If you think $100 won’t go far in changing the look of your kitchen cabinets, check out this reveal. I took on a big task of a DIY kitchen makeover while sticking to a strict $100 budget. Come see what my kitchen looked like at the beginning of the challenge and what it looks like after several weeks of DIY efforts!
If your kitchen is in need of a makeover but you don’t have lots of room in the budget, this is for you! I completely updated my kitchen cabinets for $100. I’ll show you what supplies to use and how it looks now after a few weeks of work.
Thrifty DIY Kitchen Makeover Reveal!
Welcome to the final week of the $100 Room Challenge Makeover! I’m participating in an amazing challenge started by Erin from Lemons, Lavender, & Laundry and we are in the final week!!
This post contains affiliate links (see my full disclosure here)
If you want to catch up, here are the links to the other weeks of the challenge:
Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3
I actually completed most of the painting in 2 weeks, but I had several touch-ups to do this past week. One big tip I shared during Week 3 is to sand between coats of primer/paint. I skipped this step on the lower cabinet doors when spraying, and after seeing the difference it makes, I decided to redo those.
So I’m glad I was ahead of schedule because this would’ve put me behind.
And if you’re looking for the condensed version without going through all four weeks of my ordeal – check out this post on How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets – it’s an easy, step by step tutorial of what you need to do to paint your cabinets!
Week 4 of Painting Kitchen Cabinets
Day 1: I spent most of this day re-hanging the upper cabinet doors. This is more challenging than the lowers. For starters, you are either standing on the counters or using a ladder – there’s not a whole lot to balance the doors on while trying to get them attached. It probably took me twice as long to hang the upper doors.
Day 2: I did all the touch-up painting inside today. One thing I learned from using a paint sprayer is it’s a little difficult to get the edges of the doors. Or maybe it was just my technique. So I used a small one-inch brush and touched up the edges of each door and drawer.
Another big task for today is re-spraying the lower doors. There was such a noticeable difference in the finish of the paint between the uppers and lowers. This was totally due to not sanding between coats of primer and paint. I’ll say it again – Do not skip this step. You’ll be so much more pleased with the outcome if you take the extra time to sand. So off with the lower doors, out into the garage, sand them, wipe them down, and spray with a coat of paint.
Day 3: Nothing – work and early birthday celebrations for my sweet boy are taking a fun priority today!
Day 4: Rehang the lower cabinet doors. Give your paint at least 24-48 hours to cure before you start handling them much. I also touched up the edges that didn’t get enough paint when spraying.
Day 5: Nothing – my house was mad chaos with my son’s birthday party! Thankfully my cabinets held up with the madness!
Day 6: Cleaning
Day 7: Final decorating touches
Budget Breakdown
Something I forgot to include in week 3 was another bottle of mineral spirits! I ran out of primer, and that’s one thing about a paint sprayer. If you aren’t using it for about 30 minutes, it needs to be cleaned thoroughly. I used the last of my mineral spirits and had to get a whole new bottle.
So that’s the end of my budget! I thought I had $12 left, but nope! $0.00 left!
Here’s a final breakdown:
- $40 – Paint
- $12 – Mineral Spirits
- $10 – Brush
- $12 – 4″ Foam Rollers
- $6 – Paint Trays
- $8 – Primer
- $2 – Outlet/Outlet Cover
- $10 – Chemical Odor Respirator Masks
TOTAL $100!
Since I’m out of money, I shopped my house for the rest. I had some clearance Target rugs that I was planning to use in the guest bathroom, but I stole those for the kitchen when I realized I was out of money!
I moved around some decor and did some major cleaning of the appliances (which will get a post of its own since it made such a big difference). So on with the reveal!
Before My Cabinet Makeover:
And After the Makeover!
What a change for $100 and some major DIY effort! However, if you consider the cost comparison of hiring a professional to complete this project, it’s overwhelming savings and well worth the effort.
Thanks so much for joining my DIY kitchen makeover in the $100 Room Challenge. It’s been so much fun checking out all the other talented bloggers and some serious DIY skills! Definitely check out the links below for some major inspiration!
Don’t forget to pin for later!
