We’re sharing the breakdown of our Chicago pantry renovation budget with you.
In This Post
How Much Did It Cost?
We recently revealed our completed walk-in pantry! If you happened to miss that post, we’d definitely recommend checking it out. As we’ve done in the past, we’re breaking down how we spent the allocated funds on the project. We feel that transparency in cost helps us all have a more full and realistic understanding of what goes into a home renovation. We hope this is a helpful resource for your own renovations and acts as a jumping-off point for your own custom cabinet project!.
If you’d like to catch up on this project from the beginning, here’s how we kicked it off, the mood board, the reveal of the completed space, why we continue to work with Cabinet Joint and everything we used to organize it.
We designed the pantry to act as a beautiful extension of the kitchen, which we finished a few years ago. The pantry space lived a former life as an in-home workshop and storage area of sorts, but now it’s a striking powerhouse of form and function that nearly doubled our storage space and moved it all behind doors. We flexed our DIY muscles on this project, partly because our favorite GC was tied up on another project and partly to save money on the overall build. Those savings are reflected below and we’ve outlined them as line items since they’re a cost to consider for any renovation.
Pantry Budget Breakdown
Electrical Prep | $800
Wallpaper/Install* | $645/$500
New Window + Install* | $4,210
Custom Cabinetry* | $12,000
Cabinet Build + Install | $0 – DIY
Wood Countertop + DIY fab | $409
Hardware* | $788
Accessories + Rug* | $737
Lighting* | $2,387
Organization | $625
TOTAL = $23,101 *denotes partial or full brand sponsorship
Get The Look
If you’re wondering where something is from, I’ve linked all of it below for you!
1. roll + hill lorna flush mount | 2. vertical stripe wallpaper | 3. neutral color-match paint to wallpaper | 4. allen + roth butcher block | 5. pittock double sconce 6. cabinet joint in madison style | 7. poppy table lamp | 8. acacia wood bin | 9. sculpted felt bin | 10. claybourne drawer pull | 11. claybourne applicance pull | 12. ball cabinet knob | 13. maria earthenware planter | 14. jute flatweave rug
We hope this is helpful in pulling back the curtain on the cost of a real, self-financed renovation! If you’ve got any questions about the process or how we pulled it all together, ask away!
Can you elaborate at all on the window installation? Was most of the cost the actual cost of the window, or the cost of installation?
Hi Kerri! There’s more on the extensive window situation in this post. The cost quoted was for the window itself and installation, which was a very involved process in this case. The window was moved approximately one foot to the left and one foot up from its’ former location in order to center it in the room. This move required framing work, new insulation, drywall patching on the interior and trim and siding repair on the exterior. In our experience, replacing a same-size single window should cost around $800 give or take a few hundred. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the response! We are looking to add some transom style windows to walls that are currently windowless, so I’m guessing our costs might be somewhere between a straight replacement and what you guys needed to consider. Thanks again!
I think that’s a fair bet! We had a fantastic experience with Window World of Western Chicago and highly recommend them if you’re local.
I’d love to see what this would cost without brand partnerships. Are you able to give that estimate? These totals are so helpful for people trying to get an idea of renovation cost. Thanks Kim!
Hi Amanda! Sorry for any confusion. The costs listed are the ‘consumer costs’ based on no brand partnerships, so what we would have paid at retail. The asterisk is there for full transparency to show that our costs were not that of a standard consumer due to our partnerships. Hope this helps!
As a homeowner with a pantry like this in our kitchen, I’m so happy for you guys. I know it’s my favorite room in the house, and we don’t have a window, so I’m jelly of your window and glad you guys paid to have it located and installed correctly. I know your cabinets are super nice and custom, but other cabinets for this size of space could be a fraction of the price (to give other people an idea). Thanks for sharing the cost breakdown!
Hi Julie! Thanks for the kind words. Yes, we certainly could have saved on cabinets if we went less custom and sacrificed some storage space and efficiencies.