It’s been 1 year and 2 months since we moved into our home, and I’m excited to say that our kitchen and living room are finally done! It’s been a lot of work, a lot of it cosmetic, most of it DIY, and a LOT of white paint.
I can’t believe how different it looks from when we first moved in. Luckily, I have the listing photos of how the house looked when we bought it!
The main issue with our house was that it was UGLY. I mean it looked like they bought all the sale paint at Lowe’s and just went to town on every room. There was poor use of space and nothing was well-maintained. Luckily for us, the bones of our house are great – it just needed a lot of elbow grease. I feel like I always able to visualize how I wanted it to look, which was really helpful motivation throughout the year.
The list of projects is long, but some of the main projects were: repainting the walls, ceilings, trim, and cabinets; painting the cabinet hardware, replacing the kitchen backsplash (a project I completed after teaching myself how to tile on my mantle and vestibule); removing the blinds and frosting the window glass to let in all of the natural light that was being blocked out; floating whitewashed maple boards throughout the kitchen and mudroom; building a breakfast nook; building an industrial shelving unit; and a ridiculous amount of cleaning, like sanding down the butcher block countertops and replacing the oven’s insulation.
We’re planning on taking a break from house projects for a few months to enjoy our hard work and finally let our friends inside, and next year we’re hoping to install a deck in the backyard, build a workshop in the basement, and rewire the house. But for now I’ll just enjoy making breakfast.
Gorgeous! Do you mind sharing your source for the kitchen rug? I love it!
Love the storage unit you made. I like that you were brave enough to put it across the window. The light coming through looks really good. Love the industrial vibe it brings to the space.
That kitchen rug!!!! Fabulous. Where did you find it???
Jeanie – I actually found it on ebay – I figured out the exact dimensions that I wanted so as soon as I found the right one I pounced!
I love how much of a difference you could make with paint, new tiles, and one amazing shelf! I would love to get a new kitchen, but because of budget, this might be more realistic. Trying to convince my husband that tiling can´t be THAT hard… Also, I love your black vestibule tiles.
PS. I came here via Design Sponge 🙂
– Ragnhild
I would love to know where you got the wire chairs for your breakfast nook. I've been looking for ones just like them! Thank you 🙂
You could totally do it! Honestly, the demo is the most important part – if you remove the old and make sure you have a smooth, clean, and level surface to work on the tiling part is a breeze! There's a great DIY here that I used to teach myself – http://thedomesticwoman.com/2013/03/kitchen-backsplash-part-1-of-3-removal-and-prep/
The chairs are from Arhaus – I think they may no longer have them in a lot of stores – I actually just bought a third from all the way in Ohio (I live in Philly) that a family member will drive up next time they visit!
Thanks so much! We were a little nervous but most of the light is from the rear window. I also tried to put mostly glass items in front of the windows so I didn't block too much light 🙂
Love the industrial shelving unit! Did you find directions for that DIY online or did you figure it out for yourself? What are the dimensions?
Oh my god! Thats superbe!
http://helloquietude.blogspot.com.br/
We kind of figured it out ourselves from previous projects! There's a DIY for this shelf (dimensions are approx 8"x7') on the blog, as well as another pipe and flange shelf I made (drilled into the floor and walls as opposed to freestanding) at this link: https://www.andchristina.com/2011/08/pipe-and-flange-bookcase.html
It looks amazing! And like everyone else, I love the kitchen rug. My kitchen has ceramic tile flooring which is so cold (physically and visually) but it never occurred to me to add a rug! I'll definitely be on the lookout for one now.
This is an amazing makeover. Everything looks so clean and fresh. Bravo! It goes to show what one can do with imagination, paint,hard work and perseverance!
Congrats on the Apartment Therapy feature and great job on the makeover! A white kitchen is timeless and always a winner. I also love all the texture you've used!
Would you share the brand/source for the kitchen flooring? It looks great. Was it easy to install? We have a similar situation in our kitchen and pondering options that go directly over what likely has asbestos mastic on the original lineoleum, so want to leave it alone, but not build up the floor too much like traditional hardwood would have with prep layers like we've done elsewhere when we've ripped up old carpet. Thanks.
This is beautiful! My husband and I are about to close on a very similar home and I'm on a never-ending quest for the perfect cool, bright, white paint. What did you use? The color was such a transformational force in the house!
Another reader asked a similar question on this post – more info in the comments: https://www.andchristina.com/2015/01/diy-project-floating-floors.html
As for going over the linoleum – this is the exact route that we took (house was built in 1875) – additionally the mudroom addition in the back has a curved floor so we used 1/4" thick boards.
I'll probably get hate for it but after trying and failing a few times with several different whites I went with an untinted bright white eggshell from Valspar and a bright white semi-gloss for the trim.
I've always heard the rule "warm neutrals in new construction, cool neutrals in old" – my house was built in 1875 so I definitely agree! Anything slightly yellow makes it look dingy to me!
I totally agree, our house is only 70 years old but a cool white is really going to brighten the place up. But jeeze, all my searching and Valspar untinted? I think I was looking too hard! haha Thank you so much for your help!
would love to know how you frosted the window, and to see the living room after make over.
thanks!!!
Thanks for taking the time to share your process and the link to your other post. I'm looking forward to giving this a try in our kitchen renovation. JLY
No problem! I ended up trying it out of frustration from getting so many cans of paint mixed just to find that even "whitest white" and "bright white" still had warmth in them. I love bright bright white- I know a lot of people like more warmth but it makes me feel too much like an old South Philly grandma house with carpeting and a million table lamps 😛
Un cambio espectacular!!!
Muy buena reforma.
Beautiful kitchen transformation Christina! I'd love to know what shop you got the rug from on eBay or what you searched for. Such a great find.