I’ve been getting some questions from concerned readers: “Where have we been???” They’re assuming we’ve been eaten by the half-finished kitchen. Well…. I’ve been sketching kitchen projects and my adorable Rainman has been fishing. It’s my fault that I approved the purchase of a small boat fixer upper (in addition to the larger boat we already have) and that all equates to FISHING and NOT WORKING INSIDE ON MY KITCHEN. But the Dewalt miter saw on the front porch makes it LOOK like we’re working, so that’s cool. “Sips wine.”
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
Anyway, that’s not preventing me from forging ahead and obsessively planning every detail, and occasionally threatening to hire a carpenter if he doesn’t get his rumpus back in the house and start throwing some kitchen together. It’s getting to the point where I may ACTUALLY consider a carpenter… or start wielding tools at opportune moments so he will catch me and feel compelled to intervene. So… the current project (that I have ordered materials for and am just WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO INSTALL): A shelf nook for the range surround.
A shelf nook? Yes, it’s absolutely a thing. Think: incredible use of wall space for storing daily use items like olive oils and favorite spices within EASY REACH of your cooking space. We are in the middle beginning of a kitchen renovation and the focal point of the room is a large hood with a surround that encapsulates the entire space (range, hood, and cabinetry). Having looked at ALL of the kitchens on Pinterest and Instagram, I feel well informed and confident that I have planned all of the details well.
Not sure what I’m talking about? Here are two EXCELLENT representations of my idea by professional designers (and let me give a SHOUT OUT to these ladies/gents, because the amount of nit-noid planning that goes into designing these spaces is really next-level):
Gorgeous walnut shelving inside the hood surround by @studiodearborn on Instagram.
Gorgeous wooden shelving inside the hood surround by @christopherpeacock on Instagram.
Are you IN??? Yeah, me too! Imagine wasting all of that space when you could have usable, adorable shelves (and trust me, you need the storage)!
So, here’s my sketch of the front of our range wall:
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
And here is the sketch of the inside of the right-hand wall:
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
No fancy design software here! It’s so much easier for me to visualize when I sketch.
One of the most important design elements of this space was functionality: an excellent space to cook where all of the cook’s tools are within easy reach. It’s also important that the space be very easy to clean and hardy. Everything near the stove is a solid surface and non-scorch-able (including the metal upper cabinets). I allowed myself a little leniency with the shelf materials because they are 33 inches from the side of the range and the back of the shelves are still tiled. I briefly considered a shelf OVER the stove (it looks so pretty with the copper pots hanging there) but remembered that I don’t want to clean grease spatter off utensils, pots, and spices every time I cook.
Anyhoo, after I actually threatened my husband with bodily harm for the lack of progress on the kitchen (i.e. fishing/casting on the boat instead of doing interior construction), this is the next project we came to in the build. One of the challenges was that walnut is really hard to find (read: expensive) right now, but since it wasn’t a lot square footage wise, I thought it would be fairly affordable. It was not. Not, to say that little detail changed my mind: I still got my walnut shelves. Just know that the species of wood you choose very much impacts the final cost.
I also wanted some pretty gallery rails to prevent oil bottles from being knocked off and smashing into tiny pieces. Those were also not cheap, but they were necessary both from an aesthetic and functional standpoint. I had already purchased the Carrara marble subway tile for the interior range walls, and I have broken out the relative cost below.
Step one was framing the wall with the size I wanted and thinking about all the 3D things that could affect the functionality of the design.
Since we are doing one wall at a time… it is more difficult. I want to have a functional kitchen for as long as possible through the renovation, so there was an old peninsula with electrical and plumbing in the way on one side.
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
And then, of course, this little design treasure that I was feeling borderline homicidal about. Don’t worry, I fixed the look, but I’m still pretty torqued the HVAC crew couldn’t reroute the intake anywhere else. The worst part is it robbed me of half of my cabinet space on one side of the stove. NOT COOL. (It currently has a really pretty cover on it, and I ordered a false front for the cabinet so it will be invisible to anyone who doesn’t know).
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
Step one: Install cement board for all tiled areas.
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
Step 2: Mortar.
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
Step 3: Tile.
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
Step 4: Prefinish the walnut shelves prior to installation. I highly recommend lots of lacquer to prevent warping/staining from spills or drips.
