The first thing you see as you enter the room, the blue Heath tiles ($77 per square foot; heathceramics.com) made up, accordingly, a hefty chunk of the budget.
Wanting a whimsical accent to balance out the clean lines of the space, Gina went online to find the spiky, dandelion-inspired pendant light ($150; lampsplus.com).
To avoid adding more overhead lights, and having to drill into the original redwood, Gina chose Robern cabinets with ultra-bright fluorescents ($2,707; robern.com).
Don’t overlook remnants when shopping for a countertop. The quartz CaesarStone came from a leftover slab sourced on the cheap.