The first major change we have made to our new home has been a mini-renovation of the kitchen. I say mini, but to us it felt like a big undertaking. The existing kitchen was huge, with a large open area in the middle. The cabinets were original to the house, so 22 years old, and had been freshly painted white. The countertops were scratched, chipped, and stained beige laminate and the backsplash was orange vinyl tile that had been glued to the wall. The dishwasher and the microwave didn’t work, but the stove was serviceable. Thankfully, we were given an appliance allowance in closing. In the real estate listing, the kitchen didn’t look too bad, but it needed a lot of work up close. You can see the before pictures (from the real estate listing) below:

The current floor was new vinyl, made to look like wood, and it suites us fine for now. I would love to replace it in the far, far future, maybe with a terra cotta tile.

The first thing we did was remove the cabinet doors and give everything a good sanding and cleaning. The cabinets had been recently sprayed a true white and it was a poor quality job. We found cobwebs painted and even a few sad, dead, painted spiders stuck to the cabinet surfaces. This took a good deal of time, but it was worth it for our budget. Then, we gave everything a fresh coat of Valspar’s Wilderness green. It’s the navy of greens, and it reads really nicely in the room, as it gets a lot of natural light.

Next, we worked with a local contractor to design and build an island to go in the middle of the kitchen. There is a massive space for it, so it felt natural. I wanted it to be able to seat my three kids and also have a bookshelf on the end for my cookbook collection. Another must have was deep drawers for pots and a pull-out trash can. We picked a timeless and affordable white subway tile with a light grey grout for the backsplash. For the counter, we splurged as much as we could on a marble-like quartz surface. Honestly, I love it so much, it was worth the penny-pinching in other areas. I chose a deep, wide, quartz composite sink in a bright, white. I’ve never had an undermounted sink before, and let me tell you, it’s a cleaning dream. The last thing I did was find hardware. I wanted a brass/antique copper finish. The faucet was the trickiest bit, and Matthew and I went back and forth quite a bit about how vintage-looking it would be. We compromised on something with fairly modern lines, but in a more vintage finish. I sourced the knobs and pulls for the green cabinets from an etsy shop. When I tried them on the island, however, they clashed with the warmer toned wood stain, so I found some silver-colored, ten-inch handles for those.

All that was left was to decorate. I brought in a rug that I’ve had for years and used in my old kitchen, and loved the look immediately. Natural wood toned cutting boards and accessories are the vibe I’m going for, so it will take me some time to get the authentic, collected, old-world look I’m after. I would love to bring in some house plants as well. I truly love this space and I thank God for it. It’s such a joy to cook in and even to clean in.

Now for what you’ve been waiting for. How much did it cost? Here’s the breakdown:

• Paint and supplies: $222
• Faucet: $142
• Contractor work (Island, backsplash, counters): $11, 460
• Hardware: $152
• 3 Barstool chairs: $135

Total: $12, 111