I'm thinking you could probably come in at less than $300 for the sink. why don't you hold off on the backsplash... maybe just drywall and paint it for the time being, or do beadboard or something fairly inexpensive - this is an easy place to add some money in the future without effecting the present too much. light fixtures: probably you can save some $$ here too. I bet you will be able to figure something out with the hood to skim a few $$. put everything you can into the cabinets and counters -- those will be difficult to change in the future.

with careful planning and aggressive shopping I bet you will go very very far. good luck.

Whenever I hear "we'll do it cheap now and redo it later" I think about how much more it will cost if it's done twice. We were in somewhat of a budget crunch in our project but instead of asking ourselves what we could do cheap now and redo later, we asked ourselves what can we do without now and do (for the first time) later. One of the first things to go was the BS. We have drywall & paint right now. Someday we'll have a tile BS, but probably not for a few years. Appliances are another place to save money and you seem to be doing a good job there. Other items, for us, were to eliminate or postpone: one GD, decorative door panels on peninsula & ends of cabinet runs, furniture molding, wood floors, and Tap Masters (2). Note these items were postponed, not done at all, rather than done cheap and later redone. There were other items but right now I can't remember what they were (hmmmm, if I don't remember them, maybe they're not worth doing later!)

I would think long and hard about the cooktop/range in the island...even if the gas line is already there. It's not just the expense of the hood and yes, they are quite a bit more expensive. It's also the safety factor unless you have a lot of room around it...at least 24" of counter space on each side and behind it. No seating behind the cooktop unless you have that 24" behind it. Even walking past...

Island hoods are often very large and have a very commanding presence in a kitchen and usually take a fairly large kitchen for it to look "right" in (I don't know the size of your kitchen, so I don't know if a large hood hanging down in the middle of it will "work" well).

Then there's the view...island hoods block the view into/out of the kitchen...both looking outside as well as inside.

I think it will be less expensive and much easier to make the change now rather than later...yes, you'll have to pay to move the line but the difference in cost b/w an island hood & wall hood may not be that much less if you make the change now (much more expensive w/a remodel down the road).

Yes, it will probably be difficult to make someone else's cabinets fit your kitchen unless they both have the same dimensions and layout.

So, how handy is your DH? Could he make the cabinets? Or at least make the boxes and order unfinished doors & drawer fronts from someplace like Scherr's or IKEA?

Then, paint the boxes, doors, and drawer fronts the same.

You just might be able to do it for $3K, depending on the size of your kitchen. The "fancy" inserts could come later...do adjustable/stationary shelves for now and put in pull out shelves later...or do all drawers now. One big advantage of this...custom cabinets that fit your space exactly. Often filler is used to make stock cabinets fit in a space...and in most cases filler is wasted space (exception: when needed to allow doors/appliances to open fully and/or clear door/window trim).

FYI...one GWer (Divamum, I think) lucked out and got, as I recall, both cabinets & counters (w/sink attached) from someone that her contractor was able to make fit her space. I don't remember if she had to "fill" in with any additional cabinets. So, it is possible that you could do the same (check your local Craigslist or Pennysaver), but I wouldn't count on it.

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All of the above comments are meant to give you some things to think about. Whatever you decide, make it an informed decision. Know the pros/cons and think about what will be best for you and your family.

Good luck!

Check out building supply places for cabinets. My contractor recommended a place to us and they had what we needed for a lot less than the big box. Now they gave us the contractors' rate. The cabinets are all plywood and the drawers are full extension soft close. The down side is that they they have limited cabinet choices but plenty that you can work with. They also have limited door styles and wood choices. We were able to find what we wanted though and made a few compromises. Considering what I have now it will be a vast improvement.

My contractor tells me that the cabinets at the building supply are just as good or better than Wellborn (I doubt that). But he looks at things from how easy to install, how square they are, and how much they flex from side to side.

Regarding a vent hood -- know what you want and then check out scratch and dent sections of appliance stores and ask the sales person if they have any floor models they would like to sell. My sister got a F&P 5 burner cooktop for a much reduced price this way. The store was remodeling their sales room and getting rid of the stuff that was on display.

Believe it or not, may custom cabinet builders can be VERY competitive in pricing. I was amazed when I discovered that. I got custom cabinets solid oak cabinets (with oak plywood boxes) for just a little more than IKEA would have cost.

Just wanted to say Hooray! for Habitat for Humanity. I got my cabinets there for $3000, and am thrilled with them. Keep your eyes peeled, let them know what you're looking for, and surely something will come along. Doing new doors on sturdy older boxes is a great option.

Habitat is also a fabulous source for all kinds of sinks, at least in my neck of the woods - they always have at least 10 stainless sinks at a time, and often quite nice enamelled ones too. All for around $50.

You can do it! I've done my kitchen for only a bit more, and it's possible with a lot of scrounging, DIY and legwork to find the best deals. eBay is a must for faucets.

Keep us posted.

Oh, and I completely forgot what I was going to say: it's not as bad as it might seem to re-do cabinetry to fit your own layout.

I thought it would be nightmarish, but in the end everyone thinks I ordered the cabs custom-made for my kitchen. It's a bit like a large jigsaw puzzle - in the end, it's simply about making boxes fit, no matter where they're from. You just need a talented carpenter and some vision, which I'm betting you have in spades.

If you are planning on painting them (I love the idea of blue, there have been some gorgeous pictures on this forum with blue milkpaints), you have even more leeway, since you can fill in with high-quality birch plywood where necessary.

Onwards!

Another option from Ikea is the freestanding kitchens. They are (necessarily, since they stand on their own) sturdier than the built-in cabinets, very DIY friendly, and still have all the cool features. Unfitted is good for replacing later, too. And you'll have great garage cabinets then!

You can also save money by doing open shelving instead of all cabinets, paint instead of backsplash (I'd still 'splash behind the stove), planning for furniture, etc. You can pick up unfinished reproduction pie safes inexpensively and they make great pantries.

There is a guy who will shop at the Kraftmaid outlet in Indiana for you. There are some AMAZING deals there and the fees for his service were very reasonable. I had his website in my favorites, but I must have deleted it. If you google Kraftmaid and outlet, his site should come up.

Good luck!