Kitchen Makeover

Kitchen Makeover

After being in our house for 20 years I decided our kitchen needed an updated look. I knew I wanted a brighter space, and white cabinets just never seem to go out of style. My biggest question was whether to have brand new cabinets installed or just paint the perfectly good ones we had. After lots of research and contemplation on the pros and cons of each, I decided to try and paint our solid oak cabinets white. I knew this was going to be a huge job, especially since I don't own a paint sprayer and didn't want to use one anyways. And since I had made the commitment to a massive undertaking, I decided I also wanted the look of taller cabinets; I hated that wasted space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling. If I had to do it over again now, I would probably make better use of that space and install small box cabinets with embedded lights for a warm, cozy lighting effect. But at the time I just wanted a different look. 

So when the school system I work for had some snow days due to a wonderful snow storm, I began the kitchen makeover. I did all the work except installing the granite countertops, copper sink and faucet, and new lighting. Our kitchen was quite a disaster for a couple months as I slowly worked on it during evenings and weekends, but I loved every minute of it.

Kitchen - BEFORE:

Kitchen - AFTER:

Step 1: Build cabinet extension to the ceiling, and then paint all the cabinets. I decided I wanted my island and desk to be a different color, and knew that I wanted to have a copper sink, so I chose a complimentary green color and used copper accents throughout the kitchen.

Step 2: Have new granite countertops, light fixtures, and a copper farmhouse sink installed. 

If you're wondering what the open space above the glass-doored cabinet in the corner is, I wanted an accent space where I could highlight some more copper and light up that corner. I also used stained glass paint to paint a design on the cabinet glass that I light up with puck lights inside the cabinet.

Step 3: Have a new wood floor installed, and then update the desk area. I also chose to paint these cabinets the same green I used on the island. But I also wanted to use copper here, so I tiled the upper desk cabinet opening and then painted the small drawers and slot openings with copper. I bought an unfinished butcher block countertop and cut it to use as our desktop, and stained it a dark brown. I added another accent tile behind the desktop to complete it as a separate look from the rest of the kitchen. 

Here's the desk area before:

And after:

Step 4:  Tile the backsplash. I decided to tackle this project myself even though I had never worked with tile on such a large scale. But I once again did my homework and was up for the challenge. It took my husband I about a month to decide on a tile to use (we probably looked at over 40 different samples!) and I was eager to get this project started.  

Here's the backsplash before (and yes, I did PAINT that design years ago! I used a tile stencil and painstakingly painted the whole area!):

Backsplash after:

Step 5: Replace bifold pantry door with hanging barn door. We did this ourselves. I bought all the hardware online and the unfinished door at Home Depot. 

Here's the original bifold door:

And now with the barn door:

Step 6: Build a bay window seat. I wanted to have a window seat that would also double as seating around our kitchen table. So I built this bench and was sure to include cabinets and a hinged lid so I could also take advantage of all that storage space under the bench. 

Bench in progress:

Bench completed!

Step 7: Refinish an old kitchen table. I needed a new table to now fit in the window seat space. I found an old one for sale and refinished it to fit in with our new kitchen look. 

Here it is before:

And after:

Kitchen is DONE!!!