The average American household can expect to spend $20,556 for a kitchen renovation, according to the latest data from HomeAdvisor. The largest chunk of that cost typically goes to cabinetry and hardware—about 29 percent, according to the National Kitchen & Bath Association—while installation and appliances are the second and third largest expenses, respectively. To see just how far one's renovation dollar can go, we asked four homeowners with four different budgets about the kitchen remodels they've recently completed.


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Christopher Wright

$300,000 – Brian Givens, 49

Location: Rockville, Maryland

Occupation: President of a residential flooring company

What was your budget? Roughly $200,000

What caused you to go over budget? The thing about kitchen remodels is the number of things you can add to enhance the functionality and beauty of the kitchen. The costs associated with these neat things goes up quick.

Your biggest expense: Besides labor, we spent $46,000 on cabinetry and $25,000 on appliances

Did you use a professional builder? Yes, Mark Scott of Mark IV Builders

What you wanted to change about your old kitchen: Everything. It was poorly designed, the appliances were old, and the countertops were laminate. But it had great character that we wanted to protect. My wife, Maggie, grew up in this house and I used to come visit her as a kid. We would sit under the Tiffany lamp at the walnut table (pictured). The renovation included an in-law suite, powder room, and laundry room too.

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Courtesy of Mark IV Builders
Before the renovation,the Givenses\

Challenges you encountered: We realized an entire bearing wall would need to be moved into the garage by about six inches. This was expensive and totally not planned for.

Are you happy with the remodel? We are completely satisfied with the outcome and we get very nice compliments from people when they see it. Two sinks, two ovens, and a beverage cooler are the smartest things we did. We use them all the time.

What you wish you had done differently: We would have considered moving into an apartment for a while. Trying to feed kids out of a microwave and bar sink is tough. The whole house was completely covered in dust and everything was dirty all the time. These are natural problems you have in a renovation this size.

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Courtesy of Mark IV Builders
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Courtesy of Mark IV Builders
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Courtesy of Mark IV Builders

When will your kitchen need another update? Our kids can discuss that at our wake!

Your advice for other homeowners planning a remodel: Hire a kitchen planner and architect that work well together! We used Jan Goldman at Kitchen Elements and we cannot understate her importance to us. She got a sense of our lifestyle and helped us design a kitchen we are completely happy with. She and the architect were at every weekly meeting with the builder. She anticipated details that we would have never picked up on. Also, be quality conscious. You use your kitchen more than any other room—it needs to last!


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Christopher Wright

$57,000 Jenn Barton, 41

Location: Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

Occupation: Instructor of nursing

What was your budget? What we spent is about what we were expecting.

Your biggest expense: We spent $20,000 on appliances, including a professional-sized stove and a new refrigerator. Our historic farmhouse has had several additions over its life, so there are stonewalls that used to be exterior. The stone masonry cost us $10,000. It had been covered with paneling and we decided to have it exposed as a design feature.

Did you use a professional builder? Yes, Dale Ressler of DreamMaker Bath and Kitchen. He knows my father-in-law and we had heard good things about him.

What you wanted to change about your old kitchen: Our 1800s farmhouse was broken up into three apartments when we first bought it, and the kitchen we were using was a 1950s attempt at open concept. It was a big, awkward room with a U-shaped kitchen on one end with three cabinets and a small countertop. You could look out into dining area like we could be short-order cooks. The space was used terribly. I wanted a big workspace for canning. We're a family of four and between homework, cooking, and cleaning up, we're always in the kitchen.

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Courtesy of the Bartons
The Bartons\

How you saved money: My husband, Gene, and I ripped all of the old cabinetry out ourselves—we're not afraid to get dirty. We were fortunate to have a friend who works with computer-aided design (CAD) so he gave us some design ideas based on what he had seen other people do.

Biggest surprise: When we took down the paneling, we found the name of the person who had built it in 1961. I think in that year it was some lady's dream kitchen.

Are you happy with the remodel? It sounds kind of crazy but I am in love with my Thermador stove. Last week I was canning tomato sauce and with the 48-inch stove plus plenty of room in the kitchen, I was able to can my sauce and cook dinner and do everything without feeling like I was putting stuff on the floor. I kept saying to Gene, look at this room we have!

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Courtesy of DreamMaker
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Courtesy of DreamMaker
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Courtesy of DreamMaker

What you wish you had done differently: At the moment I can't think of anything.

