putting mine together, and I'm very pleased with the quality.

Your biggest way to save money is by doing everything you can do competently by yourself.

From other posts here, it sounds like Habitat for Humanity will do the demo for free.

If you want an opaque finish (paint\laquer) look for a cabinet fabricator who offers paint grade doors\drawers. Most are painting over the same quality birch or maple the would use if they were staining - why your not going to see it! Paint grade is usually cheaper than MDF. Conestoga offers this as will some local fabricators. RTA\knockdown can save you some money and some of the companies will assemble so you can get the uppers RTA and the lowers assembled if your worried about assembling drawers etc. If your handy or have access to good but relatively inexpensive labour the least expensive route seems to be to get your own boxes and buy fronts separately.

It has a bad rap but for an opaque finish thermofoil can save you quite a bit over laquer.

Not beloved here but postform laminate is a great cost cutter and can look good if you choose the right finish and edge. Go dark if you have a seam, avoid the built in backsplash if don't want it to scream laminate.

I think big thing when going lower end is to avoid things that are pretending to be high end - i'm not a big fan of wood grain thermo on low end product or faux wood or tile on sheet flooring. We are using sheet but we are going with an all over pattern.

Brushed chrome is usually cheaper than brushed nickel.

Best tip I got from some mag is less expensive things often look more impressive when installed properly - so I'm scraping up peel and stick tile but I'm not installing cabinets.

Look for ways to customize low end product. Compromised on a product that didn't offer mullions but decided to splurge and get a specialty glass for plain glass doors instead. Also be creative - if your buying on the low end sometimes you won't get the same level of support as you do on the high end - you need to be the problem solver.

You have to look at specs but the biggest difference between semi-custom lines is variety in finish, door style and cabinet dims not the construction of the cabinet. You might be sacrificing soft close for intance but you are still getting a good durable drawer mechanism with a cheaper product.

KD's here will hate this but consultations are free you won't get measured drawing for free but if you go in with dims many places will design kitchen for quote and give you CAD\computer drawings. Also there are a number of on-line resources to create layout and test colours etc.

Good luck!

here's an easy one....ask for a discount. literally just ask!. some will just give it to you, some will want payment by cash/check. We asked and got cash discounts on pine floors, custom cabinets, dcs stove, marvin windows, exterior doors.

if you can GC any part of the job, you'll save 10-20%.

My cabinetmaker was a big help in saving me money on some of the details that buehl mentioned. For example, this wood is 15% higher than that wood, this dark stain is 10% more than natural finish, each raised end panel will cost so much, full-extend drawers cost X each and you have 12 of them, etc. You save money in many small increments here and there.

What are you doing for a cooktop and vent? I fell in love with a Capital range, but I ordered one of the cheapest Bosch dw styles and picked up a floor model vent-hood. I chose inexpensive pulls and skipped the soft-close hinges. I've seen beautiful backsplashes made from field tile installed creatively.

A warning: If you hang around here long enough, you'll get a serious case of Kitchen Envy. :) Next thing you know, you'll NEED a bunch of things you never even heard of until coming here.

Something we also did....we opted out of soft close on doors and bought them after the fact much cheaper. We just got them so we haven't installed them yet, but they were $3.94 each as opposed to the $30 (or something like that) it would have been if we had got them w/our cabinets. (See link below for discussion)

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: I need some soft close dampers for my cabinet doors

I can't be accused of scrimping on much, but my kitchen and house remodel would have cost MUCH MUCH more if I hadn't purchased so many items on ebay. A great example is my lighting. I purchased antique pieces, restored them myself (it's simple acrylic paint and a clear gloss laquer...just like they were made oh so many years ago). I've seen one of my pieces in an antique lighting gallery. It was $2200 for one light. I purchased four lights for less than that.

My infamous chicken chandlier was a special order item at a local lighting gallery. The person who bought it paid half down and then moved. She didn't want the light and lost her deposit, which was credited to me on the purchase (it's their policy on abandoned lighting) so my expensive chicken chandelier cost me significantly less (to the tune of hundreds) than it would have if I'd purchashed it full price. The color is different than the norm for this chandelier, but I like that. The stock version was the wrong color for my dining room.

