tale of 3 kitchens BUDGET VS LUXE

budget renovation

Changing what you can — and disguising what you can’t — is key to creating maximum impact for minimal outlay in your kitchen

Keeping your existing cabinetry and updating it with paint, new tapware and on-trend handles can save you serious cash, particularly if you’re happy doing the hard graft yourself. Cosmetic updates along those lines can breathe new life into a dated kitchen and will cost anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to about $3000, depending on what’s involved, says renovation broker Blake Riley, director at Blakes of Sydney.

Paint gives you the most bang for your buck when you’re on a shoestring budget. You’ll find specialist paint finishes to spruce up everything from laminate benchtops, cabinetry, tiles and even the fridge, made by brands such as White Knight and Dulux (from its Renovation Range). According to Dulux, you can do up a whole kitchen for less