It’s been a long journey towards our updated kitchen, on a slow and steady DIY, turtle kind of path. But we got here! And I’m excited to show you both the full before and after, and each phase of the project is linked separately, if you’re interested.

All in all, these projects for us spanned 3 years. But they don’t have to take you that long, and if I knew a few years ago what I know now, I’d have painted our counters sooner and sped up a lot of this coming together. But that said, the fact that this went slowly wasn’t entirely bad – it allowed us to plan and save and spend elsewhere in the meantime as necessary. Either way, what’s great about all of this DIY work is that you can totally go at the pace that works for you.

The Reveal

Here’s what our kitchen looked like when we moved in:

…and the eat-in space:

And here’s what they look like now:

 

So, how exactly did we do all of this, and about how much did it cost? Beyond appliances, it was mainly paint, so this was super budget friendly! Here are the projects we tackled in the kitchen:

  • Painting the walls (no explanation needed… we brightened it up to white)
  • Painting the cabinets and updating the hardware
  • Redesigning the eat-in area
  • Replacing a few appliances (range, microwave, and fridge)
  • Putting in a new sink
  • Painting the countertops
  • Adding a backsplash

…and to be honest, we still need to update the floors! We want to change out tile out for a nice, wide-planked, medium-toned engineered hardwood. But while I’ll share that final piece when we get there, I didn’t want to wait to share what we’ve done so far, too, because I’m SUPER happy with the way this has turned out!

It’s not perfect. There are very small imperfections in the counters, the cabinet paint needs touching up about every year, etc.- and we’d still love to have it all professionally done and new someday if we’re ever able to add more space (it’s really about the space). But it’s a huge improvement, and we’ll be able to really enjoy it on the way. And while it took some work (not projects for people who don’t enjoy any DIY), everything we did was manageable and feasible, and I’d say overall did not take an abundance of artistic talent or handiness. If you’re thinking about it, you can totally do this! Click on each link above for how.

POLL: Should we add curtains to our windows?
Right now, we have blinds, and in the breakfast area, some wood framing we made ourselves. I’m torn, because I think some Roman shades like these could add just a bit more warmth, but, first of all, I’m worried that the window over the sink, being flanked very closely by cabinets, could look too busy if we do that. I’m also somewhat curtain-hesitant broadly because I have a doozy of a dust allergy, and also, why are Roman shades so expensive??

What do YOU think?