Our Kitchen Renovation Plans: Plus Juicy Before Photos

Things have been fairly quiet here for the past few months, not only due to summer but I’ve also been working on some major stuff, like finally beginning our kitchen renovation!!

To say we are excited would be a total understatement and we seriously couldn’t be happier that we get to share every single step with you!

We’ve been blessed beyond measure when it comes to our readers so thank you.

When we bought our 1980’s builder-grade home every single space was pretty much stuck in the 1980’s and slowly room by room we’ve been making updates and turning it into a home that reflects who we are.

For the most part, all of our updates have been cosmetic up until this point and although Wayne has tons of construction experience this will be our first full-blown renovation as a team.

We will be learning as we go and taking you all along for the ride so be prepared to see the good, the bad and the ugly around here in the coming weeks!

For a while I questioned if we should show the entire renovation or just show you the pretty pics at the end but lately something has been really bothering me and I haven’t been able to shake it.

The world that we live in today is full of pretty pictures and with things like Instagram and Pinterest, it can be so easy to allow those pretty pictures to make us feel unfulfilled or unsatisfied with our own homes.

In a photo, you don’t get to see the hours that it took to get to that point, the months of saving and sacrifice or the mess over in the corner.

What I’m trying to say is nobody’s home is perfect including mine and instead of being just another pretty picture I want this blog to be a space where you see the hard and messy stuff right along with the pretty. I want you to run this race with me instead of us just meeting up at the finish line if that makes sense.

So with that said you can expect to see a lot more step by step and progress articles/pictures as we go through the process of making this home our own and what better time to start than right now!!

Since we’re turning over a new leaf, I feel it’s only right to do something I’ve never done before… Show you my kitchen!!!

These are the listing photos from before we signed on the dotted line…

Kitchen Renovation Plans:

• Remove and replace backsplash and countertops.
• Remove brick around the range and add ventilation that runs outside instead of recirculating the air.
• Remove and replace all cabinet doors and hardware.
• Build or extend upper cabinets to help fill the 3-foot gap between the top of the cabinets and ceiling ( we have 10-foot ceilings)
• Build a wood range hood to add texture and warmth to the room.
•  Update recessed lighting to more efficient bulbs.
• Add farmhouse sink and faucet.
• Add pullout spice rack drawers where brick used to be next to the stove.
• Add trim to mimic shiplap to the peninsula.
• Fill wood grain of oak cabinet bases to create a smooth surface.
• Paint cabinets.
• Build barn door for access between kitchen and laundry room.
• Frame in the refrigerator.

As you can see our kitchen is pretty much stuck in the 1980’s and yes there is a ton of work that needs to be done but I know it will be worth every ounce of energy we put into it. So for the next few weeks (not sure how long this will take), we’re going to be eating lots of unhealthy meals and working our tails off trying to get our kitchen back.

The Two Kitchen Renovation Things I Am Most Excited About:

A.) The countertops because well tile countertops suck  (I’m keeping what we’re using to replace them a secret until that’s finished because I have so freakin much to say)

B.) Venting the range hood outside instead of just recirculating the air. If you’ve ever had a home without outside ventilation then you know how horrible it can be when you cook things that have any kind of smell such as tacos, anything with onions or Thanksgiving dinner… I can literally smell it for days and this update is for real going to change my life!!!

Heres what our kitchen looks like today! We have done nothing in this space other than paint the wall that was dark brown white.

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On the other side of this wall is the living room, notice the pass-through that is between the built-ins.

The previous owners painted the cabinets brown and a few green. You can clearly see the wood grain peeking out on the oak cabinets.

That door leads to the laundry room and garage and is where the barn door will go. This will also help to fill some of the space on that large blank wall.

Okay, I know some of you are probably thinking the current state of the kitchen isn’t bad and you’re right but it’s not me either. Please don’t get me wrong I am so grateful for the home that we have and would never want to come off as ungrateful or that I think I’m too good for this kitchen because if I’m being honest its the nicest kitchen I’ve ever had…..  I just love investing my time into creating a home that we all love and I don’t think there anything wrong with making your home and life better if you’re able!

Our Plans:

For the longest when I dreamed of what our kitchen would look like it was always white but over the past year or so I have come to absolutely love the two-toned look and my obsession with all things dark green has only grown, so painting the lower cabinets in the perfect shade of dark green has me over the moon with excitement!!!

The barn door is something we’ve had on our list for quite a while and just haven’t gotten around to building it yet. I’m hoping that things go smoothly and we are able to get that part done before reveal day but I’m not counting on that or the endless job of trying to find the perfect Turkish rug for the space.

I’ve been looking for the perfect size and color rug for at least the past six months with zero luck, there have no doubt been some that I love but nothing perfect yet so although I pray we find one before reveal day I’m not holding my breath or anything.

The upper cabinets will all be bright white and white walls plus white cabinets means there will be a ton of white going on in the room and adding in warmth with things like the range hood, barn door, and bar stools are key to the design.

As you can see in the vision board we want to completely modernize the space and create a modern farmhouse kitchen mixed with a little California cool but we are also trying to keep things as budget friendly as possible.

Mixing finishes like the brass hardware and the matte black faucet is a great way to add character and create a timeless look. Eventually, we will be replacing the flooring throughout our main area but at the moment it is just not in the budget and that’s okay.

So there you have it I hope you’ve enjoyed the airing of my proverbial “dirty laundry” or kitchen! 🙂

I will be posting kitchen updates weekly showing you the progress we’ve made and I hope you guys will join us on this journey as we go through all of the hard work and trials that I’m sure it is going to take to get this kitchen where we want it to be and I can’t wait to share all of the details with you!

Also, I’d love to know what you think of our vision for the kitchen so hit me up.