A kitchen makeover story full of DIY projects, lots of bright white and plenty of natural elements! From a blank wall where there was no kitchen, we installed and created a cozy and bright kitchen space, and I’m SO excited to share the before and after of this Kitchen Makeover!
I can’t believe that it was one year ago that I was announcing this space and sharing my heart about what it meant for me! I wanted a place to let our creativity flourish, a place to work that wasn’t dependent on our rental home situation (yep, still renting while we house hunt, and whew that’s a lot of work!) and where I could shoot stills and video projects for this space here, like KitchenWise and our recent BIG project with Folgers that’s on RealSimple.com, in multiple national magazines and more! To say it’s been a big year for us would be the ultimate truth… a season of stretching, of growth and of big dreams. We started the year remodeling where so much has now happened and I’m in awe of how it all came together. When we began, there was NO kitchen… so this wasn’t just a remodel, this was an install. We had to figure it all out, from scratch and that is why I’m SOOOOO excited to finally share our white and wood kitchen makeover BEFORE AND AFTER reveal here! Of course you’ve seen it plenty of times if you’ve been following along for many of our recipe posts and videos, but still… let’s spill all the goods right here, right now. 🙂
{before: in progress}
{after}
For this space I knew white would be my backdrop. I wanted something clean and sleek to build from, where the neutrals of wood and gray could pop and where just a few switches of decor could totally change the look (from yellows and teals to reds) without the cost of another reno. Since we were literally starting from scratch, it all began with measuring and measuring some more. Drawing on scraps of paper and finally learning how to do plenty of things, like installing tile, ourselves. Even while pregnant (and in all reality, Chris did most of the work on the tile, I just added a few rows) this tile thing wasn’t too difficult to tackle and we even added in the kitchen island makeover into the mix.
A few ideas for this kitchen makeover:
- I wanted to make sure it was bright and inviting, and open to the rest of our space. We had to run plumbing for the sink, outlets for the stove (decided against gas for this space here, that will be for our future house!) and basically had one wall to use. Since I wanted white base cabinet and was planning to hang shelves on the wall, I decided to purchase from IKEA based on price, plus it was easy to take the measurements and design the setup online, print it all out and let them fulfill the order in store.
- Because the background was so white, that is part of the reason I opted for the darker gray color for our kitchen island makeover. For this piece, my husband found a steal on Craigslist, although it needed an overhaul. In fact, we didn’t even keep the top that came with it and instead had a cement counter poured for it.
- Once we learned how to install subway tile, build cabinets, set a sink and countertop, and DIY a kitchen island makeover, it was time to hang the shelving. Since we had the wall tile completely finished, it took us awhile because honestly we were scared to mess with the tile at all. Thankfully we figured out a simple, non-invasive way of hanging open shelving on tile! We knew it would have to withstand a good amount of weight with the dishes and mixer that would be gracing the shelves, and this has worked out perfectly and held up well!
- I wanted gold accessories to shine in this space, so I scoured the internet for the best gold pulls for the cabinets, best gold faucet and gold brackets… all at a reasonable price, because… gold. For the brackets, I ended up buying white and spray painting because finding any gold brackets in a quantity of eight for a decent price wasn’t happening.
- I also knew that I wanted a rug in the kitchen, and one that wasn’t necessarily “made” for a kitchen. I LOVE how it brings an almost vintage look and really softens the space with the coziness factor while adding a big pop of color!
Elements in our Kitchen Makeover:
Cabinets, wood countertop and farmhouse sink
Gold Pulls
Gold Faucet
PlushRugs Vintage Toro Rug c/0
DIY Open Shelving
DIY Kitchen Island Makeover (with paint color)
Gold Flatware
Candle
Sketched Artwork
Hanging Lights
Wood Bowl
Laura says
Absolutely gorgeous! I love it. My dream kitchen.
Sophia says
Wow this is such a pretty kitchen it turned out great.
Vicki @ Babies to Bookworms says
Oh wow! I love this kitchen! It isn’t so beautiful and airy and open! Great job!!
Rochelle says
I Iove the transformation! Looks great.
Lauren says
It turned out awesome!! It looks right out of a magazine, you have a fabulous eye for design!
Sarah Blackston says
This turned out amazing! I love it! We’ve been talking about putting up a back splash for our kitchen, but haven’t decided on a color yet. I think I might be leaning towards this beautiful white subway tile, though!
Marla | Because I Said So Baby says
I absolutely love the gold accents! That totally makes the kitchen for me. Also, the open shelving – looks like an HGTV makeover!!
Kate says
Holy cow that is gorgeous. I love the fun lighting, the beautiful island, and the way you’ve styled your open shelving!
April says
I love your kitchen, so much open space. It looks like in a magazine, almost like a studio type and very Pinterest worthy. I love it!
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Louisa says
Oh wow your kitchen makeover is amazing! In love with the details and the layout.
Krysten says
I’m pinning this for when we get our house soon. You literally have the kitchen of my dreams
Kathy says
I’m so impressed! Your kitchen looks fabulous. I can’t believe how much of it you did on your own! Congrats.
Tiffany says
Tabitha you guys did an amazing job with this space. The kitchen is gorgeous and so you. Love the clean lines and wood accents and counters.
suzanne says
This looks AMAZING! I love how bright and airy it is. So beautiful.
Erika O says
Your kitchen is a dream!!! So beautiful. White really makes a space look much bigger
Ashley says
I love the tile and the center island!
Jack says
Lovely makeover of your home. Astounding kitchen refurbishment by you. I enjoyed the view of before & after images of your home improvement which is inspirable for students who have been looking for such kind of ideas and taking assignment help from http://www.qualityassignment.co.uk where I am working as assignment writer since last 4 years. I love to decor home and always searching for new ideas. Thanks for suggesting good home improvement ideas.
Adrienne - Easy Fundraisers says
I love the lighting, the white tile and most of all, the gray island piece. What a soft, classy makeover!
jaya says
Thanks for sharing this useful information !
Kylin says
Beautiful! What size spacer did you use for the tile? I’m about to do a white subway tile back splash and I want our grey grout lines to pop just like yours!
Chris Greenwalt says
Considering the facts, the main thing regarding all of the above accessories is that, these can be used to make kitchen look more perfect.
Ironmongery Experts says
You did a fabulous job there, your kitchen looks fantastic
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