For a list of my Top 10 favorite painting supplies for kitchen cabinets – check out this post – click here!
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LOVE IT!!! What a difference paint can make! Looks like it was well worth the work you put in. So much brighter now. Ahhh! Now it makes me want to do mine.
Thanks so much Debbie! And I couldn’t believe the difference! And I would love to see when you do yours!!
Looks great! Your hard work has definitely paid off!
Thank you sweet friend! It was a challenge in every sense of the word, but so worth it!
Wow! Your kitchen was beautiful before but now it’s stunning!! I love the view of the white cabinets with your wall color looking through the arch doorway. Beautiful job! Wanna come over and do mine?! 😉
Thank you Maria! And as much as I’d love to come hang out and DIY with you, I think I’ve had my fair share of cabinet painting for a bit!! But I’ll happily look on and cheer you on as you do yours!
The before and after pictures are really impressive! It’s now so bright! Great job. You must be so excited!
Thank you Natalie! I am excited!! Glad it’s over and glad I did the $100 Room Challenge to keep me on a schedule!
Woah! It looks like a complete transformation! I just love how paint can change everything!! The hard work you put into painting these cabinets – you can certainly tell! It looks amazing! Somewhere I’d love to actually cook – even though I don’t! 😉
Thanks Brittany! And yes!! Paint works wonders. Maybe I should actually do more of that cooking thing you speak of:)
It turned out great–so much brighter! Your $100 was well-spent!!
Thank you Cherryl! I agree! I’m happy to cross this one off the list!
LOVE!!!!! You did a beautiful job! The kitchen looks so much bigger and brighter. Great job with staying on budget too!
Thanks Tracy! I am so happy I decided to go ahead and do it!!
Wow! Your kitchen looks amazing! I can’t believe you accomplished so much in a month! Great job!
Thank you Emy! I can’t either! I actually finished most of the painting in 2 &1/2 weeks! No wonder I was tired!
wow what an epic transformation! So much lighter & brighter!!
I agree! It doesn’t feel like a dark cave in the middle of the house anymore!
The change is amazing! The space looks so bright and airy now! I am beyond impressed!
Thank you Lindsay! I can’t believe how much more open if feels and looks!
LOVE the white! So bright and open 😀
Thank you so much! I agree – it’s so much more open now that the dark cabinets aren’t shadowing the inside of the house!
Melissa I still think you are super brave (or maybe a little crazy?) to take on a kitchen renovation for $100. But you did it! and it looks great. It defiantly opens up the space. Painting cabinets is hard work, you might need to sleep for a week or two! Or maybe just sit in your new kitchen and enjoy a glass of wine 🙂
I’ll agree with you on the crazy part! And thank you so much. I’ve definitely been taking it a little easy since finishing this massive project!
These turned out so good! Your whole kitchen looks lighter and brighter! Great job.
Thanks Carrie! I agree – it feels so much bigger now!
Wow, you’ve been busy! It looks like a brand new kitchen, and bigger too! Great tip about the sanding, you’ll save someone from having to redo theirs!
Thanks so much Meredith! I wish I had not skipped the sanding step in the first place and I surely hope someone will learn from my mistake!
Your kitchen looks SO much bigger with the white cabinets!!! I am SO tempted to do this. I cannot believe it only cost $100 to do everything. It looks incredible!!!
You should definitely do it Erin!! It is amazing! And thank you so much for hosting such an awesome challenge. It’s a fabulous group of talented peeps and I’m happy to have been a part of it!
Wow! What a huge difference- it looks amazing! I’ve painted cabinets a few times and always skip the sanding step (I’m impatient sometimes) 😉 but you’ve convinced me. Awesome job!
Thanks so much! I get in such a hurry too to get done, but I learned a lesson on sanding for sure!
Wow! This is an incredible transformation! So light and bright after, great job!
Thank you Lisa! It was a labor intensive job for sure, but definitely worth it!
For paint I use paint & primer mixed as one will I still have to prime 1st???
Love the way your kitchen came out.
Thank you Linda! I’d recommend priming first. Mainly because kitchen cabinets take a beating around here and I wanted to make sure my paint adhered like glue!
Do you remember the name of the white color you used on the cabinets?