A professional kitchen designer with 20+ years of industry experience reveals 100+ places where homeowners find savings — and exactly what to do instead.
Where you save money on a kitchen remodel isn't where most people think
The biggest savings aren't always found in sales or cheaper products. Sometimes they're hidden in the decisions themselves.
A few inches off an island could mean one less slab of stone. A different cabinet specification could save 10–20% without changing the way your kitchen looks. And sometimes two cabinets cost less than three filling the exact same space.
These are the kinds of things you learn after years of designing, pricing, ordering, and installing kitchens.
After more than 20 years designing kitchens — from budget-conscious remodels to high-end luxury projects — Danya Uptegrove knows which decisions are worth spending on, which upgrades often aren't, and where small changes can make a surprisingly big difference.
This mini course puts that knowledge on your side.
These aren't tips you'll find on a home improvement blog. They come from two decades of working inside the industry — and knowing where the opportunities actually are.
A few inches off your island could eliminate an entire slab.
Most homeowners plan their kitchen around how it looks and how it functions — which is exactly right. But some of the best design decisions also happen to be smart financial ones. Understanding how stone is priced and cut means a small adjustment at the right moment can have a surprisingly large impact on cost — without changing the way the kitchen looks or works.
Two cabinets can cost less than three filling the same space.
Cabinet pricing has its own logic — and it isn't always intuitive. Sometimes a different configuration gets you the same storage, the same look, and the same functionality at a meaningfully lower price. You don't need to become a cabinet expert to benefit from knowing this. You just need to know the question exists so you can ask it.
The installer can matter as much as the cabinet.
The instinct is to put the money into the product and economize on labor. After hundreds of kitchens, the reality is often more nuanced. A highly skilled installer can make a mid-range cabinet line look exceptional. Understanding where craftsmanship lives in the finished product — and making decisions accordingly — is one of the things that separates an informed homeowner from one who's simply following the showroom's recommendations.
There are 100+ more of these insider tips in the course.
The ones above are just where we start.
To show what this kind of knowledge can do in the real world, here's an example based on a real kitchen — a high-end remodel in Florida where the selections were reconsidered using the same principles taught in this course.
Nothing about the layout changed. Nothing about the overall look and feel changed. The kitchen still reads as a beautiful, high-end space. What changed was where the money went.
The selections above represent one example of what's possible when you know where flexibility exists. Individual results will vary based on project scope, selections, and market.
Rift cut white oak → textured melamine. Same doors, same hardware, same overall look. Different material, dramatically different price.
Taj Mahal quartzite → Dekton Taga. A porcelain surface engineered to look like natural stone — with arguably better durability for a kitchen environment.
Thermador suite → Thor. Professional-grade performance at a fraction of the luxury brand premium.
Not every homeowner will find this kind of savings potential in their project. But most will find something — and many will find far more than the cost of this course many times over. The goal is to make sure you know where to look before the decisions are made.
No fluff, no filler. Each lesson focuses on one major category of kitchen spending — and gives you the insider perspective on where flexibility exists and where it doesn't.
Before you touch a single product category, there are overarching decisions that affect your entire budget. This lesson covers the big-picture strategies — scope, timing, sequencing, and the mindset shifts that make every other decision easier to navigate.
Cabinets are typically the largest line item in a kitchen remodel — and one of the most misunderstood. You'll learn how cabinet pricing actually works, what you're really paying for, where quality matters and where it doesn't, and how to get a kitchen that looks custom without paying custom prices.
From material selection to fabrication to installation, countertop pricing has more variables than most homeowners realize — and several of them are negotiable. You'll learn how slabs are priced, how the supply chain works, and which decisions have the most financial leverage before you commit.
Appliance pricing is driven heavily by brand premium — and brand premium doesn't always translate to performance. You'll learn how to evaluate what you're actually buying, where the meaningful differences exist, and where spending less gets you essentially the same result.
