Okay, fair warning y’all, there is no way to keep this one short and sweet, but it will be worth it!
Our kitchen was orange when we moved in. The cabinets, the floors, and even the walls at one point. Although we love the UT Vols, orange wasn’t the look we had in mind for the space. The cabinets were in good shape, I just didn’t love the color. A few years ago Adam and I painstakingly filled the grain and painted our oak cabinets and it made a HUGE difference! That was phase one of the kitchen renovation. It still wasn’t as bright as I would like and last year, we decided it was time for phase two.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? Here is the picture from the listing of our house. All I can say is… Wow, that’s a whole lotta orange…
The photo below was taken just before we did the first phase of the kitchen renovation. The appliances and countertops were replaced before we moved in and we had all of the walls painted. Forgive the crappy photos, I wasn’t anticipating blogging at the time.
New countertops and appliances made a difference, but I still hated the orange oak cabinets. In phase one we added moulding to the tops of the cabinets and painted everything. Shortly thereafter, we had the hardwood floors replaced throughout the first floor of the house. Although I have not done a tutorial on painting oak cabinets, I can give you a bit of advice:
1. Give yourself plenty of time (don’t start the project a couple of weeks prior to hosting a party for 30 of your closest friends… yep, we did that)
2. Fill the grain if you are painting oak cabinets, I don’t care what anyone says, there is no shortcut around this one.
3. Last but not least, invest in some semi-pro tools. We purchased a paint sprayer for the project and several professional brushes.
It wasn’t perfect, but it made the kitchen much more “livable” than the orange oak cabinets.
I promise that’s the same kitchen from the listing photo, crazy right?! This is why I always say, pick up a brush and do it. As I said earlier, it didn’t make things perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better.
Now, on to the exciting part, Kitchen Reno 2.0!
In phase 2, we replaced the appliances, extended the island and built out a cover for the exhaust fan over the new gas range. The microwave was moved to the island along with a pullout trash bin. We also added a bank of drawers beside the dishwasher and open shelves. Why were they not there in the first place?! It was a real missed storage opportunity in the original layout.
Without question, my favorite update was the beverage station. Although I do not have any photos of the area before, it was completely empty. I had a couple of chairs and a small accent table for additional seating because it was too small for a dining table.
I searched far and wide for the brass shelves and they were my splurge for the project, but they were worth every penny, I love them.
We also added a pot filler. It has been super convenient, and if you have a plumber coming anyway, get one!!! Our pots are super heavy, and y’all know I don’t work out. The hardware we chose is similar to this, I really like the look of the acrylic and gold accents.
Thanks for sticking with me on the long post! I told you it was a big change. If you have any questions about the reno, don’t hesitate to ask. I have also linked similar styles to the products we used below:
Flush Mount Light Fixture, this one is semi-flush
I hope this has inspired you. Keep in mind, not everything has to be done at once. Make a plan for what you want the room to be and start a Pinterest board. Decide what you can do now and what needs to wait. Getting started is always the hardest thing, but go for it, you won’t regret it!
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Leslie says
I love this kitchen and I am obsessed with the glass & brass shelves!! BEAUTIFUL!