Kitchen furnishing is one of the most expensive parts of the repair. We suggest items that you can save on and things that are not exactly worth it.
Choose facades from chipboard and MDF
Natural materials are good but expensive. Budget substitutes often look just as good. Thus, MDF in veneer coating is quite suitable for classic kitchen or country style, and lacquered chipboard will fit into the minimalistic interior.
Make facades without glazing
Of course, doors with glazing and built-in lighting inside cabinets add coziness to the kitchen, make it easier, but to create a budget project will have to love the “deaf” facades. To avoid sacrificing style, give preference to light facades (for small kitchens) and glossy coverings that help make the room visually lighter.
Adjust to standard sizes
Any special tasks for assemblers and manufacturers will increase the price of the headset. You will have to give up trimming of corners, non-standard cabinet widths and try to make rational use of existing modules. To simplify your task, create a visual project in any simulation program. One of the simplest is SketchUp, and you can design your future kitchen with IKEA directly on the website.
Love the open shelves and order
Upper open shelves instead of blind cabinets are another way to a budget project. One nuance – to make them look beautiful, keep order and take care of storage, for example, buy the same cans for bulk products. You can also decorate open shelves with photos and flowers.
Look for a competent collector.
Try the next trick. Go to an expensive kitchen salon and draw a dream kitchen together with designers. Come on weekdays at lunchtime, usually when they have the least work to do.
Then go to the mass market with a printout of the project and a smile and look for the one you like most in the expensive salon. Make a project in a budget store. You will most likely be told that some items are not feasible, but the project can still be implemented with changes.
And then – look for an experienced assembler, preferably with recommendations. He will help you combine both projects where you need to – save money. Thus, retractable corner cabinets in budget kitchens (they are called magic corners) are often not made at all, and in an expensive salon, their cost with all the fittings is tens of thousands of rubles (full price of some kitchens). Make a wardrobe to order – will come out cheaper, and fit it into a budget kitchen just to help a competent collector.
Give up on the built-in appliances
It is believed that by removing the built-in appliances, you will make the kitchen less comfortable. We don’t think so. A hob is a maximum worth going for in the fight for budget and style at the same time. The built-in fridge will already lead to the cost of the kitchen in times, and if there is also a microwave and other small appliances – even in 2-3 hundred thousand will be difficult to fit.
You can make a compromise if you have a competent collector. Budget kitchens do not have a stove and microwave at eye level, but you can separately order the frame, doors, cut off unnecessary centimeters and embed appliances.
Choose wood or plastic worktops
Natural stone is expensive, quality quartz agglomerates and artificial acrylic stones too, and work on them is more expensive even with natural materials.
You’ll have to save money and choose. The chipboard worktops can last a long time if they are primed and the joints are sealed. Wood is not an option for the lazy. It will have to be periodically soaked in oil, but as a reward, it will last longer and maintain its aesthetic appearance.