Hello friend! I’m starting my blog off with a bang and sharing how we made over our kitchen and took it from dark and dated to a bright, open space. It is an amazing transformation!

A bit of back story… so we bought our home in 1998 and the house was built in 1979 and totally stuck in the 70’s. I’m not kidding when I say there was carpet in the kitchen along with brown and yellow flowered wallpaper, laminate butcher block and 1970’s appliances. Ugh. We updated the kitchen when we moved in (I was 8 months pregnant), but after 20+ years, it was time for a kitchen makeover that was brighter, whiter and more open.

I love coastal farmhouse style, so the first order of business was to take down the 1970’s over head cabinet and soffit to open up the kitchen.

Once the cabinet was removed, it was like God said, “Let there be light”! We couldn’t believe how much brighter the kitchen was!

At this point, we removed the popcorn ceiling, which I’ll be posting on how we did that and  show you the best way to remove it. You really can do it yourself (well actually needs 2 people). It’s just a bit messy, but oh so worth it!

We took out the overhead fluorescent light box and replaced it with 8 can lights. What a difference!

The Kohler enamel sink had held up great after 20 years, but I really wanted an under-mounted apron front, so I sold it on craig’s list. We had to rebuild the cabinet base, though, in order to fit the new sink.

The teal laminate countertop made the kitchen very dark

So here are some progress shots as we decided on the tile and added open shelves.

Subway tile we chose to match new countertop

Subway tile install around window

We were our own contractor, so I dealt directly with our countertop maker and was able to go and look at all their choices on site. I chose white/grey quartz around the sink/stove and used butcher block (from Ikea) on the pantry.

At the end of this post, I’ll let you know what I love about our kitchen makeover and things I’d do differently…

Subway tile behind (future) open shelves

Hubby installing brackets for floating shelves

Okay, you ready for some After pics? Oh goody, so am I!

We replaced all our appliances with GE Slate {Love}

These shelves make me happy!

Added cup hooks next to coffee maker and change out mugs with the seasons

Beautiful green Vintage farmhouse light I found at a barn sale

It’s like night and day, isn’t it?

So the things I absolutely love about our kitchen makeover and would highly recommend doing is:

• Taking down overhead cabinet
• Making floating open shelves
• Installing white subway tile backsplash all the way up to ceiling
• Replacing fluorescent box light with can lights. Wow what a difference.
• Using quartz countertop in white with light grey vein. The quartz is so easy to keep clean and no maintenance 🙂
• Getting new GE appliances in Slate. They don’t show fingerprints and easy to clean

Things I would do differently are:

• Butcher block from Ikea turned out to be a veneer finish, not a solid butcher block. I  drove to Charlotte to get it, but associate did not let me know it was a veneer. It’s important when shopping at Ikea to find out ALL the details before buying and hauling it home.
• Love the size of sink and apron front, but wish I had gone with white enamel instead of stainless steel. I think it would be easier to maintain. You need to clean stainless every day to keep it looking nice.

This was a total DIY kitchen makeover and is one of the best things we’ve done to our home. Every morning I walk into my kitchen and kinda have to pinch myself ’cause it makes me so happy!

Here are sources we used:

• White subway tile and Delorean grey grout, can lights, Behr paint color (Sea Ice), white ceiling paint– Home Depot
• Quartz countertops- in Raleigh
•  Sink & faucet– Build.com
• GE Monogram appliances in slate finish- Lowes Home Improvement