New House Kitchen Makeover

Welcome to the kitchen in our new home. It’s now been 4 months since we moved from Ontario to BC and now that the main floor painting is mostly complete I’m tackling the kitchen with the aim of having it ready for Christmas.

 

This is the plan:

 

Our home is 14 years old and the main floor is open concept with a huge island in the kitchen about 8 feet long. This is how we have been using the space since we moved in this summer – standing at the kitchen island. It took me a while to figure out what kind of stool to use at the island. I usually choose secondhand but finding 4 stools the right height and style for this high island was not turning up any results so I started looking at Wayfair for options.

This kitchen update is the first phase – making a couple of cosmetic changes with paint and a few handles and new stools. Eventually in the future, I’d like to lower the counter and make it all one uniform height which is why I wanted the seating to be adjustable so that it could work now and one day if we lower the counter.

Since our kitchen table chairs are quite high and large I was looking for stools without a back for a lower profile that could be tucked away.

These are some of the other options I was looking at that would be childproof – ie. no fabric to stain, adjustable height and a solid wood top. One of these below isn’t solid wood (Jolene) but the Alva one is.

Alva Dining Chair // More Kitchen Chairs

Swivel Bar Stool // More Bar Stools

Donington Stool // More White Stools

Jolene Barstools // More Swivel Stools

Maureen Bar Stool // More Gold Stools

Here’s a look at the island one more time before I get painting. I haven’t completely decided on the island colour yet. The outer cabinets will be a shade of white and the island will likely be a taupe colour from one of the Benjamin Moore colour samples below.

In our previous home I painted the cabinets and only changed the drawer pulls. That is what I intend to do this time as well. The current knobs are an unlacquered brass and I found pulls at Lee Valley (shown above) that had similar colouring.

Now it’s time to get started and finished because Christmas is only a month away and there’s nothing like a self-imposed deadline to get a project completed!

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Spring ORC – Reveal Week 6

 

Week # 6  The Reveal

Here is the final reveal of our bathroom makeover – the mirror, vanity handles & light fixture were the only new pieces. Everything else was done with paint and materials I already had. Reimagining the space and making small, manageable changes made all the difference.

The ‘floating’ wooden shelves are finally as I imagined them, as a feature area rather than just a large wasted space that became a dumping area. More information about how this layer of plywood was added on top is in my last post.

These crates are the basic kind from the hardware store that I stained with vinegar & steel wool. We each have one to throw our toiletries in.

We have a lot of plants throughout our home and garden so we moved a few extras into this room to soften all of that white.

This is the view of our ensuite from the bedroom.

Here is the way it originally looked when we moved in. I hadn’t even painted the walls because I thought it wouldn’t make any difference.

The shower curtain is something that I made a few years ago with canvas and grosgrain ribbon. White and black are the main themes throughout the house.

This is what it looks like when the door is closed. The barn door idea didn’t end up happening because we ran out of time but I left the mirror up to reflect the natural light. We usually keep the door open because it makes the bathroom look bigger.

A reminder of the shelves before.

Another shelf detail because it is finally a space worth showing!

 

Is there a room in your house that could look entirely different by using some creativity and making a few small changes?

To see the other reveals – both small project and major renovations visit the One Room Challenge website.

Kitchen Makeover on a Budget

Here are some photos of the backsplash installation. This part dramatically changed the feeling of the space.

Here you can see a little look at the honey coloured wood that used to be here.

I added some wood corner pieces on the corners of the walls to conceal the tile edge as well as  crown moulding along the top of valance. It took me several weeks to complete all of my finishing touches when the tiling itself was only 5 hours when done by someone we hired. I like learning and every time it gets a bit easier to install moulding and other architectural details.

It looks like a different kitchen and it still has the same elements, just a lot has been added to embellish and customize it.

 

UPDATE:

We have since sold this home and I have just finished painting our new kitchen. It is so much work to paint the cabinets but you can’t beat the low cost and major impact it has!

This is the before:

Our New Kitchen – Before Painting the Cabinets

Related Posts 

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

White Quartz Counters

Thrift Store Dining Table Refinished