Our Mini Kitchen Makeover

01 Jul Our Mini Kitchen Makeover

As I said before, the kitchen was something that had been renovated before we bought the house.  There were things we liked, and things we did not like.  The granite is “kashmir white”, and I have to say, if I were choosing a kitchen countertop, and I had to choose granite, that is exactly the color I would pick.  It is so pretty, and almost has a marble feel to it.  I also really like the cabinetry style and the architectural details like the fluted corners.  Since the things we did not like were minor (well, fairly minor, see my backsplash makeover here), we have been changing things up over the last year.  But to understand the journey to our mini makeover, you have to see where we started, right?

Behold the MLS photos of our kitchen!

You can see here the room was painted a mustard color.  I don’t know if you can really tell from this photo, but the panes in the cabinets were shower glass.  There was also what we lovingly called the “pool hall” light fixture.  The hardware was bronze.

This photo illustrates the tiny, and I mean tiny, size of that island “bar” overhang.  See how far the counter stools stick out from underneath it?  I’m still not totally sure what the thought was behind that.  The overhang is about 10″, normal is 21″, and the bare minimum is usually 17″.  I pondered adding cabinetry there (see this post), but it was too cost prohibitive so I am still brainstorming.

You can also see the old back door in this photo pre-addition.  That back door is gone now as is that tiny cabinet and window.  We left the countertop because I wanted to keep the counter space, and the new opening to the room goes from the right side of the doorframe all the way to the left wall!

And here it is now!

You can see I painted the bottom cabinets, and I painted them Benjamin Moore’s “Rockport Gray” to match the island.  It is grey with a hint of taupe, and feels slightly contemporary without being over the top.  Tip:  To save money on repainting your cabinets, paint the trim and bases yourself and send the doors to someone that will spray them.  Make sure you take them your paint can versus the painter color matching your color choice.  You do not want any “oops” paint!

When we moved in, we moved into a house with no refrigerator, which was a big surprise.  We worked it out with the previous owners, but we ended up buying a new fridge.   I found this JennAir white glass refrigerator (it’s not just white, it has a translucent white glass front) on clearance at a local appliance warehouse and fell in love.  JennAir had discontinued it, and the salesman told me it had sat there for months “since it was not stainless steel”.  I snatched it up and am so happy with it!  It is gorgeous!

I knew I wanted brass hardware in the kitchen, but it is H-A-R-D to fine unlacquered brass kitchen hardware.  I did not want the 80’s-esque polished brass look, and wanted it to be a little more weathered and patina looking.  I found the pulls I was looking for at Horton Brasses, a family owned company I was happy to support.  Their customer service was great!  My pulls are the “Queslett” pulls in the Semi-Bright finish.  These were definitely my splurge of our mini makeover, but I am thrilled with how they look against the gray cabinets!  I also considered this more cost effective option from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot, but ultimately decided against it since there was not an extra long handle in this style for my dishwasher.

Then came the knob debate…since I had splurged on the pulls, I knew I needed to keep cost down with the knobs.  I didn’t love any of the coordinating knob options from Horton Brasses, and they were expensive anyway.  Then I found these unlacquered brass knobs at Home Depot, and they looked great with the new pulls!  Bonus: they were less than $2.00 each!

Although I love the warmth of the brass on the gray cabinets, the jury is still out on how I feel about the brass against the white cabinets.  I may end up changing these out, I’m not quite sure yet.  I’ve considered these, these, and these.  (feel free to express your opinion)  You can also see we changed out the shower glass panes for clear glass panes.

I got a few comments last week on the chandelier, and it was not a new purchase, but simply a “shop your house” moment.  This crystal beauty is original to my 1921 home, and we moved it from the dining room to the kitchen.  The little mercury glass pendant made the move from or old house – I found it at an antique store and painted the black cord white.  You can also see the new paint color – Martha Stewart’s Bakery Box White.

Across from the kitchen sink is my small pantry made up of four cabinets.  I changed out the bronze hardware for these 6″ acrylic pulls for the smaller upper cabinets and these 14.5″ pulls for the taller lower cabinets.   I love the look!  The walkway between the island and these cabinets is not very big so I wanted hardware that would be less obtrusive.

They definitely add a sense of elegance to what would otherwise be a boring set of cabinets.

Then came the faucet.  You guys, why are faucets so expensive?  The faucets I was looking at were around $700 which did not quite fit with my mini makeover.  So I took to the Internets and found this bridged faucet beauty in Polished Nickel.  For $225, I got the look I wanted, at what I consider to be great quality for the price.  Seriously, I was impressed when I took this out of the box.  It was heavy and well made.  (Transparency:  The only thing I don’t like about the faucet?  The screws on the top of the handles versus having a pretty “Hot” or “Cold” decoration.  For the price however, I can get over that.)

I chose polished nickel because it has a lovely warmth to it, and can take on a slight golden tone which worked with my brass hardware.

I added art to the windows above the sink to make that area a little more interesting.  I haven’t done anything with window treatments so I added a vintage paint-by-number (more about these in this post) and a piece of art I picked up for $15 at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago.  I wouldn’t be heartbroken if something happened to these, and they look nice there for now.

Plus they help distract from the fact the windows are different.  Can you spot it?  (for those of you who read “Highlights” as a kid)

All in all, my kitchen makeover cost less than $700.  It has taken about a year to do, but I am happy with how it has turned out.  You can see I have mixed hardware quite a bit in this room (does that scare you?), which I have never done in a previous home.  And I have to say, I love how it helps to take away the sterile feel from the kitchen.  This room is definitely more warm and unique and interesting now.  One step at a time, and your home can tell the story you want it to.

Want to remember how to mix hardware and finishes?  Here are some tips!

And of course, the before & after.

 Hope you enjoyed it!

Also, thank you to all who entered for the $250 Home Depot gift card #BountyChallenge giveaway!  I used random.org to choose a number between 1 and 171 (the number of comments I had at the time), and the lucky number was…

Number 112’s comment was Meredith’s!  Congratulations!

 Have you ever done a mini makeover on your kitchen, or are you contemplating one?

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