Looking for kitchen design ideas for less?

If your kitchen design ideas are plentiful, but your budget isn’t, don’t despair. You can get the look you want without spending a fortune. All it takes is a little elbow grease and creativity.

Consider these 5 ideas:

Do it yourself. When tackling a remodeling project, do as much of the work yourself to save money on contractors. If you’ve never done any kind of demolition work yourself, get some advice from a handy friend or family member. Instead of hiring a general contractor to oversee the job, bring in a consultant for a one-time fee to advise on issues of structural integrity. Tackle smaller, cosmetic jobs like installing a backsplash or switching out hardware.

Save on cabinets. One of the biggest expenses in remodeling a kitchen is cabinetry, which is about 40 percent of your project budget or more. To save money, choose to only replace or refurbish your lowers and switch the uppers to open shelving. Two other options are professional refacing or trying a do-it-yourself coating system.

Reduce, reuse and recycle. You can save a ton of money by using recycled materials. Check out thrift sales, building supply center clearance sales or outlets, and salvaged materials from places like Habitat ReStore. If you’re not doing the work yourself, check with your contractor to make sure he is OK with using recycled materials. Other great places to check for cheaper materials are Craigslist and Freecycle.

Keep your existing footprint. Knocking out walls, moving plumbing or electrical, or putting on an addition all increase the cost of your remodel. If you stay within your same basic footprint, however, you can avoid some of those costs. If you don’t like how your kitchen is laid out, be creative with the space you have.

Use stock materials. Anytime you deviate from standard measurements, costs increase. If you like the look of custom, buy stock cabinetry and then embellish with details if desired. Trim and crown molding go a long way in taking a plain cupboard to something really unique and interesting looking.

Have any unique kitchen design ideas for less of your own? Be sure to share them in the comments section!