Reader's home - Fiona's kitchen and bathroom redo
Tue, 12 Jun 2012Fiona sent us an email about her bathroom and kitchen renovations that she did on a budget. She even included a breakdown of costs and the after photos are a big improvement, particularly the bathroom which you'llsee after the jump. First up, Fiona's kitchen.
I couldn't afford $20-$25K for a brand new kitchen, so I spruced up what I already had. My blue laminate bench top was covered with 12mm thick stone (fitted in a few hours), the kitchen splashback tiles were removed & the same stone was fixed to the walls. I had an overhead cupboard made which included a hidden under cupboard range hood. I scoured Google images to find a design I liked and had it made by a cabinet maker. I had the floor tiles replaced (and extended to include the dining & entrance way). Finally, I had my oven and cook top professionally cleaned to fit in with my 'new' kitchen. I kept all my appliances and existing sink with mixer to keep costs low. My price breakdown was:-
* Kitchen, entrance & dining floor tile removal & laying $1950
* Kitchen floor tiles & grout $1012
* Range hood including ducting kit $442
* Stone bench top & splashback $3830
* Floating cabinet $3500 (included installation of cabinet, installation of range hood & removal, patching & painting of old ceiling fan)
* Kitchen wall tile removal $400
BEFORE
AFTER
I thought I'd share with you my bathroom renovation also - all with the help of Ebay! It all came as a shock to me when I received quotes for between $18-$20K. I thought about ways to keep costs down for materials down & sourced most items on eBay. My price break down was as follows:-
2 x Caroma Basins & chrome pop ups $584 (ebay)
Wall mounted soap dispenser & tumbler $15 (ebay)
2 x Chrome towels rails $80 (ebay)
Wall mount bath tap set $269 (ebay)
2 x Tower Basin Taps $310 (ebay)
Shower Mixer $89 (ebay)
Sliding Shower Rail $159 (ebay)
Polymarble shower base with stainless steel grille $199 (ebay)
Chrome ceiling fan $165 (online)
Mirror Cabinet $159 (ebay)
Floor & wall tiles 60 x 30cm + grout $820
Mosaic Tiles $380
Downlights $240
Bathroom labour / plumbing (4 weeks), custom made vanity & semi-frameless shower screen $11.5K.
We kept the existing the bath & re-configured the space so that the bath sits under the window & the vanity is now where the bath is. We wouldn't have been able to accommodate two basins where the old vanity was with the window in the way - I thought about a sliding mirror across the window, but everyone convinced me otherwise & I'm happy I listened!
BEFORE
AFTER
Reader Comments (9)
this is such a lovely makeover and it's not too expensive and quite affordable! the bathroom looks phenomenal and i can't believe most of the items are purchased from ebay! thanks for sharing this wonderful post!
Wow. Those are some gorgeously dramatic afters! Well done.
Fantastic renovations, and what wonderful savings! I'd come in search of ideas how to spruce up our teeny tiny main floor powder room (more of a closet with a toilet, really). I had NO idea such major improvements could be done so affordably. Thanks!
Great Job, well done Fiona :) Looks like you've really maximized the storage possibilities in the kitchen.
Great job!
What countertop material did you use for your projects?
I'm loving the flour, sugar pots (?) on the kitchen counter. would love to know where those were from.
I agree, great renovations!
Hi everyone, thanks for your nice comments. I'm quite chuffed! In answer to your questions:-
1. The stone benchtop is in colour 'serenity' and is 12mm thick QuartzStone
2. The coffee, tea and sugar pots were a bargain from Aldi about 12 months ago
The combinations of materials, like the tiles, in the bathroom are done perfect!.
Congrats!