Are you buying this place? There is no budget friendly way to remedy what you described. It will be a money pit and you better get a darn good inspection of electrical (get it to current code); plumbing same and roofing up to date. To fix those 3 items will run $30-50k depending on size of unit. Let the buyer beware. If just renting keep looking.

Thank you for that, Flo. I have bought and the condo and building was inspected. Any advice on my possible choices?

You might get better ideas if you post pictures after you have possession. I think I know what kind of cabinets you’re referring to . I’ve seen them painted all one color, the oak pulls the same as the laminate ( the ones I saw were painted.white ). it was an inexpensive temporary solution. I would get an estimate for a new laminate or granite remnants available from a stone company.

How 'bout a photo?

Will try my best but I am not proficient with my phone.

Ok so if you can do the proper prep work you can paint the cabinets. It is a lit of work. Then change out hardware. That will be least costly. There are YouTube videos describing how to do this. But, if you want to change countertops that should be done first because it will potentially damage cabinet finish. You need a complete master plan with sequencing so you can have least cost but cohesive end result.

Momof3. Can you share ballpark cost for all the improvements? Nice job!

Potentially inexpensive: Replace doors with IKEA doors. Paint boxes to match. Paint walls. Replace countertop with IKEA. Keep floor for now.

That sounds like a good idea. I don't usually shop at IKEA but i will go to have a look. Thank you very much

Get new laminate countertops in a black and then paint the wood in a fun color. Maybe a cobalt blue? Or what is your favorite color? I wouldn't try painting laminate cabinets. It's a pain to paint and never looks right. Then paint the walls a color that will work with the color of the pulls.

Flo, it was just a rental house, but, based on our own projects, it would have been about $200 DIY or $800-$1000 to have someone in to do it.

Thx. It would cost a lot more here. Lol. Depends on where you are I guess.

I guess I did get quote for my kitchen cabinets that was $4000, but that’s here in MA. For some reason I think it was a lot cheaper there.

I had those cabinets in my home and a simple fix was to take one of the cabinets doors to Lowe’s and have them color match it. We then painted the oak trim, which made the cabinets look solid. The oak trim was no longer the first thing I saw when I entered the kitchen. I would definitely change your countertops. The emerald green would have to go.

Good luck!

Painting cabinets well is either a laborious process or expensive because of the labor required to do the job properly. I would imagine painting laminate properly is even harder to do.

I feel for you as my first condo had walnut stained plywood doors - mustard yellow formica and some kind of vinyl flooring that was popular in the 1970's. What I was able to achieve on a fairly limited budget seems to have escalated in cost beyond inflation. I had my doors and cabinets painted by someone who took them offsite - they were a glossy finish and held up relatively well. I have no idea what process he used - only that he said they were spray painted. He didn't have the greatest skill set in rehanging the doors as they never closed properly after that :-) but the paint job was more than adequate for my needs - I didn't look at it with a microscope and no one could possible think I had devalued the condo for resale even if I had thought about resale at that point.

I replaced the floors with black and white checkered vinyl tiles and put in gray formica with black formica on the higher breakfast bar portion.

I am NOT suggesting these as fixes for you - only commiserating that my relatively inexpensive cosmetic changes are now relatively expensive. I have been told by people on this board that the cost of formica counters surpasses granite - that painting cabinets is almost as expensive as getting new cabinets because any kind of inexpensive paint job will be terrible.

Thank you everyone! You have all given me some great ideas.

I vote paint the trim, get a cheap new counter, and start a savings jar for a real overhaul. I had the same cabinets for about 12 years before I finally took the plunge:

By then I really knew how we used the space, and the kitchen is a lot different than it would have been if I had redesigned it sooner.