Whenever David is gone I like to do home projects. So this time I did a little surprise one… It took me less than three hours after he left before I had completely ripped the kitchen apart. Our kitchen before was so dark and depressing. It was fun for a while having the chalkboard paint, but I wanted it to feel bright and happy! Our kitchen was in desperate need of a renovation. Our Maytag fridge wasn’t working properly so I had to go on a website like maytag-fridge-repairs.co.uk to organize a repair. Luckily, it’s working perfectly now and I’m so thankful for that! I never knew how much we relied on our fridge! Thinking we needed the fridge repaired inspired me to get the whole kitchen sorted and I’m really pleased with how it looks! I’m not even sure how it happened to be honest, as one day I’m searching around for the websites of companies and services that could repair refrigerators, then suddenly the next day I’m looking around at various countertops and shelves to renovate our whole kitchen. It all started after needing to find a repair service similar to this company you can find at www.amanafridgerepair.com and other websites.
Soooo dark!
After pulling the cabinets off the wall, it already felt SO much brighter!!
Time to get serious…
At this point I was about half way done. I had taken down the cabinets & micromave, put up bead boards on the wall where they used to be, put up the shelves, and primed the counters.
After!! So bright, and welcoming, I’m in love with my new kitchen. It went from the room I didn’t want to look at, to the spot when I spend most of my time. It was totally worth the hardwork, and paint in my hair for days.
So here’s what I did…
Started by taking down the cabinets and microwave. I definitely recommend having someone help you with this. I was very determined, and managed to get them down myself but it could have easily gone bad.
Once the cabinets were down the gross old wallpaper was revealed. So I went to home depot and bought pre-painted wall panels that look like beadboard. We have this around the rest of our kitchen and I love it! It’s also soooo much easier than taking down wallpaper. I cut these with a circular saw and nailed them up. Next I used poly filler in all the cracks, sanded down the bumps and did a coat of paint on top.
Next the shelves went up. These shelves were actually left in the house by the last people that lived here, I found them in the back of a closet. I bought those brackets at Ikea for $6 each. I really love the exposed shelving look, and I was surprised that I actually didn’t loose that much space for storing dishes. Almost everything that was in the cabinets is on the shelves.
Then the counters! I really wanted to change the counters but wasn’t sure If I was going to able to without spending a lot. I went to Home Depot and asked the woman in the paint section for countertop paint, she talked to me like I was 5 and explained how you can’t paint a kitchen counter it’s not safe! So, I went home and did some research. I ended up painting them with a primer, then painting them with a generic interior paint that I got mixed at walmart. Then did a coat of the Rustoleum Stone Effects Countertop Epoxy. They turned out way better than I thought they would, they look like they were made that color! I would definitely recommend epoxy countertops to anyone who wanted to give their kitchen a fresh new look.
Lastly I painted the cupboards, I just painted them all white to keep it looking bright!
The whole project took about 3 days and cost me about $200! Woo!! I already had the white paint, primer, shelves, and trim so that saved me some $$.
That is not all though! Since redecorating, I have been thinking about calling out a plumber to install some new taps. Plumbing is not my strong suit, so I have started to research a few different plumbers on websites like this one: moffettplumbing.com/areas-we-serve/plumber-san-clemente-ca/. I cannot wait to sort out our sink, as I think we might have developed a leak that needs fixing. Fingers crossed the plumber we hire can fix it!
Also, my original plan was to just get a new small stainless steel microwave that we would keep on the counter because I was so done with that huge old white one. But after doing some research I decided to not replace the microwave, and so far I’m not missing it!
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
It looks so great! I have a question, where are those leggings or pants, whatever you are wearing the the tool belt picture, from? They are so cute!
Umm this is incredible! I've literally looked over this post five times and cannot believe you did this yourself! The exposed shelves are gorgeous… I've always wanted something like that in my kitchen. Good for you for getting in there and doing this. I'm sure your hubby is going to love the new look when he gets back! Have fun on tour!
xx
M
kitchen.closet.heart
Umm this is incredible! I've literally looked over this post five times and cannot believe you did this yourself! The exposed shelves are gorgeous… I've always wanted something like that in my kitchen. Good for you for getting in there and doing this. I'm sure your hubby is going to love the new look when he gets back! Have fun on tour!
xx
M
kitchen.closet.heart
wow! that's awesome that you could do that all yourself. i'm jealous! and it turned out looking great! my friend and i are moving out together soon and we want our kitchen to have that blue/green color. perfect inspiration for us!
wow! that's awesome that you could do that all yourself. i'm jealous! and it turned out looking great! my friend and i are moving out together soon and we want our kitchen to have that blue/green color. perfect inspiration for us!
I'm so impressed! It really made a HUGE difference! I can't believe you did all of that by yourself!!! LOVE the finished look! Great job!
I'm so impressed! It really made a HUGE difference! I can't believe you did all of that by yourself!!! LOVE the finished look! Great job!
Oh man this is crazy! I could never imagine taking on a huge project like this. Kudos!
So does that mean you don't have a microwave at all anymore?!
this is so incredible!
this is so incredible!
Wow, you did a wonderful job!
it looks sooo good!! and i'm very impressed with your handiness 🙂
The bread box and rug look so good!! And the kitchen looks so cute! Definitely your personality in kitchen form! 🙂 Love it.
Gill
Wow what a HUGE difference. Amazing.
Wow what a HUGE difference. Amazing.
ooooh my. the mint, the checkered floor, the shelves.
you did such a good job. I wish we wernt renting so I could re do our kitchen!
I'm just going to have to be creative now.
it looks so fresh! love it. cheap and quirky, definitely my kind of style.
it looks so fresh! love it. cheap and quirky, definitely my kind of style.
Wow! Amazing change! You are so brave painting your counters 🙂
Looks so amazing! What a difference from before!
Looks so amazing! What a difference from before!
I can't believe you took down those cabinets by yourself! That is AMAZING! The new look is so bright and spacious. Nice work!
I can't believe you took down those cabinets by yourself! That is AMAZING! The new look is so bright and spacious. Nice work!
You did an awesome job, and all by yourself! Would you share the paint colour you used on the countertops? It's amazing and would be perfect to brighten up our nasty old bathroom countertop!
Cheers!
-T
You did an awesome job, and all by yourself! Would you share the paint colour you used on the countertops? It's amazing and would be perfect to brighten up our nasty old bathroom countertop!
Cheers!
-T
Bethany, how are the counter tops holding up? Beautiful work!
Bethany, how are the counter tops holding up? Beautiful work!
It's light and bright.. amazing how much more airy it is with upper cabinets gone. What did you use to paint the cabinets?
Also wondering, is your kitchen island (stainless) from Ikea? It's very nice.. !! Thanks 🙂
It's light and bright.. amazing how much more airy it is with upper cabinets gone. What did you use to paint the cabinets?
Also wondering, is your kitchen island (stainless) from Ikea? It's very nice.. !! Thanks 🙂