I purchased the best quality faucets and sinks, but did so online on ebay saving several hundred dollars, even with shipping. I also purchased a bunch of my knobs a Knob Gallery .com and saved a fortune. I spent a fortune on others, but at least one fortune was saved :)

It all adds up. I've saved thousands by taking the time to find the best price. I've purchased mostly high end items, but a lower priced high end item will save you money over time against a cheap item. So get the very best you can afford...and shop your brain out!

pschmid -- good luck, and post details when you decide. My favorite threads are the photo-filled ones!

buehl -- thanks for the soft-close link!

Re-use, re-purpose, recycle!

My cabinets are high-end custom solid cherry and maple cabs that someone ripped out and sent to Habitat for Humanity -- I paid a few thousand for cabinets that would have cost over $50,000 new, and even factoring in the few thousand for my carpenter to customize them for my space, I have still saved a gazillion. And I have far higher quality cabinetry than I could ever have afforded new -- this is the beauty of the re-purposing idea.

Ditto ditto ditto eBay! For hardware, for faucets, for lighting, for supplies, for tools. Also check out your local Craigslist and Overstock.com regularly.

I think the best way to save money is to set a budget for each individual componenent of your kitchen remodel and stick to it. It's so easy to start upgrading cabinets, sink, appliances, floor, counters once you see all the nicer stuff in showrooms and on this forum. And if you really want to upgrade one component, then you need to downgrade another. In our case, we chose to go with laminate cabinets and granite counters & backsplash. Wood cabinets would've only allowed us to get laminate counters and painted backsplash.

I definetly second all the suggestions on doing some of the work yourself to save a few bucks. We DIYed the demo on the cabinets, wallpaper and floor.

As far as granite goes, I'd say pick something midrange that doesn't look like the pavement and it'll be ok for resale. I personally don't see the need to spend a lot of money on nice granite unless you plan to stay in the place for a long time to really enjoy it.

A few high-end touches in some high-visibility areas can make the entire space look more high-end, allowing you to scrimp on some background items.

What are your kitchen's focal points? Stand in your adjoining rooms and either look into or imagine yourself looking into your kitchen. What is it you will see the most? Get things you LOVE for those areas. (Our focal points are a hutch-style cabinet for dishes and a copper range hood that was actually a repurposed antique chimney cap.) What areas will (or should) fade into the background? (For me, I wanted my sink to 'disappear' because I'm not one to always keep it sparkling clean and empty.)

My weakness is ceramic tile. I go weak at the knees over some of the gorgeous tiles available. But the trick with tile -- like with so many other things -- is to use the expensive ones sparingly in high-visibility areas and fill in with volumes of less expensive stuff. For example, use expensive molded metal or crushed glass decos as accent tiles in a field of inexpensive stock Home Depot field ceramic.

I don't know about anybody else but the most difficult product for me to understand in terms of pricing was cabinetry. It wasn't until I started to make my own drawings using RTA product catalogues (downloaded from the internet) from Conestoga (really valuable because they sell cabs separate from doors and drawers) and Maple Creek that I started to get a handle on the value for $ ratio. Once you have the layout down you can go to any product catalogue and see if it offers what you need.

I'm doing a highrise condo kitchen so not many funny angles but Ikea, for instance, couldn't do what we needed. This process really helped clarify what the cost was to go from stock to semi-custom to custom.

Like many here we found that the difference between many national semi-custom brands and local custom fabricators in price was pretty negligible. The biggest revelation was that we could get a comparable if not better constructed product than the semi-custom lines offered in a stock assembled line that, with a little creativity and a bit of compromise, could give us everything our layout required at a price comparable to an RTA product.

Every line has its idiosyncracies - one very nice semi-custom line goes from stapled drawers (no thanks) right to dovetail drawers (that upgrade added more than a grand to the bottom line). Dovetail drawers are great but needless to say we moved on to a company that could offer us a metal sided drawer for a more modest up charge.

I agree that creating a realistic budget with at least a 15% contingency and sticking to it is the biggest cost saving measure you can implement.

It's easy for me to spend your money, but in 20+ as a KD I never had anyone yell at me for allowing them to spend the money and get what they wanted, but I had plenty of people disappointed because they chose to "cheap-out" at the last minute! These kitchens last too long to spend years walking past them, wishing you'd spent the money on the thing you really wanted.

