When we first built our house, our kitchen was a builder’s grade kitchen. We had the basics. Nothing fancy. At the time, we were just content to have a house built, honestly. I appreciated that so much because we were finally homeowners and that was huge in our books. But deep inside my soul, I nursed the dream of having that dream kitchen. You know… the ones with the bells and whistles. Those pinterest images that make you just gawk lol.
Before Transformation
Then the opportunity came to give our kitchen a little makeover. Like repainting our cabinets white, changing out the light fixtures et al. We hired contractors and they did their thing and it was beautiful. It had that chic look. We used to have pendant lights but changed them to chandeliers which honestly were the star of the kitchen. And I wasn’t mad about it at all haha.
Years later, with the usual wear and tear of owning anything, things started falling apart. We had formica countertop and it was coming undone. It was a dreadful sight quite frankly. The flooring was giving way and had loads of scratch marks on them (mostly from the counter stools that we had at the time). The paint was chipping from the cabinets that we had painted just a few years ago. So hubby and I decided that a complete kitchen makeover was not only needed… It was crucial! expedient! Like we had to hit the ground running haha.
Two things were absolutely important to us in this kitchen makeover….Functionality and Aesthetics.
The design process was the first step. Hubby had a rough sketch of what we wanted. So we took that to Lowe’s and they expanded on it and brought it to life with a 3D rendition. .
Functionality : Added Space- We are a family that loves to cook and eat a lot too haha. Sunday dinners are a must in our home and we take turns cooking. Our older children actually volunteered to take turns with hubby and I to make Sunday dinners.
So we needed a bigger kitchen space so one person is cooking on one side and another is doing something else on the other side like home work or whatever and not be in each other’s way. We also needed the kitchen island to house the whole family so we could all sit together. Prior to that, the island could only seat our children. So we bumped the island by a few inches to create an overhang and that extra room was able to fix that problem. So now we could sit together as a family.
After Transformation
(Swipe Left/Right to See Transformation)
The following features were absolute essentials or “things that made sense” in interior design language parlance:
Kitchen Drawers: Having adequate storage space was non-negotiable. We felt we could achieve that better with drawers instead of cabinets and it would also give the kitchen a clean refined look.
Drawer microwave: Our microwave used to sit over our stove top and wasn’t easily accessible to the little ones and I have always fancied a drawer microwave. So that was what we installed. I’ll tell you, we’re all tickled pink by it. My kids think it’s pretty cool and I think so too. Haha.
Hood: Like I mentioned earlier, we are a family that loves to cook and we use a lot of spices when we do so. That landed a lot of stains and heavy grease everywhere because we didn’t have a good ventilation system. We knew it was crucial to get a good hood over the range that would suck everything out and look cute as well.
Double dishwasher drawer: This was all hubby haha. He had done his research on dishwashers and came up with the double dishwasher situation. I was just content getting a dishwasher that worked well because the others had failed us woefully and we go through a lot of dishes as a large family. He did good.
A Fridge and Freezer combo was a great idea by my husband to be able to accommodate all of our needs as a large family.
Counter top: That formica wasn’t cutting it for us. It was coming apart and quite honestly, an eyesore. We chose quartz this time around because of its clean elegant look. It’s non-porous which makes it resistant to staining. It’s also scratch resistant and that is like music to my ears with kids.
Flooring: Getting our original flooring for the kitchen makeover was an impossible task because it had been discontinued. Besides, it was laminate and prone to water damage and that’s deadly with kids IYKYK lol. We decided to go with PVC, a luxury vinyl flooring because it’s water resistant, scratch resistant, pretty easy to clean AND lasts longer. A win on every side if you ask me. Woohoo!
Pot filler: What a world of difference a pot filler has made. You know, as you grow older, carrying a pot of water to the stove gets a little harder haha. So a pot filler was a must and it’s pretty fancy too.
Undermount sink: I cannot even begin to tell how much it meant to me to have one. The primary reason? It made washing the stove grates so much easier. Those suckers were so heavy to begin with. Then attempting to wash them in an upright position in one sink (which we previously had) was the dauntiest (yes, i made that word up haha) task ever.
Aesthetics
Our vision for the makeover was a visually appealing look with clean lines and a bright and airy feel…and pleased to say we were able to accomplish that. Under cabinet, kick toe and lighting fixtures created the perfect ambience. We installed under cabinet outlets for a clean look. For our wall paint, we went with Stone Isle by Sherwin Williams. It’s grey with a cool undertone. We sourced our cabinet pulls from Restoration Hardware for an upscale look. They cost a pretty penny but so worth it.
In styling the kitchen, my aim was to have a clean minimalistic look. I wanted the entire kitchen to speak for itself.
Overall, we’re delighted with how it turned out and hope that you’re inspired for your kitchen makeover. I would like to know what you think of the makeover in the comment section. What was your favorite feature?
Have a lovely day and cheers xo.
