the best areas to save money in your kitchen re design

Save VS Splurge: The Kitchen

What are the best areas to save money, and splurge on in your kitchen design? Join us as we walk you through how you can get the look of this contemporary kitchen, and where we saved and splurged on the interior finishes. 

Featured Showhome: Pacesetter Homes ‘Tallin’ model in Desrochers – 2738 Donaghey Crescent SW, Edmonton

The Cabinetry Colors & Hardware

In this kitchen, our designer went with a two-toned cabinetry option. Doing a two-toned cabinet gives your kitchen more dimension and brings interest to the cabinets. This style is also a key component to a contemporary or even a modern farmhouse look. 
Upper Cabinets: Camp White | Lower Cabinets: Mistral

The Save

Thermofoil Cabinet Material

Thermofoil is a lower cost  option when compared to wood or painted cabinetry. 

Thermofoil cabinetry is made using vinyl that is heated & pressurized onto an MDF core, leaving you with a durable finish that is easy to clean. 

The Splurge

Upgraded Lower Cabinet Color

To achieve the two toned look, an upgraded color was used on the lower cabinetry. 

The lower cabinet color also has texture to it, giving it a similar appearance to a wood cabinet.

the best areas to save money in your kitchen re design

Upgraded Cabinet Hardware

Changing you cabinet hardware is a splurge that is well worth it. It’s a lower cost upgrade that really delivers. It allows you to really match the finish and style to the rest of your house, and tie everything together.

Cabinet Hardware Style: Matte Black | 80112890

The Backsplash and Hoodfan

The overall style of this kitchen is modern minimalism with natural tones and textures found in nature. Therefore, the backsplash tile chosen is a hand made and glazed tile, and really embraces the style of the kitchen. 

The Save

Regular Ceramic Tile

You can still achieve a similar look by using a regular ceramic tile. Use a tile that is the same size, 5×5 square, and find a color that would mimic the natural hues. 

You can opt to not do a chimney hoodfan and/or tile to the ceiling which will save some money!

The Splurge

Hand Made & Hand Glazed Tile

This 5 x 5 square tile has a unique look to it due to it’s hand glazed technique. It adds to the natural feel of the kitchen. 

Additionally, we added a chimney hoodfan and took the tile right to the ceiling to add height to the kitchen. 

The Cabinet Height

Taking your cabinets all the way to the ceiling not only adds height to the space, but provides more storage space too!
the best areas to save money in your kitchen re design

The Save

Adding a Cabinet Riser

If you don’t want to spend the money to extend the cabinetry all the way to the ceiling, you can still achieve the same look by adding a cabinet riser. This is essentially a cabinet panel instead of a whole cabinet. You won’t get the same storage but you will get the sleek look!

The Splurge

Extending the Cabinetry to the Ceiling

If you want that sleek, contemporary look extending the cabinets to the ceiling is a great way to achieve that. In addition, it gives the room added height and gives you added storage! 

Our designer also chose to add a built in wine rack to this kitchen. Which is a completely, 100% justifiable splurge. 

The Countertop & Kitchen Sink

These 2 items are most likely the most used products in your kitchen. 
the best areas to save money in your kitchen re design
Quartz: 3/4″ Thick | Color: Concrete

The Save

3/4″ Quartz Countertops

Going with a thinner quartz will still give you the same durability and glossy finish as a thicker solid surface product, however there is limited color availability. But otherwise there really is no difference!

The Splurge

1 – 1/4″ Quartz Countertops

Adding in a thicker countertop opens it up to way more options in both the color and material department. With a 1-1/4″ thickness you can choose from either quartz or granite, and a large array of colors. 

Bonus! The Kitchen Sink

Many people think that if you go with a thinner quartz, you can’t then have an undermount sink. But that’s not true! So if you want to splurge a bit in this area, you can choose an undermount sink and still save on the countertop! 

We hope this article helped you in designing your own kitchen! For more information on any of the products used, please feel free to send us an email. Thank you!