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DIY Kitchen Reveal

Evan
9 years ago

We began our kitchen facelift in January and finally finished last week. It's so exciting to have it done! I am so thankful to all of the people here; it would never have turned out like it did with out the collective wisdom of Gardenweb.

A little background: The kitchen is small and narrow. It's a builder grade kitchen; the house was built in 2005. We didn't love the cabinets, but we couldn't justify the cost (or waste) of replacing perfectly good cabinets. This isn't our forever house, so we weren't interested in a major remodel. The breakfast nook was small, and with the round table and other stuff it was basically impossible for more than 2 people to sit there. The whole kitchen was dark and yellow. So we undertook a DIY facelift. Everything except countertops was DIY.

I don't know if anyone is interested in details of our budget kitchen, but just in case:
We kept the exisiting appliances and faucet. Continued the mahogany floors from the rest of the house.
Cabinets were painted with a custom color in BM Advance and added crown molding and light rail
Counters are Kashmir White Granite
Hardware is Kraftmaid
Light fixture is Feiss (plus lots of new LED recessed and UC lighting)
Backsplash is San Dona marble hex from The Tile Shop
Wall paint is Revere Pewter (actually Behr color match)

Here is the before kitchen

Here is the after

Here is breakfast nook. I built the banquette and the table. The chairs are the one missing piece in the kitchen. These are just temporary chairs from our bonus room. My wife made the curtain and pillows. We love this area now. It easily seats 4, and can comfortably squeeze 6. And our 3 year old son and I enjoy sitting at the bench while my wife cooks.


Close-up detail of the backsplash.

I put floating shelves on the side of the pantry cabinet for cookbooks and display.

Close-up detail of the countertop (plus an excuse to show off my sons).

Though this was mostly about looks, we did improve the function of the kitchen as well. The eat-in area is FAR more usable now. The banquette gave us lots of extra storage, and I put in a cabinet into what was formerly empty space in a corner for additional much-needed storage.

I also built pull-out shelves in the pantry (can't believe we lived without those for 9 years!) and drawer dividers for our far too few drawers. The B sign in the background is made from wood from a gate on my wife's grandparent's farm.

Of course, the problem now is that the rest of the house looks dark and tired by comparison. The living and dining room are now on the to-do list!

Thanks again for all the help!

Comments (67)

  • ck_squared
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I, too, admire someone who can pull off a beautiful DIY remodeling project as I (we) know how much work they are! Really beautiful job. Everything looks fresh, bright and just right. Enjoy your new kitchen!

  • tea4all
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nice job! Your attention to detail makes for an even lovelier kitchen--curtains and pillows, lamp over table, utensil holder by stove, rug by sink, plates on wall, B on wall, pic of sweet sons, etc. I love the floating shelves and pull outs and your color choices. Ooohhhhh to have wood floors like yours would be a dream. Thanks for sharing.

    Enjoy the fruits of your labor for years to come! It's a great place in which to raise your boys.

  • countryatheart
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a beautiful DYI. Love all your finishing touches. Your banquette is wonderful. Perfect to enjoy a sunny spot. Congrats on your new bright, airy kitchen.
    P.S. your boys are precious, they reminded me of my two, now 25 & 22. They grow up fast.

  • kksmama
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Gorgeous and smart, you made excellent choices! I think I even love your knobs - and I'm knobless after 3 or 4 failed attempts. Closeup picture and more detail if you have it?

  • jesshs
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Please share how you made the banquette- I have a bay window that I want to put a banquette/window seat in and would love some ideas of how to get started.

    Love everything- your colors, your finishes. It looks lovely. And tell your wife a wonderful job on the curtains.

  • killinsnakes
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very nice!

  • bowbat
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks fantastic! You guys must be so thrilled every time you walk into your kitchen now. Nice work.

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful! I love that you made functional improvements, and not just cosmetic. It must feel like a whole new space! Well done.

  • romy718
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    One or both of you really has an eye for design. Everything down to the choice of your accessories is so appealing. I love your fabrics. I can't remember a prettier kitchen with Kashmir White Granite or Revere Pewter. Love your hardware & the kitchen towel bar. I have to stop because I love each & every detail (the floor too).

  • Bunny
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is not the same kitchen! DIY? No way!!! ;-)

    You guys did an awesome job. This is my kinda kitchen. I love how all the finishes go together and the valance is totally adorable.

    My kitchen was a facelift too, but I had to pay someone to do it. You did real good!!!

  • amck2
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love your new kitchen! There is nothing about it that is overwrought and trying to be showy. It's just a lovely, practical use of space with well-considered details.

    Thanks for posting, as I'm sure your remodel will inspire others to take the plunge. Congrats to you & your wife on a great result. Enjoy it with those two beautiful boys!

  • judithva
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, what a difference cabinet color and more lighting can do! Love the banquette too. Everything looks great.

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Really nice! You must be thrilled by this new kitchen :)

  • blfenton
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is beautiful. Love the floors, the banquette and the extra storage details you added.

    I am always in awe of those who have the talents and vision and can DIY and bring it all to fruition.

