So you have 17K left for cabinets & tops?

Yes. If the plumbing is ok, and I do the island, I’ll have to do something for lights, but I have several electrician family members that can assist there.

Keep the money and use it for when you have to pay more than you expected for the new house or end up buying a house that needs some love. An updated kitchen may bite you in the bum in that the rest looks even more dated in comparison.

As long as nothing is broken give the kitchen a good cleaning and list it.

Will you get 25K back out of doing this? I get wanting to enjoy a new kitchen- but as someone barely through the worst of it, remodeling sucks. And house hunting sucks (and we were just shopping in a comfortably warm market, not a super hot one), and then moving sucks (it might suck most of all). Don't do this to yourselves unless you actually need to. Put that energy and time into the new house after you've recovered (and supply lines have recovered- my island is contact paper and MDF because I finally decided on a counter for it to be out of stock).

A number of years ago friends decided that in order to make their house marketable they needed to replace the carpet. They selected a very nice carpet and had it installed. Four days after closing they drove by. All the new carpet had been torn out and was sitting for garbage pickup.

You do realize that in order to "enjoy the benefit" of a remodeled kitchen for a short time, you are also going to have to enjoy the pain of living without a kitchen for a long time during remodeling.

No, your kitchen doesn't "need" to be remodeled for resale. Enjoy the stress-free time you have left in it, then price it accordingly when it's time to sell.

Thanks for the feedback. I understand its not a requirement. As for living through through a remodel, I am already having the floors re-done so in that regard the main living area, including the kitchen, will already be disrupted for at least several days. If the plumbing has to be moved, then all bets are off. However, if it doesn't, then I'd like to update the appearance and functionality. The overall layout wont really change.

I actually did that. The carpet-rip-out thing. The seller’s hardwoods were worn and I guess they felt a house full of tan carpet was faster and cheaper than refinishing. Bought the house, tore it all out, and thank heavens found someone who took it — and the padding — to reinstall. Made me feel a little less guilty Bottom line — I dont want to pay more for anyone else’s taste. Not for carpet. Not for kitchens. Give me a good price, and load up your moving van. I think that in all but the lowest entry-level home — where buyers might be short on cash after closing—- this is the best strategy.

"I am already having the floors re-done so in that regard the main living area, including the kitchen, will already be disrupted for at least several days."

You do realize that contractors are booked out way, way ahead of time, right? (the good ones, anyway) And that there are material shortages that can put the kabash on your timeline in the middle of a job, right? A simple kitchen refresh with countertops, splash and paint can take many months, if you're looking to do more you're probably going to be waiting...and waiting.

When to remodel a kitchen for resale: When the kitchen is sufficiently lower quality than the rest of the home to bring down the appeal (thus sales price) of the other areas. Kitchens and baths don't really sell homes but they can create a weak link in an otherwise strong chain, so only consider remodeling for resale if your kitchen is noticeably and significantly below the overall quality of the home.

Give up the idea of enjoying a nice kitchen for a while and creating resale value. In order to create any resale benefit you are going to have to prioritize form over function. If you spend to get a kitchen that you like using it is unlikely that you will see a positive return. Instead, find some other way to create happiness, I recommend a nice trip to Italy. I assure you that in a few years your memories from the nice trip to Italy will be better than the memories of the nice kitchen you had for a few months.

One noted exception to the above: if you can remodel a kitchen to avoid selling at all, go for it. If an updated kitchen is what keeps you from paying the transaction costs of moving, then it is probably a good investment.

Finally, $17k is a builder grade kitchen, especially if you have any appliances in there.

ETA: I understand the thought behind the ripping out carpet thing but just because someone is removing the carpet doesn't mean they would have paid as much for the house before the carpet was installed. People offer more money for houses with new clean carpet they want to replace than they do for houses with old dirty carpet they have to replace.

