Kitchen for 29 Thousand? How They Designed a 10 m² Kitchen in a Stalin-era Apartment

We already told about the interior that Alena and her husband created on their own with a limited budget. Today we'll go into more detail about this impressive kitchen.

Beginning the renovation

We started the renovation by collecting references and a plan for future demolition. Mainly, we drew inspiration from Pinterest, movies, and series. The vision was very clear and precise. I had no doubts about color choices and individual elements; rather, the challenge was finding everything at a low cost.

About the Kitchen Cabinet

Building materials were mostly bought at Leroy Merlin. The main kitchen was ordered as a modular unit from a small local company for 28,900 rubles. The upper fronts were metal white and black, bought on sale at Leroy Merlin – all for 7,000 rubles.

About the Countertop

Countertop made of laminated pine wood.

Everyone sees how beautiful the countertop made from laminated pine is, but not everyone understands the nuances.

• low price, the lowest possible;
• natural wood;
• beautiful appearance;
• very pleasant to the touch;
• a wide range of color coatings.

• it's almost impossible to find a piece without a curve or flaw, well-processed;
• wood is very soft, one can leave a dent with a fingernail;
• mandatory sanding;
• coating with oil and wax;
• not very practical for daily use;
• non-standard sizes, may differ in width and thickness from standard countertops. Our boards, for example, are 62 cm in height and 4 cm in thickness (standard is 60 x 3.8), which can complicate the installation of the entire kitchen;
• every 1.5–2 years, re-oiling and waxing is required, and possibly sanding again;
• the protective layer is not resistant to chemicals or acids;
• over time, it can start to crack, dry out, and expand depending on the season and indoor climate. Gaps may easily form at glue joints.

Deciding to go with a wooden countertop, like ours, it's essential to be aware of all these points and mentally and physically prepared for them. We had an unusual angle in our kitchen cabinet, which was a big mistake, so we couldn't choose any ready-made budget option. The choice came down to either making it cheap and doing it from pine ourselves or spending more and custom-ordering in a showroom. We were very capable people and, apparently, extremely desperate, so we went with the first option.

About Retro Wiring

It was never in our plan to cut into such beautiful ceilings, and the walls too. So where possible, we ran regular wires, mainly in gypsum board walls, and where not feasible, we connected the wires to retro elements using boxes hidden inside distribution boxes.

There's not only practical value but also an aesthetic aspect: we really like how exposed wiring looks.

The wires will be attached to walls and ceilings using ceramic insulators. We haven't installed them yet because in many places, additional light points will be added, and the wires need to be pulled beautifully, in parallel, all together.

About Mistakes

We decided not to make a screed under the tiles on the kitchen floor: we read about tile installation on wooden floors online – in the end, we had to redo everything. Other mistakes were made by hired workers, some of which they fixed themselves, and others had to be corrected later by us. But nothing was fatal, everything was easily fixable.

The mistakes were due to carelessness of workers, whose work we had to control constantly. Fortunately, when hiring people who were ready to work for a low price, we were aware of the potential difficulties and shortcomings, so we were mentally prepared for anything.