  • schoolhouse_gw
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Everything I wanted to say has been said. Like someone else, I love reveals like this. You did such a good job. Congrats.

  • renov8r
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I thought your original kitchen was great, until I saw the update. What a wonderful job! It looks so fresh and inviting. The white brightens it up so much. And what a great space saver the banquette is. I admire anyone who can do such a fantastic DIY. Enjoy!

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Happy wife, happy life.

  • SparklingWater
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A real eye pleaser with great details as said above. I bet even your toddler gets a lot of pride from his dad and mom working together to accomplish this. What a great life lesson.

  • mdln
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful, great job!

    Only thing missing is pic of your 4-legged family member. Love the shelves above the bowls.

  • Evan
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you everyone so much for the kind words!

    Tinker, here's a close up of the plate wall. The center one is an antique deviled egg plate (milk glass with gold trim) from DW's grandmother. The rest are from Old Time Pottery open stock ($2 a piece). And it is a tv on the wall, which freed up space in the breakfast nook.

    Kksmama: Here is a close up of the knobs. We saw them on a bathroom display at Lowe's and loved them. They're Kraftmaid. They come in a few finishes; ours are polished nickel. I can't remember the name right now, but if you're interested I can look them up.

    JessHS: the banquette is made of three single upper cabinets turned on their side. I built a base out of 2x4" and built a seat out of 1/2" plywood. It was really pretty easy. I just bought the unfinished stock cabinets at Home Depot for around $50 apiece.

    Romy: thank you! it's definitely my wife with the good eye. She gets these visions and tells me to "Get on gardenweb and figure out how to make that work."

  • Evan
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    mdln: our four-legged family member matches the kitchen, of course. He's a white and gray shih-Tzu. He's even small and narrow!

  • oldbat2be
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    HUGE smile on my face as I saw your after pictures, WONDERFUL!! Great backsplash - huge hex fan here - , that fabulous dark floor makes such a statement, and I love your paint color. Oh please, do post pictures of your next projects, I know I will love them!

  • meddam
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That looks fantastic! I think I recall your original posts when you were in the planning stages. What a difference you have made!

  • lisa_a
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wonderful transformation! So many things to like but I think my favorite thing is the floating shelves on the side of the pantry. That's a great use of that space.

  • CEFreeman
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love befores and afters where it's the (almost) exact same kitchen with all changed things. It really brings home how incredible updates, while keeping original layouts, etc., can be.

    I really really love your paint color. And your back splash, and your sweet boys, and your table!

    You put in a lot of touches only high end kitchens seem to come up with -- unless you happen to be a GW Kitchen board member, right!?!

    Enjoy. You did a fabulous job.

  • gr8daygw
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What everyone else said! So pretty. Love your choices and talent in making the banquette and your wife's sewing talent. I really like how you extended the flooring into the kitchen. I immediately noticed how pretty everything is. The knobs on your cabinets are so glamorous, I really like them. Genius how you did the cabinets on their side for the bench. So creative and cost effective and looks great.

    I have been lamenting how it's hard to find those old deviled egg plates these days. In the old days they were quite unique and beautiful, my mom and grandmother had such pretty ones. So neat how you included DW's grandmother's plate. Love that. Sweet picture of your children : ) beautiful.

    Of course always a plus when your dog matches your kitchen! Thanks for sharing your beautiful work.

  • bellsmom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As others have said, many subtle improvements besides the obvious paint. Fun to look at these carefully, comparing before and after to find the differences.

    I was especially struck by the difference the new trim over the cabinets made in the look of the old cabs. Really a huge improvement that would not have occurred to me to add.

    Nice improvement to the lighting, also.

    By the way, I found the dog dish, but not the dog. Is he/she hiding there somewhere?

    Thanks for sharing a great job.

  • romy718
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I remember the discussions about your lighting (the Christmas lights you put above the cabinets). What kind of bulbs are in your recessed lights? What did you use for undercabinet lights & did you add lights to light the ceiling above the crown?

  • olympia776
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Really nice job! I recall your initial posts asking for advice. Glad you went forward with the white cabinets! The added lights are great too!

    I love the hex tiles you picked - you were kind enough to tell me about them when I was looking. If you're taking more pics would you mind taking one of the bs and counter together?

    You really made it look so much more beautiful! It's great you were able to add additional functionality as well as beauty. How long did it all take? Ours seemed to take forever because I decided to add shiplap and then build another cabinet after the cabinets (and floors, counters, etc.) was done!

    Enjoy it in good health!

  • vdinli
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love love all the details. So fresh, airy and crisp! Great design and execution. Enjoy!
    Can you tell me more about how the floating shelves are attached?

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That came out great! You guys did a wonderful I job. I love seeing other DIY budget reveals :)

  • pamplemousse
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your cabinets look amazing - you painted those yourself? What finish did you use in the BM Advance paint? I want to paint my cabinets, and have read lots of tips, but anything you learned from your experience? Thanks!

  • dilly_ny
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow! so bright and cheerful. Enjoy!

  • Evan
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks so much again for all the compliments!

    CEFreeman: you're right about including high end touches I learned about on Gardenweb. So many of the things we did were a direct result of things I learned here.