When will your kitchen need another update? I think Gene would kill me if I told him I wanted to update. I kept telling Dale, our contractor, I'm getting what I want because I'm only doing this once.

Your advice for other homeowners planning a remodel: We didn't anticipate some of the extra costs: studding out the walls and adding insulation. Be prepared for extra expenses or get a clear idea of all of the different components so that you're not too surprised.


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Christopher Wright

$24,000 Jami Nato, 34

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Occupation: Blogger, Hello From the Natos

What was your budget? $20,000

Your biggest expense: We spent $9,000 on cabinets, $2,000 on countertops, $2,000 on floors, and the rest on paint, electrical, plumbing, and appliances.

Did you use a professional builder? No

What you wanted to change about your old kitchen: It worked fine for the previous owners, but not for our family. We have four children and I spend so much time in the kitchen, baking and cooking. I knew I needed the kids to be in there with me as opposed to the dining room where I couldn't see them. (Thus, the eat in-nook was born.) In an old home, you always need more storage and a more functional layout.

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Jami Nato
The Natos\

How you saved money: We were the contractors. We bought light fixtures from the Home Depot and Lowe's instead of going high-end on the lighting. Before we started, a good friend listened to what we needed and mapped out the kitchen with us.

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Courtesy of Jami Nato
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Jami Nato

Challenges you encountered: When you open up walls in old homes, you find crazy things—knobs and tubes everywhere. We ended up having to refinish the entire first floor's wood flooring to make it match the wood we laid in the kitchen.

How happy are you with the remodel? We really love the finished product because it helps our family function better. That is always the end goal: how the renovation serves your family.

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Jami Nato
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Jami Nato

What you wish you had done differently: It was so hard to live without a kitchen. I wish we would have planned meals out better.

When will your kitchen need another update? Probably not for 20 years. It is white and wood. And quality cabinetry is just hard to destroy. The home was built in the 1920s so we matched that style and kept it all classic.

Your advice for other homeowners planning a remodel: Spend money on the things in the home you use the most. It took me a couple of renovations to understand that. You can buy the cheap stuff, but in the end, you'll have to buy more.


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Christopher Wright

$500 Virginia Fynes, 31

Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Occupation: Owner, Union Street Café and blogger, Fynes Designs

What was your budget? I didn't really have a number in mind. I'm a big DIYer so I try to do as many things as I can and keep the costs low.

Your biggest expense: The backsplash. I spent $200 for the tile, grout, and tile saw rental. I also purchased a large hutch on Kijiji, the Canadian equivalent of Craigslist, for $150.

Did you use a professional builder? No

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Fynes Designs
The Fyneses\

What you wanted to change about your old kitchen: It wasn't terrible because we've only lived in our home for eight years but there were a few things that hadn't been done when we moved in. We wanted something clean, fresh, and bright, with enough countertop space so that we could cook and the kids could help a little bit.

How you saved money: My brother is a carpenter. He actually surprised me: I went on a trip and when I came home he had done my backsplash for me. That was really nice. So we paid for the grout and tile but the labor was free. I also have an ongoing partnership with PPG Paints so I don't spend a lot on paint typically. As far as furniture and décor, I had a few pieces from an aunt who passed away recently and some other pieces I picked up at flea markets and yard sales.

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Fynes Designs
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Fynes Designs

Challenges you encountered: I initially painted one wall navy blue and it was really overpowering not friendly. PPG offers free eight-by-eight paint chips through its website and I had ordered a few in different colors, so I stuck them on wall and then asked my Facebook followers which color they thought would work best in the kitchen. I got thousands of comments; most people said they really liked the aqua "Whirlpool" color. Thankfully it was a small wall or I probably wouldn't have repainted it.

Are you happy with the remodel? I still really love the accent wall. Most of the time with farmhouse style people are going for white, light color schemes that reflect simpler times but I find that the aqua color really opens up the space. My aunt lived in a big farmhouse so going through her memories was very inspiring to me when designing this look.

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Fynes Designs
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Fynes Designs

Your advice for other homeowners planning a remodel: I tend to think with a "paint brain" when decorating because I really love color, but I think it's important to choose big pieces that fit in the space first, rather than choose other items like fabrics before painting. It's easier to work with the color scheme you're going for that way.

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