Luxury Kitchen Design with Smaller Pockets

[Nicole Romano]

Ha! Smaller Pockets, but that is a tool every investor uses, right? We try to squeeze the most out of every dollar so we can have Bigger Pockets at the end of each project. For those of you who are beginners, of which I am one, this is especially important.

Hi, my name is Nicole and I run Burlock Interiors in Beacon, NY. (About an hour north of NYC in the Hudson Valley).

In this post, I quickly and efficiently point out some general rules of thumb and some very specific tips on how to achieve a Luxury Kitchen on a smaller budget. This is not for Section 8 or for a lower income market. This is for investors working in middle and upper income areas.

First, you should know that this is a kitchen and prototype for an 81 unit luxury rental project just outside of White Plains, NY. This project comes to a close in a couple of months. I have been working on it since inception,...helping the developers connect to their target market through materials.

Investors, you should always be thinking about your market, their lifestyle and their tastes. I'll give you an extreme example. You are not going to put in a farm sink and marble if you're no where near a farm and your neighborhood is filled with Millenials. Got it? If not, ask me. I'm here to help with quick questions for anyone anywhere.

The Quick Recipe We Used in Our Kitchen

-Light Quartz Countertops

-Porcelain Mosaic Backsplash (in a complementary color)

-With Dark Wood Shaker Style Cabinets (for contrast)

-A Fabulous Shiny Faucet (for pop)

-Color Pendants (for more Pop)

-Stainless Steel Appliances

-Vinyl Floors (yes, vinyl!)

Where We Spent Money

The Countertops

Everyone loves quartz especially b/c it's low maintenance. It's well worth the investment.

The Faucet

It's the Simplice faucet by Kohler. In polished chrome, with a pull-out spray that keeps things streamlined. This baby retails for $306. That's not what we paid and you can also find it for less online.

The Backsplash

They are making porcelain mosaics now! It's so exciting. This tile retailed for about $9/SF. It's not a lot of money to spend for such a small amount of space, but will be double or triple the price of your ceramic subway tile.

Where Saved Money

The Cabinets

We used the base product line by Wolf called Wolf Classic. This is a custom line that they are able to keep low-cost by only offering 3 different door styles with a limited number of finishes. Cabinets are such a HUGE part of every kitchen budget. If you can save money on these, it will allow you to spend money on other impact elements.

Vinyl Floors

Technology is wowing us more and more each day. Vinyl floors can cost as little as $2 a square foot and they're easy to install. And get this, the professional cleaner they hired for the rental office and amenity spaces on this project, thought it was real wood! The icing on the cake is that a lot of vinyl floors are comprised of recycled materials and are completely recyclable themselves.

Pendants

The pendants we used here were under $100 with a custom color. You can find similar for sure. And DON'T BE COLOR SHY! A little pop of color can add so much it's wonderful!

So there you have it. A general approach with specifics on how we achieved the overall look for not a lot. Feel free to send me your design questions. If it's a quick answer, I will gladly help, for FREE.

Please connect with me, especially if you are in the Hudson Valley! I look forward to knowing you.

xo!

Nicole