Budget Kitchen Makeover - The Plan and Inspiration
If you read my last post then you already know that the first project of the year is going to be a kitchen makeover. For years I’ve told you all about the things that I don’t like about this space. Well now the time has come for me to finally do something about it. I have big plans, a little budget, and as much time as my two little people will let me dedicate to this space. I’m super pumped and crazy scared to mess it up, so follow along and see where I end up!
The kitchen today.
Kitchen Plan
We moved into this house about five years ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about what I would do to this kitchen if I had the resources to do it. This year I finally decided to stop complaining about what I don’t like about my space and try to make changes that will help enhance the features I do like.
Paint Cabinets
I have thought long and hard about painting the kitchen cabinets. I don’t mind the brown cabinet color but I do mind how dark they make this area. My initial thought was to save up and completely redo the kitchen in 15 years - but to be honest, I’d much rather save up for a pool than a new kitchen. I know what you are thinking, a new kitchen raises value! My husband and I bought this home with the intention of living in it for a very, very long time. I’d much rather pay off our house and travel than spend my money on a new house and not be able to travel. So we don’t plan on selling any time soon.
At first I thought about painting the cabinets white, but I wasn’t convinced that was the right choice with the existing flooring and granite counter tops. And then I saw this picture while scrolling Instagram and I was convinced that painting the cabinets a shade of taupe was the answer. As of now, I plan on painting the cabinets a color called Shiitake by Sherwin Williams. I used this color as a trial on our laundry room (see the reveal here) last year and loved the color so much that I painted all our interior doors the same color. No going back now!
Update Hardware
Early in 2019, I gave our kitchen a $100 makeover that didn’t involve painting the cabinets or any major updates. One of those updates was painting the existing hardware gold. I loved the way the hardware was instantly updated with just spray paint, but what I failed to do was to clean them with a degreaser before painting. After much use, the paint just started to chip off which could have been avoided.
I’m still undecided about the actual hardware that I want to use but I do have some ideas. It all honestly depends on cost and if I can find a cheaper alternative that’s also good quality. As of today, I am in between two:
They are both beautiful and I could see our kitchen working with either of those. I just keep going back and forth between the two. What do you think?
Paint Backsplash
I’d love to be able to rip off this backsplash but I’m just not sure if we will be able to do it this time around. So my plan is to paint it! I’m waiting to get the cabinets finished so that I can decide on the color. Surprisingly, I’m between painting it black or white. I recently saw the below picture by Yuni Min on Instagram and fell in love with the black backsplash. It looks stunning in her kitchen. I’m waiting to make my decision between black or white until I have the base cabinets painted so that I can get a feel for my space.
Source: Love Your Above by Yuni Min
Makeover Bar Stools
A couple of months ago we scored these four woof bar stools for $100 for Facebook Marketplace. We really needed to replace our old ones because having upholstered bar stools with two little people is just not a good thing. The good thing about these is that they are solid wood so I can pretty much paint them any color I want. Can’t wait to get my hands on these!
Update Lighting
With new cabinets, hardware, and bar stools, I’m going to have to do something about the lighting! I have something really cool planned for these and I can’t wait to show you! My inspiration come from these beautiful pendants from Circa Lighting.
Source: Circa Lighting
Inspiration
When Chris Loves Julia started their cottage kitchen makeover I was glued to my phone screen. They made it look so easy and WOW the result was absolutely stunning. Needless to say, I was finally convinced that painting our cabinets was the way to go.
Source: Chris Loves Julia
Stunning right?! I truly cannot wait to get started on transforming my own kitchen and finally put all these ideas to work!
