A 150-square-foot kitchen in a 1963 Eichler home in San Jose, California, has been transformed into a bright, functional, family-friendly space. Renovated once in the ‘80s, the previous kitchen had an L-shaped design that the owners wanted to replace with an island and breakfast counter for better circulation. They needed additional counter and storage space while keeping the kitchen open and uncluttered.

$4,000 Appliances	$820 Kitchen Window	$290 Light Fixtures
$8,000 Kitchen Cabinets	$1,200 Paint	$2,400 Countertops
$150 Knobs & Pulls	$400 Backsplash	$1,500 Flooring
$580 Sink	$500 Floating Shelf	$280 Ceramics
$800 Stools	$20,000 General Contracting	$8,000 Electrical & Plumbing
Grand Total: $48,920

More Budget Breakdowns: an ‘80s kitchen in Florida gets a new look for $42K

Interior designer Cathie Hong of Cathie Hong Interiors met their requests by changing the footprint and orientation of the kitchen, opening up the cramped shape to comfortably accommodate an island.

“We had to extend the kitchen partially into the adjoining multipurpose room, but this was an easy trade-off for us, as we wanted the kitchen to be the hub of the home,” says Hong.

Working with Santa Clara–based builders Arnold’s Custom Homes, Kitchens & Baths, Hong removed all the original cabinetry, appliances, pantry, and wood paneling, and replaced the old window with a dual-pane window.

A good chunk of the cost of renovating the kitchen went into updating the outdated electrical panel.

Hong says that one of the most challenging aspects of the update was finding a way to preserve the original midcentury style that defines an Eichler home.

“We also chose to stack the tiles horizontally to be consistent with the clean, modern lines of the midcentury-style house,” says Hong of the backsplash. “Happily, this turned out to be one of the owners' favorite aspects of their kitchen design!”

Project Credits:

Interior designer: Cathie Hong Interiors / @cathiehonginteriors

Builder: Arnold’s Custom Homes, Kitchens & Baths

Photography: Christy Q Photography