Lighting, hardware, plumbing, flooring, tile, paint, installation — the categories that don't get their own lesson but add up fast. This lesson covers the savings opportunities across every remaining line item so nothing gets left on the table.
A practical tool to help you map out your remodel costs, explore savings options, and stay grounded in your budget as decisions are made. Plug in your numbers and see where you stand before the quotes start arriving.
A walkthrough of the Florida kitchen example featured on this page — showing exactly which selections were reconsidered, what the alternatives looked like, and how the savings were identified. See the principles from the course applied to a real project.
I'm Danya Uptegrove, a professional kitchen and interior designer with more than 20 years of experience working across every level of the remodeling industry — from budget-conscious renovations to high-end luxury projects.
Over that time I've designed and managed hundreds of kitchen remodels. I've worked inside high-end showrooms. I've sat across the table from contractors, fabricators, product vendors, and cabinetry manufacturers. I know how these businesses are structured, where the margins are built in, and where the pricing has flexibility that most homeowners never know to ask about.
I've watched smart, well-intentioned homeowners spend more than they needed to — not because they made reckless decisions, but because they were making decisions without the context that comes from being inside the industry. I kept track of every one of those moments. Every place where a different decision could have saved money without changing the result. Every question that could have been asked but wasn't. Every piece of structural knowledge that lives on the professional side of the table and almost never makes it to the homeowner's side.
That's what this course is. Not a list of generic frugality tips. Twenty years of professional perspective — organized into five focused lessons so you can walk into every conversation, showroom, and decision point knowing what I know.
— Danya
SHOW ME HOW TO SAVE — $27These reviews are from homeowners who've worked with Danya directly on their kitchen projects — and experienced firsthand what it means to have a professional in your corner.
"I would not have been able to do this project without her. Danya has been such a major part of getting my project completed the way I envisioned. From the start, she helped me make the most of my space. When I had to make changes, she was right there helping me make decisions that solved problems without hurting the overall design."
"I was indecisive, overwhelmed and changed my mind often. Danya helped me nail down what I wanted and supported my decisions, all the while guiding me to a better design at every turn."
"She was extremely patient and knowledgeable and insightful as we went through multiple renderings to get the perfect design. It is a true masterpiece — Danya is a real gem!"
"She was very helpful with creative design touches — and crafting a great solution when the counter guy mis-measured. Danya worked with the appliance people to make sure my contractor had what the appliances required in the way of power and space."
"We have remodeled many homes. We know how annoying it can be. With Danya...we experienced a smooth design, delivery and install. And it came out even better than we had hoped for. My advice is, listen to Danya's suggestions. She made our dream a reality."
"She really knows her materials and design! Very helpful in narrowing down from a multitude of choices to an actual shopping list that you can order from."
You're planning to spend real money on your kitchen — and you'd rather spend it knowing exactly what you're paying for.
This course isn't for someone looking for a shortcut to a cheap kitchen. It's for homeowners who want to spend their money intentionally — and end up with a kitchen they love at a price that doesn't haunt them.
One-time purchase. No subscription. Instant access after purchase.
SHOW ME HOW TO SAVE — $27Go through all five video lessons. Use the budget calculator. Watch the case study walkthrough. If you don't feel like it was worth every penny of $27, reach out within 30 days for a full refund.
No questions. No hassle. No hard feelings.
You have nothing to lose — and potentially thousands of dollars to save.
— Danya
SHOW ME HOW TO SAVE — $27Yes. The course is designed to help you understand where flexibility exists so you can have more informed conversations and feel confident about your decisions — regardless of who's on your team.
The earlier the better. The most valuable time to go through it is before your decisions are finalized — when flexibility still exists and savings are still possible. That said, even mid-process it can help you identify areas where you still have room to maneuver. If you're in the dreaming phase, it's never too early to start being informed.
You'll get immediate online access after purchase and can go through the videos at your own pace. Your login information will also be emailed to you within the first hour. You'll have lifetime access.