Not happening for 20K where i live the cabinets and appliances will finish off that money.Vaulting a ceiling needs a lot of work and money everything that is running up in the attic will have to be rerouted and IMO you gain nothing for a lot of money and your heating and cooling bill will rise.You have no space for an island are you meaning the sink wall is goin to be opened too?

Hi Patricia, thanks so much for your comments, we definitely need the reality check. The vaulted ceiling idea we just came up with this morning so I have no clue what that entails or if it's even possible, but it sounds like it would be nice to have. As for the cabinets, I'm doing all the install diy and have quotes in the $5k range for wood cabinets using the current footprint. The sink wall uppers are going away and that opens to the den so we just need to replace those base cabinets and add a larger counter top that will extend a little into the den. I hope that clarifies things a bit and please add more of your thoughts :)

Your flooring alone could eat half your budget. Have you don’t renovations before? Is this your first home? Our first major renovation, our kitchen, showed me I was clueless as to budget. Our end cost ended up more than twice what I imagined in my head that a kitchen reno would cost.

If you vault the ceiling, you also have to do something about the chimney; how does the brick continue up?

It's an older house, looks like an older homeowner, so once you start opening things up, there's no telling what issues you might find, maintenance-wise, that have to be corrected or changed.

You can’t even buy 1/3 of decent quality materials on that budget. Just good mid level cabinets alone will cost more than that. So will the flooring. You’re over budget before you even breathe. Radically reduce the scope. Maybe to do a bathroom. 20K would about cover materials for a 5 pc master bath.

You bought the wrong house.

Not sure about the wrong house, but you for sure are biting off more than you can chew and definitely afford with the $20k. You'll probably have to do them in phases. Live in the house for a while and see if your desires/needs change. And lay off watching so much Property Brothers - it's not helping.

Thank you for all your comments. I may certainly be out of mind with this budget. that being said, let me share some info with you and hopefully you can tell me what I'm missing.

I have a quote from CliqStudios for wood cabinets ~$5k

a quote from Hosking for engineered wood using the listed dimensions ~$5k

Guessing on the counter top ~$2500 also the appliances ~$3k

that leaves me ~$4500 for materials etc... labor will be 80% diy

@cpartist, I wish I could but there's no doubt in my mind that that kitchen Has To Go! lol

@my_four_sons This is our 4th home and I've done smaller projects before, this will be by far the biggest that I've ever tackled.

@bpathome Agreed! tabling the vaulted ceilings for now. Thank you for the reality check :)

@wiscokid I like Fixer Upper lol If it wasn't so hot in Texas I'd move there just to have them do my reno :)

Cheepchinesecrapola is not an investment into your home’s future. It’s a 5 Minute Flipper Fix. Looks good for the camera. Then the idiot who let them into their house to ruin it has to live with the dreck. Unless this is Section 8 housing, you’re not looking at something that is appropriate in your house. You’ll just end up having to do the job twice. And the second time, paying for all that you should have done right the first time. It’s burning 20K.

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A mid grade average kitchen redo is 64K. Even just decent cabinets cost more than your budget.

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2018/

5K may be the quote for the flooring, but that doesn't count what it will cost to demo all the tile and level the floors for new flooring. Or what the cost of all new baseboards will be.

If any of your walls are load bearing, you'll need to pay for a structural engineer to examine them and provide you with a drawing for what you'll need as far as a beam and whether or not you'll need to install piers to support the new beam, plus the cost of permits and inspections.

A decent sink and faucet are going to run $600-$700, plus the new plumbing you'll need. They don't bother to tell you when you buy a new stove and dishwasher that the cords and hoses cost extra.

Backsplashes, new light fixtures, etc. add up quickly as well.

I just redid my kitchen 2 years ago. I didn't move anything, nor did I change out my floors. My cabinets (solid walnut plank doors, plywood boxes, soft close doors, and a few add-ons like extended fridge cabinet, pull out trash, tray dividers, and tilt out sink drawer) sink, faucet, granite counters, backsplash, appliances, plumbing, electrical, and backsplash, cost me $20K.

1,000 s.f. of laminate flooring, installed, cost me about $4k (that was replacing only carpeting). I left my tile in the kitchen, family room, breakfast room and bathrooms.

Unless you really know what you're doing (or your carpenter friend does), drywall work gets expensive quickly.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just to point out some of the things you don't think about when you start a remodel this size. As someone who went through it just recently, I just wanted to give you a heads up.

@Sophie Wheeler, I appreciate your insight. I should've clarified in the op that this house is located in a small town in NC, it doesn't call for a $100k reno. My million dollar house days are way behind me now :) and while I don't want to burn money, I also don't want to wait to hit the lotto before fixing up the place.

Re: Cheepchinesecrapola, are you expressing your opinion of Cliqstudios (built in Indiana) and Hoskings hardwoods (I'm considering a Canadian built product)? All the reviews here on houzz and other places seem very good.

@katinparadise, wow great post, thank you. I especially like this part. Sounds like you got it done for 20K so there is Hope! :)

"I just redid my kitchen 2 years ago. I didn't move anything, nor did I change out my floors. My cabinets (solid walnut plank doors, plywood boxes, soft close doors, and a few add-ons like extended fridge cabinet, pull out trash, tray dividers, and tilt out sink drawer) sink, faucet, granite counters, backsplash, appliances, plumbing, electrical, and backsplash, cost me $20K."

Cluq is Import assembled in various locations. It is not manufactured in the US.

A genuine mid grade cabinet has that attribute first of all, before anything. It has raw wood going in one end of the US factory and finished cabinets loaded on a truck at the other. It’s not who knows what forged certifications for questionable material. $5 wood is low end, who knows what. LL has major lawsuits over that kind nd of stuff.

Pete, I am very sorry to say that 20K for what you want to do is a pipe dream! We had our kitchen done 3 years ago. My husband did all the demo, electrical, plumbing. We used existing flooring, same appliances, same foot print. We spent 32K. We had custom cabinets, but they were really the same as pre fab. We had quartz countertops in the kitchen and laminate for the bar.

Before you start renovating and removing walls, you really, really, really need to live in this space for a bit. See how the traffic patterns flow. See what you really need to do to get this to be the house for you. There may be other things come up....roof leaks, water heater shot, furnace shot, etc. that will preclude you from your kitchen.

You're welcome Pete. Take your time and really try to factor in all the little things you don't think about. Make a list of everything you want to do and research all the material costs carefully. If your friend does carpentry for a living, he knows how much a lot of this might cost. Be sure to take advantage of that knowledge.