Kitchen Before And After
Our “new” kitchen is done! Well, it has been done for a while now, but I am just getting around to cleaning up enough to take pictures and write about it. Deciding to update our kitchen was definitely a project creep. You know, when projects keep rolling over into more and more projects. It all began with wanting to redo the flooring. Then we thought, might as well replace the backsplash since that was the same orangy tile as the floor. But then with a pretty new backsplash, we would have to replace the countertops. And you know what? I would love the bumped up breakfast bar so much more as just one big island. The faucet sprays weird, so maybe let’s get a new one, along with a new sink. And here we are.
This wasn’t a complete renovation - we kept the cabinets that were here when we moved in, and we are keeping the appliances because they still work, even if they aren't dreamy SMEG appliances. Work with what you have and make it into what you want!
BEFORE
AFTER
I love the openness of having an “island” without having to knock down any walls or reconfigure the layout of our whole kitchen and living space. And by taking down the upper cabinets above the fridge and adding floating shelves, it makes our tiny kitchen feel more open (and it also holds us accountable to only hoard so many party supplies/paper plates).
Our shopping list:
Quartz countertops (we had these cut and installed by a local company)
Recessed lighting
Paint: Benjamin Moore Olympic Mountains
Wood and brackets for floating shelves
We also said goodbye to some glorious track lighting and weird off centered light above the kitchen table, and replaced these with recessed lighting and a pendant.
And then for paint, we chose to do a creamy off white in the whole living area and kitchen to brighten it up, but still keep some warmth.
It was a labor of love! Here are some in photos in progress:
Thank you to Dan and his dad, and our friends that helped pull all of this hard work off! And to all of the firefighters who have side jobs as plumbers and electricians - thank you for helping us out with all of the stuff we didn’t trust ourselves to do. And a special thanks to my mom and mom-in-law who cleaned hard, painted, and babysat a wild one year old!