@MizLizzie Its a fair point. From a buyers perspective I guess I'd do the same thing. Maybe to be completely honest, I'm just mentally sick of that kitchen and want it cosmetically nicer. I also just don't know when we will actually move. Our target area is in one of those really hot markets where everything is being sold for 80-100k or more over asking price. While I don't want to throw away money, I'm also not opposed to spending the money I have budgeted. The new hardwood will replace the existing flooring in the kitchen, so now was the time to rip and replace the cabinets. I was going to re-face through HD but that alone was 11k + countertops. I got a few quotes for cabinet painting but the existing cabinets are Oak and we wanted to hide the grain. Those quotes were around 4k. At that point I was already at about 50% of my budget so I thought Id look at replacing the cabinets in basically the same layout (minus the island, which granted, could be an issue).

@porkchop_z5b_MI I do realize those things. That was one of the reasons I was looking at RTA cabinets. I have contractors lined up for the other work already. The cabinets situation is what I've been stuck on.

@bry911. Italy trip sounds good : ) Can you elaborate on the $17k for a builder quality kitchen? What lines then? This would not include appliances.

What exactly are you asking me to elaborate on? Your cabinets have lasted 20 years, yet you noted they were builder grade. To replace them with cabinets that are going to last another 20 years and be better, you are going to have to add some features, features that can drive the price up quite a bit.

Once you allow for installation and counters, you simply don't have a robust budget to get good quality cabinets. Ikea isn't really an option right now as their supply chain issues are not expected to resolve in the next year. You could probably get Barker in the next six months, if you want RTA, but adding drawer organizers and extras to move it from builder grade to a nice kitchen are going to set you back.

Again, the biggest problem isn't your budget, it is your plan. Remodeling a kitchen to sell is a different animal than remodeling a kitchen to use. If you are not going to commit to using your kitchen for at least 5 to 10 years, then don't bother with a kitchen remodel for yourself. There are two questions that are usually mutually exclusive (1) What do I want to love my kitchen? (2) What will a buyer pay for in my kitchen?

Suggest posting layout & photo(s) for more specific recommendations.

This is the primary wall

If redoing kitchen, would NOT use that same layout.https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first

Also change base cabinets to drawers, not pull-out shelves behind doors.

Agree, ikea.

This is the free-standing wall that I'd like to remove and replace w/island, opposite of the main wall (assuming plumbing is ok)

This is not my home, but the layout is the same. They closed that little open "window" but the rough design is the same. This is why I want to just demo the wall and do an island. It just opens everything up.

What I would do to make the kitchen feel fresh (and more appealing to you) without spending a lot of money or time for a major remodel is to make some minor changes. Get rid of the current countertops (including the 4" backsplash) and drop in sink. Get some interesting new hardware for the cabinets; it will definitely improve their appearance. Install a nice, fairly neutral backsplash (anyone who is at all handy can DIY this project. Repaint. Find a new home for the crockpot etc. Depending on the age and functionality of your range, maybe replace it with a slide-in.

If I were you I would put a fresh coat of paint on the entire house, declutter & put the house up for sale. If your area is anything like mine it will sell FAST for a good price. Save your money for your next home. Where are you located?

The sink wall exists because of the pantry and upper cabinets and loosing those to create an island may create storage/function issues. I’d think long and hard about that (and as a test just try living with those upper cabinets by the sink wall without any contents). Also, go ahead and measure your tops and go get pricing from your local well vetted countertop pro - then you’ll know how much left you have in your budget for cabinets. What color floor stain are you going with and will it work with your kitchen cabinets if you end up keeping them? I would hold off on floor project until you know all these variables for certain or you may box yourself into a corner.

You want to remodel and open up your kitchen?? At a cost of thousands of dollars and months of mess and stress??

Don’t. Just don’t. Not everybody wants a kitchen open to the living area. (I don’t.) Not everybody will like the RTA cabinets you choose or the hardwood floors you install.

Keep your $25k in your pocket for your new house. It appears you may just like the process of change/update/remodel. Do that in your new home - it’s YOUR money so use it where YOU KNOW it will benefit YOU.

Where I live that budget would be too low for even ikea cabinets DIY installed.