Once upon a time…about 2 years ago, the hubs and I set out on one of our infamous “Model Home Dates.” See more of those here & here. It was February in Michigan and we were looking for something to do.
I learned a valuable lesson that day. Just “looking” at model homes is sort of like going to the Animal Shelter “just looking” at the puppies. One casual trip to the humane society and dude, you’re coming home with a dog.
Now, this does not in any way diminish my absolute L-O-V-E of Model Homes Or the fun date that they’ve become. It just means I need to prep myself in one of 2 ways.
Scenario A: “You’re JUST looking, dreaming and gathering ideas for your ‘someday home.’”
Scenario B: “With enough spray paint and Frog Tape anything in this house is achievable for $6.00”
Well, I had my “B” goggles on that day and in rare form, so did my Mr. Our style has evolved over the years and we were ready to take our kitchen from Tuscan to Modern Glam in one foul swoop. Liiiittttllleee did we know that one foul swoop would be 4 months of called in favors, epic amounts of saw dust, a completely non-functional kitchen and having my oven live in our entry way. For. Realz.
But that fateful Saturday night in May, with every cabinet door proudly back in place, we looked at each other and both said “SO worth it.”
That being said, here’s our journey from Oak to Kona, Tuscan to Glam. Hope it gives your No Small Life some inspiration. Even on an tight budget, if you’re willing to put in the work, you can make a MAJOR impact.
Here’s where we started. We were blessed enough to inherit granite counter tops and a tile back splash from the previous owner. NOW, if we were choosing our own counter and back splash, as lovely as this is, this wouldn’t be our first choice. It’s a little too yellow for us BUT my mama raised me right and I will NOT complain about granite, SO love it we will…..BUT, I wouldn’t mind changing the back splash eventually. Stainless Steel Subway Tile anyone? Yes please.
Here is the cutest Mr. Fix-it you ever did see. My husband and a couple of our ah-mazing friends were rock stars with this project. I basically owe them steak dinners on demand for the rest of their adult lives.
We learned a TON by redoing this kitchen. First, if you’re re-staining your cabinets, you will be sanding ‘til the cows come home. Make sure you cover everything! We hung sheets and plastic tarps in our doorways and covered our counters with brown butcher paper. Also, if you’re keeping any window treatments, give those bad boys a vacation until you’re done.
Second, be prepared to live in chaos for a while. It comes with the reno territory. I declared a few rooms in our house “reno free zones.” I was sort of a dictator about it, but I wanted our bedroom, bathrooms and our basement to be crazy clean and organized during this time. We needed a few places to retreat for sanity sake, everything else was a free for all lol. Its only a season…I said over and over and over 😉
And one that was well worth it, because now…
We can have a dance party in our kitchen every day.
I fell in love with that light fixture on amazon and quickly pinned it to my “Kitchen” board. When I bought it I had no idea it would transform my kitchen into what my high-school Spanish Teacher would’ve lovingly referred to as a “disco tech” BUT once I got over the initial sparkly shock, I was smitten.
The light fixture above our sink was a steal at Costco believe it or not!
The cabinet stain color is called “Kona.” It’s photographing a little darker than it actually is. It’s a rich coffee brown, but still allows you to see the wood grain and a little variance in color.
We also learned that if you go the staining route for you cabinets, recruit some help from someone who knows what they’re doing. Thankfully, we have a friend who loves that sort of thing. So. Grateful.
And if you’ll look to your right…
Tulips make me feel like Spring is just a little bit closer.
This buffet counter is a great space for serving AND for holding the BEST VALENTINES DAY CARD EVER!
#CracksMeUp
And lastly here’s a little venture into our Dining Room. Read all about that transformation, including the flooring & the wall color debacle, here.
Thanks for stopping by! And if you want to see what I’ve been whipping up in my kitchen lately, check out these Quick Roasted Veggies!
Until Next Time,
Meg
Beautiful! I love the paisley towel. I would love to see this (and YOU) in person someday. 🙂
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Thanks Hil!! Target 😉oh my goodness, I would so love that to!
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Love it!! I’ve been looking at my kitchen cabinets for years and waiting for inspiration to strike!
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Thanks Kate! It takes some motivation to be sure! Good luck if the mood strikes 😉
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So so beautiful! I will definitely keep in mind that I’ll be sanding till the cows come home should I ever decide to restain kitchen cabinets! That light fixture above the sink is my favorite part- so classy!
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Haha, Sarah, thank you! I like that fixture too. Costco! Who knew?!
