How to Transform Your Kitchen for Under $600

Howdy, friends! I’m so excited to share our budget friendly farmhouse kitchen renovation with you all today! Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and get ready to be inspired!

When we first bought our house a little over a year ago, the kitchen was probably the best room in the house.  For the next nine months, the only change we did in this room was painting it red and beige.  We left the cabinets and only changed the stove when our old one broke, although I have to say it does look a ton better when all your appliances match. When I was about 6 months pregnant, I found an obsession with chalk paint and decided to paint our cabinets.  Yikes.  I had never done a project this big and was surprised when my husband suggested it.  Here we go with our kitchen renovation.

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Before Kitchen Renovation

This is the before of the kitchen. Not bad, but definitely not the farmhouse kitchen I was dreaming of.

Painting & Distressing Kitchen Cabinets

The first thing we started our kitchen renovation with was painting those ugly cabinets. Some people may like the orange stained look but it wasn’t for me. They were also not stained by a professional hence all the drips that are everywhere.  At this point I was about six months pregnant and did not want to sand all the cabinets so I chose to use chalk paint. Chalk paint is great because there’s minimal to no prep work and you don’t have to sand first.

The only preparation I did for this part was to wash all the cabinet doors and drawers with Clorox wipes but soap and water would work just as well! If you think your cabinets have grease and grime on them, then use a grease cleaner. I also took all the door and drawers off their hinges and chose to save money by soaking the original hinges in ammonia and water to cleanse them. Looking back, I wish I would have spray painted the hinges but I’ll save that for another day.

I chose to use Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old Ochre. This took about three cans at $37 each.

Update: I would use Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint now. Same quality, better price!

I then waxed all of the cabinets with the Annie Sloan Clear Wax using her wax brush.  This is an investment as it can be pricey but if you plan on chalk painting many more projects it is so worth it. I’ve had mine for well over a year and a half now.

Update: If I had a do-over here I would seal the cabinets. Wax doesn’t hold up as well over time for protection.

I also used an Annie Sloan flat brush to paint with but you can use any quality paint brush you prefer. My cabinets took about three coats of paint to cover thoroughly  and then I distressed using sanding blocks to achieve the vintage look I desired.

I also added all new hardware.  The old hardware in our kitchen was dirty and had started to become rusted. I knew I wanted cup pulls even if this was pushing our budget.  I found these pulls and knobs at Menards and chose the oil rubbed bronze color.

Painting Countertops

I still wasn’t satisfied with my kitchen renovation. I had saw some ideas on Pinterest where others had painted their countertops.  My husband and I also researched the concrete countertops but it seemed like it made a huge mess so we decided to try the Giani Countertop Paint Kit. It was $79.95 for one kit which covers approximately 35 square feet of countertop. This covered our entire kitchen. It included a primer, three different colored paints, and an automotive clear coat and all the paint supplies needed.

Brick Backsplash

The final step to get the dream kitchen we desired (at least working with our budget currently) was a backsplash. Living in an old farmhouse, I always dreamed we’d find real brick hidden behind a wall. Since this hasn’t happened, I chose a brick veneer backsplash from Home Depot.  Lowes also carries this brand.  I ordered it online because I was able to get it 10% off. We used about 2.5 boxes for our entire backsplash with some left over that I have yet to figure out what to do with. Each box included 50 pieces of brick veneer. There are several different colors to choose from depending on the look you are going for.  We chose the color Rushmore. It has more of a grey tint to the brick.

Next, you need to choose a grout color. The color we chose was mocha and we bought this from Lowes. They do offer premixed grout but it is more expensive so we chose powder grout and mixed ourselves. We used two of these bags.

After Kitchen Renovation

Side Note: Our kitchen was red for this kitchen renovation and then painted revere pewter so I updated this post.

| Check out how I created that corrugated metal window awning here! |

| Check out how I created that faux brick wall using joint compound and paint here! |

| If you love that industrial wall shelf, see how I built it here! |

Showing you before our kitchen renovation one more time. What a difference! Especially on a budget.

Kitchen Renovation Materials

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre at $36.99 per can (3 cans): $110.97

Annie Sloan Clear Wax: Owned

Annie Sloan Flat Brush & Wax Brush: Owned

Brick Veneer Backsplash at $58.09 per box (2.5 boxes @ 10% Off): $130.70

Mocha Grout at $14.48 per bag (2 bags): $28.98

Corbels For Island at $8.99 (50% Off SALE $4.50 ea.): $8.99

Giani Countertop Paint Kit, Chocolate Brown: $79.95

Cup Pulls at $6.99 each (5): $34.95

Knobs at $3.99 each (24): $95.76

Pfister Faucet $120 (Menard’s Rebate of $90): $30

Faux Brick Wall: $30

Corrugated Metal Awning: $10

Total Cost: $560.30

Our kitchen renovation came in under $600.  We couldn’t even replace our countertops for this price if we had wanted to.  This is where my DIY obsession comes in handy around our household. Next up will be replacing the first floor flooring including the kitchen and possibly changing to concrete countertops.

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