    Gr8day: she must have 20 deviled egg plates. I always wonder how many deviled eggs she must make? My wife says you can't be a Southern woman without a deviled egg plate.

    Romy: we used Halo Cooper LED surface lighting (SLD4). It's actually not recessed; it protrudes about 1/2" from the ceiling. It can be retrofitted into existing recessed fixtures, but it's much easier to install than typical recessed lighting in a new installation. It's 3000K. We just used 3000K LED puck lights from Lowe's for UCL. The electrician put a switched plug above the cabinets that is our power source. My wife didn't like the lighting above the cabinets (She said it reminded her of a 1980's California Cove ceiling). I liked it. Guess who won that debate?

    Browneyes: it took about 6 months to complete. I'll put in 2 pics of the counter and backsplash together. When we were holding up the tile to see if we liked it p, I SWEAR it was all white. Somehow the grouting process brought out the variation in the tiles and made them look more gray. Sometimes when I'm looking just at the tile and counter together they almost seem to clash a bit. But in the big picture context they look great.

    Vinudev: I made a bracket of 1x2" that is screwed to the cabinet. The shelf is basically a sleeve made of 1x2" and 1/4" plywood. It is open on the back, so it just slides on the bracket. I put a link that shows in great detail how to do that.

    Pample: thanks for the compliment. My wife painted them. We used the Satin finish. The biggest thing is to be SUPER careful about drips. The Advance paint is very thin, which helps it self level. But that also means it drips badly. We still ended up with a few drips and blobs despite being very careful. Also, use a very high quality brush and follow all the steps (cleaning, priming, sanding between coats, etc.).

    Here is a link that might be useful: Floating shelves

  • Evan
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    One more pic

  • bicyclegirl1
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I can't believe this is a DIY. Great job! Your old kitchen wasn't bad, it was just a little dark. But, your new one is so bright & beautiful! Congrats! Job well done.

  • vdinli
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks a lot for the link! I have used Ana-white plans before. I forgot to check there before.

  • kclv
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lovely!

  • kksmama
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the hardware closeup and other follow-up pictures. I'll make the trip to Lowe's, they only have round ones pictured online. I've clipped the banquet info, so clever! You and your dw make a great team, congrats!

  • Evan
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here is the link KKS

    -Evan

    Here is a link that might be useful: Knobs

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So, clearly folks *are* interested in the details of a budget, DIY kitchen! ;)

    Very nice job -- can't say what I like best, the bench, the floor, the new light, the shelves, the roll-out trays, the granite...

  • musicteacher
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am in the process of diy-ing my own kitchen right now- popcorn ceilings, painting cabinets, searching for stone. If my kitchen turns out half as nice as yours I will be so happy! Thanks for the inspiration!

  • nmjen
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So pretty! I especially love the backsplash, the curtains and the pillows. Good ideas, and great execution!

  • blackchamois
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great GREAT job! Congratulations and well done! I love the banquette and the floating shelves! Genius!

  • Ivan I
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    1) Your backsplash and counter combination are visually fascinating to me.

    They are obviously 2 different materials and patterns, yet the patterns of color variations are magically similar.

    2) I love banquettes where there's lots of "overhang" in the seat behind the table.

    - it adds a sense of opulence or luxury

    - it creates a great informal place to easily sit and talk without moving behind a table (good for grandparents with bad knees)

    3) That banquette geometry the easiest for people to enter and exit in general

    4) Your window valance is beautiful. Perfect color combo to my eye with the paint and your granite

    5) The shelves and pet bowl area is genius! It creates visual interest where there would be none otherwise - just an expanse of cabinet.

    Congratulations.

  • Evan
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you so much for the kind words, everyone! Mare Luce, spot on about the banquette! We originally planned to do a bench just the length of the window. But there would be such a small space on each side that we decided to go wall to wall. So glad we did; it's really nice to be able sit there and converse without having to be confined behind the table.

  • olympia776
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Good job! You make me feel like I ought to post a reveal too. It really is so hopeful to see how others do things.

    You should be so proud!

  • abbycat9990
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Tell us more about the pull out shelves in the pantry. Did you make the boxes? With a kit or assembled from readily available hardware?

    Our kitchen has similar features: banquette, deep pantry, etc. We've added open storage to the peninsula behind the blind corner too. Next up is repainting or replacing doors and drawer fronts, and converting lower cabs to drawers. You did a great job. It's a bright and cheery kitchen!

  • Evan
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Abbycat: I made the boxes. The base is 3/4" plywood, and the sides are 1/2" thick poplar from the "Hobby Wood" section at Home Depot. They come in varying widths (I used taller sides for the drawers with taller items), so I didn't have to rip cut them. I used a nail gun and wood glue to assemble them. I used 3/4 extension slides. The full extension ball bearing ones are probably better, but they're real persnickity. If your box is too wide or narrow by even 1/32", they will bind up. The 3/4 slides give you a small amount of room for error, which is good for amateurs like me. It was a tedious job, but not difficult.

    Good luck on your project!

  • Eric Freedman
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    From one DIYer to another: Nice job! Like the banquette and pull out shelves in the pantry.

    Looks great!

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