February Part 1: The Plan
Hello February! A new month means a new room to overhaul. This month we will be focusing on our kitchen. This project will be a bit different from the last, because we began a refresh of our kitchen last Spring, but life got in the way and we never completed it. So, rather than starting from scratch, we are wrapping up a project that is already about 75% complete. Tackling the kitchen seemed like the best choice for this month for a few reasons. First, the office makeover required a significant amount of extra spending to complete. Since the kitchen refresh is already well underway, we won't need to purchase much, if any, additional items for this space as we already have them on hand. Second, with the shorter month, we thought it best to spend the time focusing on finishing a project rather than start a new one. Also, this is the most used (and visible!) space in our open floor plan home, and I'm tired of looking at an incomplete renovation!
To get you a better idea of where we started, here are a few images of what our kitchen looked like when we moved in, and before any of our updates last year.
Just your basic builder grade kitchen. It wasn't terrible, it just didn't reflect my personal style. The wood cabinets made the space feel heavy and dark. I also was never a fan of the two-level kitchen island. Despite being an open floor plan, the taller counter completely cut off this room and made it feel much smaller than it is. My goal with the kitchen updates is to make this room feel more open, airy, and bright. I want it to better blend with the decor in the rest of the house.
The Plan
Keeping in mind that many of these tasks are already complete, I want to go ahead and share my vision for the kitchen as it was from the beginning. The budget for this project was and still is very small. I hope to completely renovate the kitchen (new cabinets, floors, etc) in the next 5 or so years, so this refresh is mostly cost-effective cosmetic changes to help make the kitchen look more "us" until that happens. Here are a few ideas I have for this space:
Completed Updates
-Remove cabinet above dishwasher to create open shelving
-Paint cabinets white to brighten the room
-Paint backsplash to match cabinets (a new backsplash is not in the budget)
-Add beadboard or wallpaper to walls of kitchen
-Remove top tier of island and create single surface butcher block countertop
-Add new hardware to cabinets
-Replace light fixture above sink
In Progress Updates
-Remove pony wall around island and wrap in shiplap
-Paint beadboard wallpaper
-Touch-up cabinet paint
Remaining Updates
-Replace window blinds with bamboo shades
-Replace faucet
-Refinish laminate countertops
-Sand / Stain / Seal butcher block countertops
-Paint shiplap around island
-Add rug / decorative details
As much as I would love to replace the black (ick) appliances with stainless steel, they are still in good working order, and I can't justify the expense of new appliances right now simply because I don't like the way they look. I know this will drive me crazy when the room is finished, but being financially responsible while we undertake all these projects is very important to us.
To give an update of the already completed projects in this space, here is a look at what the kitchen looks like now.
Do you see what a huge difference we made only using paint? This first stage of our room makeover was such a welcome change. Painting the cabinets and backsplash brightened up this room SO much! It doesn't even look like the same kitchen. Leveling out the island countertop also opened the kitchen up to the rest of the house, and made our entire first floor feel larger. With all of the work we have already completed in this room, finishing up the space should be fairly straightforward. I'm looking forward to transforming the laminate countertops with another unconventional paint technique, as well as choosing a fun paint color for the kitchen island. While this room won't have the same dramatic before and after of last month's reveal, it will be a weight off our shoulders to finally wrap up this kitchen refresh.
In my next post, I'll share more about the budget friendly products we used to update our kitchen, as well as a few of the decorative pieces I plan to incorporate. Thanks so much for following along on our renovation journey!
If you've missed any parts of our renovation project, you can find them here:
12 Rooms in 12 Months Overview
February Part 3: The Process (Coming Soon)
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