Modern Farmhouse Kitchen Reno Update

A lot has happened to my kitchen since this post. 

I CANNOT believe what a difference 3 days, 2 guys & just changing out the uppers & backsplash made to this space.  What a big change!!!!  Within the first few hours they had all the uppers down & that was a big enough change.  I felt like I could breathe...

I'm trying to take this very basic, builder kitchen & make it look more current & custom on a very low budget.  I didn't change the countertops (they're quartz put in by the previous owners) or the lowers (I'll be painting them black) or any of the appliances...again, a very inexpensive reno.

Let's just look at the befores...

This is how it looked when we moved in...your very basic kitchen.

And this is what it looked like after the cabinets were painted & new hardware was put on about 6 years ago.

And this was about an hour after the carpenters arrived.

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

I kept the rangehood design simple...shaker like the cabinets.  

So this is what I had them do:   take down upper cabinets, build bulkhead, put up new Ikea cabinets, build rangehood, put up subway tile & put up crown moulding.

After grout and a couple of coats of white paint (Ben moore Soothing Mist OR-483) later...this was the result.

Can we just talk about the subway tile for a minute...

I.  Love.  It.

And it's from Home Depot...a box of 100 for about $40.00...inexpensive & beautiful...my favourite combo!

I also went with this dark grout called Truffle for a more graphic look.

This was a complete waste of space next to the fridge.  We had a box where the microwave used to go, two uppers, a very narrow cabinet & then a glassed corner cabinet.  We purchased these from Ikea in an off-white shaker style & then purchased these in 18" to go above them.   

You can see that there are two outlets on this side of the kitchen so I was able to get the carpenters to cut out the backs of the cabinets so I can put my microwave in the enclosed cabinet.  I also opted to leave one whole cabinet without doors & drawers. This houses my glass jars & coffeemaker & gives it a more custom look.

So here's what I have left to do:  put another coat of paint on the bulkhead & rangehood (hence the tape), paint the lowers black, get some new hardware (probably gold), & add some wood elements.

Even though it's only halfway there, we are absolutely loving it...the kids are loving it too!

Giving the Kitchen a Little Love

The other side of this room (which happens to be our only eating area), our kitchen, is getting a little (much needed) update this week.  I've never really liked anything about this kitchen and just had it painted when we first moved in, over six years ago.   I absolutely love the modern farmhouse look (check out my Pinterest board...hint, hint.) and I'm also loving everything industrial right now.  The look I'm going for is off-black cabinets, wood tones, range hood and white subway tile.  I've decided to keep the bottom cabinets and paint them out in an off black and then only take down the uppers and put up ikea shaker cabinets in an off white.  This is a very cheap reno, and I received a little cash for Christmas, so this is what I'm doing with it.  

We'll see how it goes...so far just a couple of hiccups...

Here's some of my inspo...

via 

via

via House and Home

 via House and Home

  via Nate Berkus

My Girl's Teen Room Continues

My goal was to finish this room by Christmas (and last I checked it was April) but braces and a few other dentist bills (like two root canals with no dental coverage) happened, and the room has just sort of been stuck.  You can see my previous posts on this room here and here.  

So this is where this room stands now...one side of the room is done, but I decided to change the dresser which was originally against the black wall and put the white chair here instead.  The collage then had to move a little further down the wall.  I also  purchased this gorgeous knitted pouf from HomeSense, and found this very cool striped bedding at Ikea.  Oh ya, and the gold end table is from Target (which sadly is no longer here in Canada), and I may have mentioned that in my previous post.

And here's Po on my daughter's bed while she was away for Spring break.  (For a whole week my daughter's bedroom was tidy!)  Actually, this pic of Po was featured on the Style at Home Instagram in March.  That was pretty darn exciting!!!  If you scroll down their account you'll see it!

That's it for updates. 

Have a great day!!!

Dog Days Of Summer

This is where I catch my Po, our Valley Bulldog, sleeping quite a bit lately.  Outside in the shade on our furniture. Does your dog do this?  Being part English Bulldog, she loves her naps.  She does have a dog bed that she sleeps on at night, but  I think I need to get her one of these so she's elevated.  

Believe it or not, this is her happy face, which is very similar to her sad face, now that I think about it.  Actually, she just has one look - handsome.

Here she is sleeping in my office on my old Ikea couch, which I'm going to have to get another slipcover for very soon.  I'm so happy with this couch.  It is well over 10 years old and is still in great condition.  Have you heard about Bemz?  They make slipcovers for old and new Ikea furniture.  What a great idea for a company!! 

Never wake a sleeping baby.

Here's a pic of Po up close just because.