A few more pics:

The bifold doors are the laundry closet which unfortunately is not able to be moved easily. the entry door is to the garage. I still need to change out the door knob.

Mood lighting at night

One upgrade we made that doesn't show up in those pictures are the pullouts we installed as part of this process so here a couple of those:

So what did we get for $2k? We repainted existing cabinets with Valspar cabinet enamel, which is an alkyd-acrylic hybrid. The color is Honeymilk. We installed cabinet pullouts. We replaced cabinet hardware. We installed an all new countertop, which is Wilsonart Madura Gold in quarry finish (one of their premium lines). We installed new sink (Elkay) and faucet (Moen Kiran). The new backsplash is honed and filled travertine stone. We redid the lighting, adding additional fixtures and under and above cabinet lights (the two semi-flush fixtures are Murray Feiss Stelle). We added a small island which serves double duty as a laundry table. We repainted the walls (Pittsburgh Bermuda Sand).

We did not change the flooring (which I may do in a couple years as part of redoing that level of the house. I haven't decided on material for that yet). We did not replace appliances as previously mentioned. Obviously, other than the cabinet for the island, we did not buy any new cabinets.

We still need to change the decorating and I am still debating on options for lighting above the kitchen sink. I may just leave it for a while. There are some issues with getting wiring for a can light over to that location without really tearing up the ceiling and I am not ready to do that yet.

Concerning above the kitchen sink, you can make a roman shade (or do a faux roman). Roman shades are classic style and won't become dated IMO (except maybe the fabric so choose a solid). Bonus, faux roman shades are actually really inexpensive! Your next project could be extending the cabinets to the ceiling, painting that the same color as your current cabinets! I just read an article on it! There are various ways to do it and make it look more or less traditional etc. https://www.remodelandolacasa.com/2012/01/closing-space-above-kitchen-cabinets.html. just another option for you and your handywork!

Sir John you are my hero! Fabulous job!

You spent your money very wisely! Looks great.

Very nice! Kudos for adding the pullouts. They were a game changer in my kitchen.

That is a wonderful transformation. Thank you so much for being kind enough to include costs. That is tremendously helpful. Congratulations on a job brilliantly done.

Agree with all the praise-- the pull outs add so much. AND it looks like your painting skills are tops! Those cabinets look great as does your whole new kitchen.

Great job! You are very skilled.

Very nice. Light and bright!

very nice. Good to see somebody successfully update their kitchen without spending a ton of money.

I think you did a beautiful job. So many here see their kitchens as totally unworkable (and some who post with an unrelated question are told that their kitchens are unworkable, sadly)....It's kind of amazing that there are those of us who manage to cook a meal for 2 or 20 with the atrocity that we have ;) We must be magic, right?

Anyway, I did an Ikea kitchen for under 7000 by shopping clearance tiles/lights and scratch and dent appliances....very basic granite counter...So yes, a budget re-do doesn't mean a cheap re-do, as you beautifully illustrate.

I'm glad you posted.

What a world of difference a bit of paint can do! I'd love to know more about the island! Did you build it or buy it? For the budget you had it looks amazing I would love something similar myself but not sure where to look / where to start. Also would like to know if you painted the cabinetry with a brush or with a spray. Thanks for the inspiration!

Haley - I primarily used a small flock roller to paint.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/WHIZZ-4-in-FLOCK-Cabinet-Door-and-More-Foam-Mini-Paint-Roller/1000550087

The self-leveling of the Valspar cabinet enamel was really effective at reducing any roller/brush marks. But, there is a learning curve with using it. It is much thinner than wall latex and runs and drips easily. I suggest trying it with a small utility cabinet on a trial run. Note that painting is not an easy or quick process as you need to prepare the cabinets, prime, and sand between coats. Since I work in academia, I was lucky and had a week off for spring break, and painting cabinets was literally the only thing I did the entire week. All day, every day. For a weekend warrior, you are looking at 3-4 weekends of doing nothing but cabinets.

I did the island myself, but I cheated to make it as easy as possible. Butcher block tops like I have can be bought premade in various sizes from the big box stores and IKEA. Menards had a super sale one day and I got that one for $50. It's considered lower grade because of knots and inconsistency of the wood, but I thought that just gave it more character. On a functional level, it didn't make a difference, though I checked a lot of the ones in store as some were a bit rougher looking than others. Almost all of the various butcher block tops are unfinished so you finish yourself. There are lot of ways to do that and some are very simple to do. How you choose to finish is often a matter of how you plan to use it.

Since my original cabinets are basically builder grade (though they seem better than a lot of more current builder grade cabinets), I did not feel the need to spend a lot for the cabinet for the island either. The cabinet I selected was an all plywood construction unfinished cabinet from Menards. This one, which was on sale for less than $150 (US made in Minnesota)

Unfinished allowed me to save money and I knew whatever I bought I was going to paint it anyway since that way I could make the finish match the rest of the cabinets exactly. The build quality is definitely low end, but the use of all plywood does step it up a notch and it is sturdy. I chose this over other unfinished options strictly because of the all plywood. What this allowed me to do was avoid having to use any end finish panels or skimming the particle board panels to hide the texture ,etc. I could just sand and paint the sides directly. However, before painting, I used various trim pieces to decorate it up. The back panel had the bottom 4 and a half inches uncovered so I just cut a piece of 1x6 mdf to cover it and serve as a sort of baseboard. I found some corner mouldings to cover the seams where the back met the sides. Then it's just a matter of covering nail and staple holes with wood filler and sanding before painting. It sounds like a lot, but it really is pretty simple. My all in cost for cabinet, trim, and top was $210. I already had the paint and primer for doing the rest of the cabinets. Of course, pulls will add whatever cost you spend on them.

Great job--I love a white kitchen! It's nice to see what $2000 and a lot of hard work can produce. Thank you for providing the details.

Excellent upgrade! Well done.

Awesome job! I'm impressed!