Take an early '50s kitchen with paneling and outdated

Shower Room Cabinet He had a vision:  some mightsay hideous - cabinets and appliances and give it a modern facelift. "I have the ability to look through things," Keith Musinskisays. "I walked in and thought this house had the potential to beso much more. It just needed love." His style is: Funky. He achieves a Roche-Bobois aesthetic on a Target budgetwith careful mixing. "Expensive doesn't have to embarrass cheap,"he says. "You can put a $4,000 sofa next to an IKEA lamp, as longas they work together." He topped the foyer's newel post with acrystal ball from HomeGoods, and in the dining room, astainless-steel mechanic's chest gets the glam treatment - a $40vintage beveled mirror hangs above it, and a collection ofinexpensive glass vases and candleholders sit on top. He wanted thekitchen to reflect his and his partner's style, too, withoutbreaking the bank. What was most important: Fixing the flow. "To get to the living room, you had to walkthrough three-quarters of the house," he says. To solve theproblem, Musinski opened up a wall that separated the kitchen fromthe living room. He also re-centered and widened the passagebetween the dining room and kitchen, enabled by removing the showerfrom a bathroom to turn it into a powder room. On the other side ofthe kitchen, an alcove leading to an exterior door became anefficient butler's pantry. What wasn't essential: Miles of countertops. Musinski laid out the kitchen to avoid theclassic L-shape, opting instead to break up the prep space with thesink and appliances, and adding a modified IKEA kitchen island."The lack of expanses made the granite surface affordable," hesays. "We used all remnants." He splurged on: Quality appliances. The Jenn-Air refrigerator and stove and thetwo-drawer Fisher & Paykel dishwasher ate up nearly half thebudget. "We certainly didn't need a $1,400 dishwasher," he says,"but we don't regret it." He saved on: Everything hovered in the three-figures except the cabinets (whichtotaled $1,380 at IKEA), countertops, and appliances. At abuilding-supply outlet, Musinski paid $125 for a "monster" window(above the kitchen sink) that someone had custom made but thendecided not to use. He paid $249 at EXPO Design Center for aknockoff of a $2,000 faucet, and $100 for five recessed lights thatoriginally cost around $700 each; a client was ripping them out ofher kitchen and planned to throw them away. The $485 eco-friendlyMarmoleum flooring in rust with black stripes "has such a tactilequality to it. It's a little edgy," he says, "not your standardtile or wood floor." He made the cabinet moldings himself, usingscraps from IKEA's "as is" room at a cost of about $125. "The powertools probably cost more than the kitchen," he says. His labor of love: Musinski did most of the work himself, including customizing thecabinets and laying the floor. The only work he hired out was theplastering and electrical work, at a cost of $630. What he enjoys doing most in his new kitchen: Entertaining. "It's a great place to start with drinks and food,"he says. "The layout is more conducive now to entertaining, becausethe kitchen has been reattached to the other social areas of thehouse." How you can do it: "Trust your instincts, but think differently," Musinski says. "Youknow what it is you want. You don't have to accept the standardout-of-the-box kitchen, when a little creativity can make it seemlike so much more."