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Wow!!! That looks like a whole new room!!!!! I’m going to have to remember this little tweak for when we purchase our home.
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Thank u Susannah! 🙂
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Your kitchen looks amazing! I LOVE dark cabinets! I’m totally drawn to them. And I adore your floors, too! You guys did a great job.
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Wow, thank you so much Chastity! Really appreciate all your sweet words, so glad you stopped by 🙂
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It looks amazing! I’m getting ready to redo our kitchen cabinets pretty soon.. can’t wait to see how it turns out. It’s overwhelming with all the color options!
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Good Luck Laura! I know it definitely can be, you’ll be so happy with the end result I’m sure!
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This looks awesome!!! This can be extremely overwhelming. It turned out great!
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Thank you! Oh gosh, can it ever be. I think I looked at paint samples until I went cross eyed lol. Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
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What a transformation and a way with words, I couldn’t stop reading.
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Mac, thank you so much! That means the world ☺️
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That is a gorgeous update! We are (slowly) working on our kitchen. It needs lots of help. I’m painting my old, homemade, 1969 cabinets white and spray painting all the black hardware, silver. Then on to painting the laminate countertops (suppose to look like wood…but it’s worn and kinda ugly) and then the backsplash. Nothing is safe from my paint roller! 😉 I love your new light fixtures. That is also on the list here.
(visiting from the Capture Your Journey link-up)
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Your transformation sounds awesome!!! I spray painted all the door handles in my house a hammered bronze and they’ve held up surprisingly well. Good luck! Hope to see pics of your beautiful finished product! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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I love what your cute hubby and friends did for your new kitchen, it turned out beautiful, I love the counter tops, I have never seen an edge like that used, is it hard to wipe down? The floors are nice too, good color!!
Tanks for sharing on The Oh My Heartsie Girls Friday Feature, I have pinned to our Friday Feature board.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Karren
xoxo
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Thank you SO much Karren! Didn’t they do great 🙂 The counters are original, but I believe it’s a type of “beveled” edge. It can definitely be a crumb catcher lol. You have to get into those groves to be sure, but its worth it for that finished look. As always, thanks for your sweet words, hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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So pretty!!! We’re remodeling a house and I can’t wait to make it our own!! Thanks for linking up at last week’s Motivational Monday link party! I hope you’ll join us again this week. Have a great weekend!!
Danielle
SewMuchCrafting.com
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Thanks Danielle! So glad you stopped by! It’s a big undertaking, but hang in there it will definitely be worth it!
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Wow, Megan! I know that is a huge amount of work, but so worth all of the time and trouble! Your new look is beautiful and how lucky are you to have such awesome friends!! Thanks for sharing at Best of the Nest!
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Thank you SO much Pam! Yes, definitely worth it☺️
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What an amazing transformation! It would be a joy working in your kitchen. Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again next week. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
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So sweet of you, thank you Lorelai! That means so much ☺️
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Great transformation! And that card is cracking me up too right now 🙂
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Haha, isn’t that great?! Thanks so much Kyla!
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Your kitchen looks awesome. I love that light fixture.
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Thank you so much Trish!! That light fixture definitely makes cooking & dishes a bit more fun ☺️
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LOVE the new color scheme! I don’t know if I would have the guts to go so dark, but you may have convinced me!
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Thanks Stacey! I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit of a shock, BUT after we lived with it for a day or 2, totally loved it.
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It turned out so great! My friend is in the middle of doing a budget update on her cabinets by painting them. I’ve gone over a few times to help and sanding has been a pain. The bottom cabinets are done and look so good, so it’s motivation to finish the top cabinets.
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Ok, first you are an AWESOME friend!! 😄and second, thank you SO much!
Tell your friend it’ll be worth it!
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You hard work really paid off! It looks great!
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Thank you so much! So glad you stopped by 🙂
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Looks great! i love your new light!
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Thanks Christine! Its a fun one 🙂
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So glad I found your blog on the Sunday Funday linkup! What an amazing kitchen transformation, on a budget no less! Are you in Michigan? I’m in the Metro Detroit area. Always nice to meet a Michigander blogger. ~Cynthia | http://www.myrosecoloredshades.com
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Thanks so much! And Yay for a fellow Michigander! 😄 I’m in that area as well! So glad you stopped by Cynthia
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I’m loving this! You always bring such amazing things to our party. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you tonight at 7. I can’t wait! Lou Lou Girls
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I love the black/dark cabinets!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday – Link Party!! Hope you come back tomorrow and share some more…I love having you!! Pinned!!
