Personal Experience: How We Designed a Kitchen for 50 Thousand Rubles

Renovation is always expensive, and the kitchen usually costs the most. But not always: blogger Kristina Verшинина told us how to save money. Her kitchen cost the girl only 50 thousand rubles (excluding the cost of appliances).

Kristina Verшинина is an expert and blogger who talks about design and renovation on her Instagram @junior.scandi

Where to start?

I started looking for a kitchen even before the renovation began. And I immediately realized that well-known brands and factories were not for me: I needed a kitchen that could be easily replaced when moving and not regret spending money on it. But aesthetics were still important, so I decided to order a custom kitchen.

Where to order from?

Certainly not in big cities! I'm from Moscow, but ordering a kitchen here would mean spending a lot of money. So I started monitoring prices in nearby cities that are reachable by car.

The key is to find a factory that produces everything itself, not resellers. They have huge markups.

What about measurements?

Since I found the factory in another city, we took all the measurements ourselves. We also planned the placement of all appliances and decided that we needed a cabinet up to the ceiling. We put the machine inside and closed it with doors, and placed the microwave oven above. This saved space.

We described our wishes in detail and sent everything to the factory. There, they helped us finalize everything and started manufacturing.

How to measure the room correctly?

• Create a plan of the room (preferably on graph paper). Leave enough space around for making adjustments.
• Mark all utility lines, pipes, and electrical outlets right away.
• Start with the door and move clockwise. Take overall measurements.
• Then measure each wall and detail separately.
• Use different colors for markings so you don’t get confused later.

Where else can you save money? On materials

We chose MDF doors covered with film. This material comes in different qualities, but it's been half a year now and everything is fine. So I'm satisfied.

On dampers

We didn’t think about them and didn’t install them. Later, we found out that dampers significantly increase the cost of products.

On details

We didn’t decorate the doors and overloaded them with additional accessories. The cabinet doors were also simple — hinged ones.

On the stove

We could have installed an integrated model, but since I measured everything myself, I didn’t want to risk it. In the end, it also saved us some money.

On assembly

Our friend installed the kitchen for us. It's not an expensive service, but why not save one more time?