Question: For a more affordable kitchen upgrade on a budget does new counters + flooring + keeping old cabinets = good idea?
Answer: Yes, if the cabinets are in good repair—the doors open and close, they’re hanging straight, the drawers operate smoothly—then yes.
New flooring is a great upgrade if a labor intensive one. Reason is that you may (should, really) pull up the old floor before installing the new one. There are a number of variables for making the decision about keeping the old floor, but the main reason is that you need a solid substrate and to make sure you have enough room for your appliances. We’ve never made this mistake ourselves, but there are stories of people trapping their dishwashers.
As far as counters go, there are a lot of options. One solution that can surprisingly save budget dollars is soapstone. Even though you can have it templated and fabricated, soapstone is also soft enough to be worked on site with carpentry tools. Plus buying slabs can be 50 to 60% less expensive.
Another sweat equity investment to save money for a killer kitchen upgrade is painting cabinets.
