Budget Kitchen Makeover - The Reveal
You guys, the day is finally here. The kitchen makeover is DONE! I started making over our kitchen back in February, working in between my little ones nap times and bed times. Four months later and I can finally say that this project is finished!
I had big plans for this space, I wanted to completely transform my kitchen without spending a ton of money. All I had was paint and a TON of elbow grease! But all the sweat and tears paid off because wow does the kitchen look good!
Let’s take a look at what kitchen used to look like:
And this is how it looks now!
Can you believe the difference?! You can sometimes find me here staring at all the details. The space feels so much brighter and the granite counters look a ton better! I was a little bummed in the beginning that it wasn’t in our budget to replace them but I have to admit that I’m not too upset about it now.
The cabinet color is something that I researched for YEARS! I debated for what felt like forever about painting the cabinets or not. Some days I was totally for it, and others not so much. But ultimately I felt that I if my main goal was to brighten the space then the cabinets had to be painted, especially since the counters were staying put. So after tons of research and searching the internet high and low for inspiration, I landed on Shiitake by Sherwin Williams for the cabinet paint color.
And WOW what a difference did it make. Our kitchen not only looks brighter but also feels higher end and all I did was change the color!
I decided to replace our cabinet hardware to knobs instead of the bars for a more simplistic, modern-traditional feel. Surprisingly, the knobs were super inexpensive from Lowe’s and are holding up really well. I’m impressed with the quality and love how heavy they feel in your hand.
Once the cabinets were painted and the new hardware was installed, it was pretty clear that I needed to do something about the backsplash. I headed to my local Home Depot and spoke a nice gentleman about what’s the best paint to use for a kitchen backsplash. He recommended Urethane Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel Interior/Exterior Paint by Behr and I couldn’t be more impressed. I had the paint tinted Palais White by Behr which is a creamy white that I knew would be the perfect complement to the cabinet color. It’s been about a month since I applied the paint to the backsplash and its holding up beautifully. To be honest, I loved the backsplash paint so much that if I was to paint my cabinets again (which I am not for a very long time!), I would use this type of paint. That’s how much I love it!
Ever since we bought this house, one of my biggest complaints about this house was the microwave range hood. It was super low and always getting in my way when I was cooking. I was pretty much convinced that it had to be removed. As I started exploring on how to remove the microwave, I noticed that the backsplash didn’t go up all the way behind the microwave so if I removed it, I would have to figure out how to deal with the tile and bare drywall. You can read all the details about it here, but I simply installed a small floating shelf and I have to say it turned into one of my favorite features of this makeover!
Next, I turned my attention to the island. We had purchased four wood bar stools from Facebook Marketplace a few months back for $150. I was going for a modern traditional look rather than the farmhouse, country feel the bar stool current paint reflected. So I decided paint them matte black. I wanted black for a little modern look and matte to keep them a little casual. Check out all the details here about the type of paint I used.
BEFORE
AFTER
My last DIY for this space was the pendant lights - they were super pretty as white but they no longer felt right for the space after all the changes I had made. So I spray painted the inside gold and the outside a semi flat black. They look brand new and all I had to do was buy a couple of spray paint cans. Not bad, right?!
And that completes the biggest project we have DIY’d in our house. There were many days that I cursed the day I started this project. It took a LONG time, but now that I’m at the other side, it was 100 percent worth it. I would totally do it again, but this time maybe set my time expectations a little better, (DIYing with two little ones is HARD) or maybe just get a babysitter! LOL.
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The Budget
Krud Kutter - $6.78
2 gallons of Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 - $22.98 each = $45.96
1 gallon of Behr Urethane Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel Interior/Exterior Paint for the backsplash - $35.98
Polished brass round cabinet knob - $2.88 x 26 =74.88
Fusion Mineral Paint in Coal Black for the bar stools - $22.99
2 Brylon Semi Flat Black Spray Paint - 6.97 x 2 = $13.94
Rust-Oleum Pure Gold Spray Paint - $6.98
2 Wooster Shortcut brushes - $5.87
Frog Tape - $8.97
sanding block - $4.67
foam rollers - $8.97
1x2 scrap wood for shelf - FREE
Grand Total: $289.97
Wow! I would have never believed that I could achieve all this for under 300 dollars!
I really hope you enjoyed this post and seeing the progress we made to this space. It was a labor of love that I had dreamed about doing for a very long time. Have you painted your kitchen cabinets? Let me know how it went below, I’d love to hear from you!