Happy New Years Eve, y’all!
Well here it is, the long awaited post that I’ve been putting off for weeks! With no real reason as to why, other than I’ve just been a lazy blogger during this busy holiday season! And in case you didn’t know, I’m the worlds largest procrastinator…so there’s that.
Anyway! I am SO EXCITED to show you a full reveal of our mini kitchen renovation! This project has been a labor of love to stay the least. We started planning back in April, and the actual renovation started mid-July. Annnnnd here I am at the very end of December just sharing the details with you!
I feel at this point I’ve hyped this up to be the best and most awesome kitchen reno there ever was, which I’m definitely not claiming at all! This wasn’t a full blown renovation, as you will see. But we made several changes to our kitchen and sunroom area that functionally just work better for our little family. And to me, that does make it the most awesome ever.
Alright, I’m just going to dig in here! But before I do, a little backstory as to how the reno came about……
We bought our house back in 2010 and always knew a kitchen upgrade would be on the radar at some point. Fast forward to 2018, it was TIME. Our laminate counter-tops were literally peeling up in a lot of areas, we had no back-splash and an old crappy double sink, a smaller island that was getting a little tight with our growing family, and a desk area that was only be utilized as a storage area for all the crap we could possibly put there. We also had a fairly large area in our kitchen where a dining table would typically go, but always ended up crowding around our island for meal time. Lastly, we have a sunroom attached to our kitchen that was also underutilized. We had a huge square dining table that we never used and literally took up the entire space. So we decided to spruce up that space while we were at it so both rooms had a nice comfortable flow. The end result is that we absolutely LOVE IT.
Before Pictures
And…drum rollllll please……….dun, dun, duhhhhh……
After Pictures {Note- links to everything at the end of the post!}
When the island cabinetry arrived I was like, oh this is a perfect size! And then the counter-tops arrived and I was like, holy moly…this thing is HUGE! But we quickly got used to the larger space and absolutely love it! It works so well for our family and is also great for entertaining. The space just flows so much better now….and much more functional.
The island was built custom to our space and we worked with a local company, Cavalier Kitchen and Bath. Our service with Randy was top notch and he walked us through everything along the way! It’s 9 feet long, with half of that being cabinetry and the other half being table top only. I love the leg detail. Breaks up the island as well and makes it feel more table like.
We went with a Quartz stone and have been so happy with the decision so far. The main selling point was that there was very little maintenance and the durability. With kids we didn’t want to chance any oopsies that could cause major damage. The color is bright enough to lighten the space, but also has hints of gray, beige, and even a slight sparkle throughout to tie into the cabinetry and hardware. They are so pretty!
The highlight of the island is the beverage fridge and wine rack. We love to entertain and wanted a spaced dedicated to all the beers, wines, and other drinks our little hearts desire! It also frees up so much space in our refrigerator. The opposite side of the island has lots of storage including two deep drawers, a hideaway trash/recycle drawer, and the perfect storage for baking sheets, etc.
I also debated for months and months on whether or not I’d want to paint our existing cabinets a shade of gray, but since the island cabinetry is white and contrasts well against the wood tones, we decided just to keep it as is. We also tried to brighten up the space with white paint and back-splash, along with a couple plank “faux ship-lap” walls for some texture and character. When we bought our house everything seemed to be a shade of brown so we’ve come a long long way on brightening it up in here!
The most frustrating part of this project was by far the back-splash. Apparently, according to the installer, the dark grout on light tile is hard because it easily shows imperfections. While I can understand that, I wasn’t informed about this beforehand and after a somewhat grueling process to get it fixed, I’m honestly still not 100% happy with it. So just a word of caution for anyone going this route. I love the look of it, but make sure you use a company that has experience with that combo and can execute it well. Or, just DIY!
My husband was originally against the one bowl sink, but after having it now, he agrees it was the best decision. So much better than the double bowl we had before. We kept our same faucet since it was only a few years old, and had to get a new garbage disposal since ours was pretty much dead.
Welcome to my favorite part of the room {que angels singing}…the coffee bar! I have wanted this space for a long time now and picked up some inspo and diy’s from a couple of accounts I follow on instagram (ourfauxfarmhouse & @mygeorgiahouse). I love that everything can be kept in this space and I can decorate my little heart out on those floating shelves. Obsessed.
The cabinetry here is actually our old island cabinetry. It fit into this space almost perfectly, just needing a little strip of trim. That little work around definitely saved us some money and I didn’t lose all of that cabinet space! Thank goodness for the guys at Schrock & Son who did a phenomenal job installing all the cabinetry and fixing our hardwood floors!
I’m also obsessed with the sconces below. I knew I wanted lighting in this space, but the electrician had already wrapped up his work and we didn’t want to pay for another project OR have to repair our wall….so after some research I came across “The Magic Light Trick” from Brooke over at Nesting with Grace. You guys…this was SO cheap and easy and I love the accent lighting it gives. And naturally I want to add accent lighting to every other room in my house. It’s a perfect work around to hard-wiring.
The shelves were a DIY project. I just went to Lowes and had them cut the boards to the length I wanted, 1.5″ x 10″ x 54″. All I had to do was sand and stain with Minwax color Weathered Oak to match my World Market counter stools. I found these iron brackets on Amazon which completed the project. It was pretty inexpensive and I love the look of the black against the natural wood and white shiplap.
On to the sunroom….I wanted this space to be open and airy. We have so much natural light coming in that room I didn’t want to cover up the windows with dark blinds, so I was happy to find these perfect curtains at Target. Still bright, but have that dark detail on the edges that totally fit my style.
I’m not exactly done decorating this space and especially now since Christmas is over I’ll have some gaps to fill. I’m still on the hunt for a nice coffee table or ottoman to replace this $30 IKEA one that is about 10 years old–it is just temporary and should really just go in the trash. But it’s working for now. 😉
So, what do you think? A huge difference, right?! I’d love to hear your comments below! And while this isn’t my dream kitchen, its darn close for now! Being able to gather my family around this table everyday is by far the highlight of the entire project. I’m so glad it’s finally finished!
//Kitchen//
Island Cabinetry, color white, Countertops, Backsplash, Pendant Lights
Beverage Fridge, Counter stools, Faucet, Cutting Boards,
Tiered Tray, Essential Oil Diffuser
//Coffee Bar//
Shelves, Wood Stain, Sconces, Magic Light, Shelf brackets, Coffee pot,
Mug holder, Merry Christmas Sign, Shiplap DIY
Cake Stand, Lantern, Jingle Plate, Gather Together,
But First, Coffee, Hot Chocolate Bar
//Sunroom//
Rug, Curtains, Couch, Chairs, Table, Hanging shelf, Gallery wall,
Pillow cases boho & buffalo check, Santa Advent Calendar, Shiplap DIY
//Paint//
Sherwin Williams, Alabaster
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