Not enough kitchen storage and bench space make cooking very difficult. So when Alice and John renovated their kitchen, they took on the massive task of removing a wall to open the room right up.
Watch: How to give your kitchen a makeover on a budget
An added cost for the couple was removing a wall to create space for a breakfast bar, which added another 5k to the total renovation bill.
The result is a bright, white kitchen with lots of storage and newly added breakfast bar.
Better Homes and Gardens Online chatted with Alice Gamble and John Atkins about their home kitchen makeover.
What inspired your renovation?
The kitchen was quite old, dark and dated; we didn’t have a lot of storage room or bench space and desperately needed a dishwasher.
The kitchen had a small eat-in dining area we had never used, so we wanted to use this space and extend the kitchen. The kitchen was also closed with a wall separating the kitchen from the living room; we wanted to open up the space by removing the wall and creating a breakfast bar.
We also had a shared laundry in our apartment building, so we wanted to make a space to bring the washing machine into our apartment.
What kind of look were you after?
We wanted it to look bright, neutral and minimal, so we chose a mix of white and light grey cabinets.
We wanted it to fit in well with the rest of the apartment, so we went with light timber features, satin white subway tiles, small brushed nickel knobs, and a minimal style with a bit of greenery.
What was the biggest challenge?
Removing the wall was challenging. We had existing electrical wires in the wall we were pulling down, so there was a bit of work in moving and relocating those wires.
It was also extremely messy – dust everywhere. My biggest regret was not taping up the blinds, which turned into a lovely shade of red from the brick dust, which was very tricky to clean.
Another time-consuming part was opening the boxes and assembling all the pieces. There were over 100 boxes. However, many of them were the same cabinet, so we knew how to do the rest once we had put one together.
Talk us through the renovation process:
- Demo and removal of all existing kitchen cabinets, sink, appliances, tiling
- Electrical wires relocated, additional power points installed
- Plumbing (hot water system was moved to a different spot)
- Beam was installed to support the wall removal
- Wall demolition
- Cabinets were put together and installed, door fronts put on
- Bench tops, stove top and sink installed
- More plumbing – installation of dishwasher and washing machine
- Tiling
How much did you roughly spend on the renovation?
20k
Budget breakdown
Ikea cabinets and doors – roughly $6,000
Oven (appliances online) – $800
Bench tops – $4000
Tiling – $1000
Trades – $2,000
Wall removal – $5000
What was the favourite part of your renovation?
When it was finished.
Have you done any renovations before?
No.
Get the look
- UNDERVERK, Built-in extractor hood, stainless steel, $529, Ikea
- NORRSJÖN, Inset sink, 2 bowls, stainless steel, $419, Ikea
- MATMÄSSIG, Induction hob, $529, Ikea
- Metro Marble Stone bench tops, $4000, Kitchen Bench Tops
- LAGAN Integrated dishwasher, 899, Ikea
- ÄLMAREN Kitchen mixer tap, $89, Ikea
- VOXTORP Door, $120, Ikea
- LERHYTTAN Door, $145, Ikea
You might also like:
A Scandi-style budget laundry makeover for $1300
An incredible pantry renovation
A cafe-inspired kitchen renovation
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