My splurges & saves list: I kept the old red oak cabinets, used custom cabinet shop to make shaker doors with plywood centers. 5 had glass inserts. Used solid stainless handles,mostly bow handles for $2.50 ea & some bar handles $17 ea.(Lee Valley Hardware). Installed myself. Used a name brand tile for the floor, Dal, which was on sale at HD for .79 a sq ft., laid myself. Franke professinal sink & Grohe Lady Lux faucet/splurges. Granite counter is 2cm, granite backsplash/splurge. Kept the old vent hood & 6 burner wolf range. Purchased double conv. wall ovens, DW & fridg/stainless kitchenaid. Spent $21K.

bump

I think it is useful to remember this cyber context isn't really a very realistic one - what someone should spend\include should be drawn from personal circumstance and the market there in (always a delicate balance). Most us come from disparate geographic locations and economic circumstances so we should probably make use of the wealth of knowledge and experience here but look critically at some of the recommendations for products and materials which may not be realistic for our particular circumstance.

I think a realistic budget with a contingency is still the best way to keep costs in check (if you stick to it). I don't think compromise is a dirty word and spending an extra few hundred dollars is one thing but I'm not sure when you are struggling to pay off the thousands of dollars you spent over your budget that you will be all that comforted by those fancy appliances or marble countertops.

Im a little late to join in this discussion but we redid our kitchen last year...the big bix stores were charging $49 per sq ft and all kinds of add on charges for measuring, cutting, etc. As I am wont to do I looked on Ebay and happened to find a dealer offering a whole range of colors, installation, no add ons and was close enough to home to service our needs at $32 per sq. ft. and we had no complaints at all. So shop around...with granite as popular as is it is the competition has gotten fierce. Same goes with most other things, check, Ebay, and google searches for deals.
Richard

I am not sure where I first heard this but it is very true:

"When it comes to renovations, everybody wants three things - Good, Cheap and Fast. You can only have two out of the three. Pick the ones that are best for you."

We save lots of money by doing things ourselves. It takes a lot longer, but we also do it because we enjoy the process. Labour is usually a huge part of the cost of renos - so everything you don't pay someone else for means another window or cabinet facade. A lot of renovation work is pretty simple.

For things that you can't do - hire the best possible tradespeople and pay what they ask. It is far, far cheaper to have it done properly than to have to fix it later. Don't try to nickel and dime them to death, becuase they will not be motivated to do anything special for you.

Deal honestly with the trades and maintain a cooperative atmosphere while they are on-site. If you treat them poorly, they can and will walk. There are hundreds of other people out there that they can work for.

Buy what's important to you.

If you see a beautiful granite then budget for that and economise on the cabinets. Buy fewer or less expensive appliances to leave dollars for beautiful lights and cabinet hardware.

Don't assume that because something costs a lot of money, it is better quality than cheaper items. A lot depends on where it was made and how many were produced. That said - you usually get what you pay for.

Keep a completely open mind. If you are planning on a white kitchen but find an incredible deal on brown stuff, and would be just as happy with a brown room - then head off down that path instead. Don't get too locked in to anything, BUT realise when have reached the point of no return and don't change your plans after that.

Me - I'm big on floors, countertops and cookware. Others couldn't live without cherry cabinets and Sub Zero Fridges.

Sweeby made a good point about mixing high-end items with more run of the mill goods. Also - look for the unusual and ix it up with the mundane from a design standpoint as well as a dollar perspective.

Trust your instincts and ask a lot of questions here for technical help. There are a large number of experts who are only too willing to share their knowledge. I learn something new every time I log on, and some of those things have proven very valuable as we go through our renovation.

Set a budget and pretend that you're going to stick to it but in the back of your mind remember that almost nobody is able to do what they plan to without spending more than they had expected. And there is nothing shameful in that -it's just the way things work out. Really, it's not your fault and don't let anyone tell you that it is... ;) Ever. If they try to then remind them about all the things they have done that didn't quite turn out the way they were planned.

Don't hold back, bring up the car accidents and the resultant increased insurance...

writersblock originally posted the following, but I love what was done with Ikea cabinets:

Here are a couple of video links about upgrading the look of ikea cabs:

http://www.cityline.ca/video/2007/08/khachi_ikea_kitchen_makeover_cut1.wvx
http://www.cityline.ca/video/2007/08/khachi_ikea_kitchen_makeover_cut2.wvx

(Mac folks, unfortunately these don't play in flip4mac. Dunno why--the other clips on their site work okay.)