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Thanks so much!
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Popping over from Wake Up Wednesday =) I love your kitchen but I super love the hand towels =) I’m reading every kitchen reno post I can find , hope to do mine in the near future. Be sure to share your recipes, crafts, upcycles & DIYs at Two Uses Tuesday (Mon 11pm EST to Fri 11pm EST) over at Sarah Celebrates if you don’t already!
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Thanks so much Sarah! Ok, both hand towels are from Target and under $5! #win 🙂 Thanks for the heads up on your party, I’ll definitely stop by
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I love what you did. I’m a design junky, and it is lovely. Also like the dining room do-over. Stopping by from the “Let’s Get Real” Link party, where I posted “What to Buy in March – 2015”
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Thanks so much Marjie! 🙂 So glad you stopped by, can’t wait to check out your post!
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Wow! Just beautiful! I really want to do some work in our kitchen too. I think this summer is the one where I paint all the cupboards. EEk! We’ll see! I know it will feel so nice when it is done. Thanks for the inspiration! I am visiting from Sew Crafty Angel today.
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Thank you so much! Good luck in your kitchen project, it’ll be so worth it! 🙂 So glad you stopped by
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Wow, really nice kitchen makeover! Love it! Thank you so much for sharing this on Making Memories Mondays! 🙂
Cathy
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Thanks so much Cathy!!
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Gorgeous!!! This looks amazing!
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Thank you SO much! So glad you stopped by Morgan & Jamie! 🙂
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I love your kitchen makeover! I would die for some of those counter tops! Your choice in cabinet color is really pretty! Good job!
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Thanks so much Mel! So glad you stopped by!
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Thanks so much for sharing this with all of our Let’s Get Real readers. You really are an inspiration. Your kitchen is gorgeous. I have a really small kitchen so I keep thinking that it should be perfect. I have wonderful cabinets, but the stain color seems to be dating them.
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Thanks so much Christina, love your link up and the message behind your blog! Real food is something I’m really passionate about too. I say if you have good cabinets, go for it! 🙂 If you’re willing to put in the labor, you can have a whole new look for the cost of a can of stain. I’m not going to lie, it is a lot of work, but I think totally worth it. If you decide to pull the trigger just make sure you cover your floor and counters well! That stain is not forgiving lol Thanks for stopping by!
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Gotta love the ‘banana stand’ 😉
I love the transformation- it looks so much more cozy and modern!
I hope you will join us for the Idea Box Party this week:
http://milaslittlethings.com/2015/04/idea-box-thursday-link-party-5.html
xx
Mila
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haha absolutely! The banana stand makes the kitchen 😉 Thanks so much Mila!
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Looks amazing! I always wonder if my husband and I would survive doing any kind of house remodel together 🙂 Enjoy your space and thanks for sharing!
Visiting from the Clever Chicks blog party
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Haha, it’s the true test of marriage 🙂 thanks for coming by Jody!
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What a transformation!!! Really, this is beautiful. Thanks for sharing at My Flagstaff Home!
Jennifer
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Jennifer, thank you so much, you’re always SO encouraging!! 😄
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Your Kitchen looks Great! Thanks for sharing at #LetsGetRealSocial
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Thanks so much Wendy!
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Congratulations! This post will be featured this week at My Flagstaff Home.
Jennifer
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What a huge change! I love the new cabinet color so much!! Thanks for linking up with The DIY Collective, come back and visit us again next week! xo! Cassie
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Love the transformation, and the inspiration to boot! Making over my kitchen cabinets is most definitely on my list for this winter – if I gather up the courage! Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday! Sharing!
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You can do it Megan!! :)👍🏼👍🏼
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Hi Meg…wow, sanding those cabinets down was worth every bit of the trouble and the steak! They look beautiful. Well done to you and your handymen.
Lynn
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Haha, thank u so much Lynn!!
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That turned out beautifully! I love how you kept what you already had and worked it in to your new design!
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Thank you so much Heather!
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I love the do-over. I think the flooring and lighting are my favorites. Thanks so much for sharing your budget makeover with us at Merry Monday.
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Thanks so much Sherry! That’s so sweet of you
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Good Morning!! I wanted to stop by and let you know that your post has been selected as a “Featured” post for the Welcome Home Wednesdays Link Party! Stop by this morning to see your post linked up and to grab your “Featured” button too!! ~Lisa~
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Wow, thanks so much Lisa!!
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