How I Remodeled Our Waco Kitchen on a Budget

When I remodeled our kitchen in the Waco home, I saved a lot of money. I found high-quality affordable Kitchen cabinets that are simply amazing.

The Waco Texas Airbnb home remodel was a big project. We basically had to redo everything which included, foundation, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, porch and more. By nature, I am always looking for a way to do things cheaper without sparing quality. Fortunately, I worked with a company called Semihandmade who makes doors for Ikea cabinets. 

And frankly, I think their concept is brilliant.

We installed IKEA cabinets in our kitchen in our Ventura beach home seven years ago. If you asked me if there was anything I would change about these cabinets, I would have to answer the cabinet fronts. They don’t have the custom look that I prefer.

But now, thanks to Semihandmade doors for Ikea cabinets, you can get the cabinet bases from IKEA and select the custom cabinet and door fronts from Semihandmade. 

I told you it was brilliant.

Why Kitchen Remodeling is so Expensive

Remodeling your kitchen can be prohibitively expensive. That is because of the cost of kitchen cabinets. 

Cabinets are the single biggest reason why kitchen remodels tend to cost a lot. Mid-range stock cabinetry might cost between $10,000-$20,000 for a full kitchen remodel. High-end cabinetry will cost $30,000 or more. On average, installation amounts to about $6,000 and painting cabinets can cost an additional $5000.

Obviously I didn’t have the budget for custom cabinets. In fact, my budget was $5000 for the cabinets and installation. I am pleased to say I stayed on budget!

And yet my kitchen feels and looks like I used high-end custom cabinetry.

Before Photos of Our Kitchen

This is what our kitchen looked like when we bought our Waco home. Frankly, it was the nicest room in the entire home. It even had vinyl sheeting that looked like hardwood (which was covering up nice hardwood floors). Go figure. 

I wanted an open concept on entire the left side of our home so the new wrap around porch could open up to the living room, dining room and kitchen. So I relocated the kitchen to the back of the home.

The existing kitchen area was too small. You can see in this photo below where we added ten feet to the back of the home.

We added new support beams, electrical, windows, insulation, shiplap, drywall, and a new foundation.

I found matching vintage wood ceiling boards (and floorboards) at a salvage business I found on the Facebook marketplace. Would you believe these ceiling boards came out of the building that Magnolia and Joanna Gaines have remodeled into her new Furniture Showroom? It’s true!

Why Did I Select Semihandmade Doors for Ikea Cabinets?

Selecting Semihandmade doors for IKEA kitchen cabinets was the easiest part of the kitchen remodel. Here are a few reasons I chose these affordable kitchen cabinets.

1. IKEA cabinet bases are the best. They have a modular system, great warranty, stores everywhere, easy installation, frameless cabinets, and great prices. I also love that their drawers have the automatic self-closing feature.
2.  When purchasing Ikea kitchen cabinets, they sell the cabinet bases and fronts separately. (Who else does that?)
3. Semihandmade doors for IKEA kitchen cabinets are made in the USA. They are easily customized and can be purchased in a variety of colors, wood-grain finishes, and a paint-ready DIY version. I bought the finished ones which saved me even more money.
4. The cabinet door selection at Semihandmade is amazing, including the collaboration products they have with designers.
5. Their prices are amazing.

Planning the Kitchen

Planning our kitchen and cabinets was easy. I used the IKEA kitchen planner, which is free. I created my plan with cabinets AND doors, along with the cabinet dimensions. (That was so I could send the specific order to Semihandmade.) When it came time to submit my order to Ikea, I had them remove the doors from my order. (Be sure you don’t remove the hinges.)

I picked up the cabinet bases from IKEA the day after I ordered them. And installation was a breeze.

I should mention there was no painting needed. 

Which Cabinets Did I Order?

I ordered the White Supermatte Shaker cabinet and door fronts from Semihandmade. I love shaker styled cabinets and I was thrilled they were already finished! The white color is perfect.

The cabinet bases I ordered from Ikea are SEKTION white and the doors are MAXIMERA white. The hardware is UTRUSTA.

I forgot to buy the cabinet pulls at IKEA so I ordered them on Amazon instead. The Polished Chrome Hardware pulls only cost $2.50 each. And the Polished Chrome Cabinet Hardware Round Mushroom Knobs cost under $2.00 each. I love how they look in our kitchen. 

Another way I saved money was to install open shelves instead of cabinets. I still think I need to paint them but I will get to that eventually. 

If you are thinking about redoing your kitchen or replacing your kitchen cabinets, I hope you will seriously consider Semihandmade who makes doors for Ikea cabinets. I love my high-quality affordable kitchen cabinets.

It’s probably the smartest decision I made in the entire remodel of our Waco home.

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