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
Step 5: Install wooden shelf surround (if you’re using gallery rails, I highly recommend attaching them to the shelves prior to installation). I recommend leaving the shelves unattached until you have completed the grouting process (it’s much easier to grout without the shelves in).
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Have To Have
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Need To Have
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Need To Have
Step 7: Grout and caulk (don’t skip the caulk, it prevents fluids from getting behind the shelves and warping them).
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Must Have: Carrara Marble backed walnut shelves with antique brass gallery rails in the kitchen
Step 8: Style: Like everything else in the kitchen, this shelf should be both beautiful and functional. Keep your favorite oils, vinegars, Worcestershire sauce, etc. within reach.
The Oil and Spice Shelf Nook Inside Your Range Hood Surround You Didn’t Know You Needed But You Absolutely Must Have: Styled shelfie all ready to go with a small preserved boxwood, oils from High Country Olive Oil, a Carrara marble mortar and pestle, a vintage landscape oil painting, oil carafes/dispensers, and a tiny votive of roses from our last bloom of the season
I don’t know if I mentioned this… but I LOVE my shelves!
Carrara marble subway tiles behind shelves: Stone Center Online: About $100
Supplies for installing tile and shelves (mortar, grout, nails, stain, and lacquer): About $100
Total: $650.13
If you’re planning your dream kitchen, I highly recommend these!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
This site also contains affiliate links through //Commerce/Sovrn. //Commerce or our Publishers may be compensated when you click through links on our site.
Why should I care about staging my bathroom or powder room for sale (or entertaining), you ask? And I’ll tell you (because that’s sort of just what I do): This is the one room where your party guests, or potential buyers, are going to (probably) spend some alone time.
And you know what? They’re going to look, and they’re going to notice: how clean is it? How cluttered is it? You know what else they’re going to do? They’re going to look through your stuff. (Trust me, they will).
They’re also going to, hopefully, relax and feel like they might want to stay a while. Stay tuned and I will guide you through bathroom decor ideas, bathroom cleaning, and staging.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
Your bath guests are looking to see if you’re Miss Piggy or Mary Poppins (practically perfect in every way). And although I don’t always like being Mary Poppins, in this case you should DEFINITELY be aiming for perfection and cleanliness and not being a disgusting, egotistical, irrational character that denies that she is anything less than absolutely perfect. Nobody likes Miss Piggy.
Ideally, your bathroom should be pretty… but, even if it’s not, you can still stage it to create a welcoming, spa-like space that will wow potential buyers and guests alike.
Here are the easy steps to stage your bathroom or powder room like a professional (with a complete source list at the end):
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Deep Clean and Declutter.
I can’t emphasize this enough: This is the single most important step of bathroom staging. Scrub that sucker until it shines. I’m talking, rubber-gloves-and-buckets type cleaning.
I recommend unloading the vanity and reorganizing it (people will definitely look through your cabinets and drawers during a showing… but also during a party). If you unload the countertops and all of the floor items, you can wash and shine to your heart’s delight. In a bathroom, it’s okay for it to smell “bleachy”, it just tells people it’s clean.
Pay special attention to the toilet (that part right behind the seat hinge where hair and BLECH accumulates), under the rim, the toilet seat (above and below), in front of and behind the bowl, and the floor (and wall) around the commode.
Stock.
Provide:
plenty of toilet paper and a stock of extra rolls in the cabinet/drawer: this is a great time to splurge on a new freestanding toilet paper holder that you can take to the next house (if you’re selling)
spare toothbrushes and toothpaste in a clearly marked container (I like bamboo toothbrushes for my guests that are both biodegradable and compostable). You just never know who has goat-butt breath and is looking for rescue
ladies’ toilet essentials in a basket in a cabinet/drawer (in various sizes and shapes)
toilet cleaning brush and plunger: If you have room to keep the toilet cleaning brush and the plunger under the sink, that’s the best place for them (out of sight but accessible in case someone needs them). I don’t want anyone feeling mortified because they clogged the uncloggable toilet or made an unsightly mess in the toilet with no way to remedy it. (For staging, if you can’t hide it, put it somewhere else. They take all the magic out of the beautiful, photo ready bathroom)
reading material in a water hyacinth magazine basket: keep these within reach of the toilet, but not so close that they soak up overspray from the commode
a lined, clean trash can
De-stock.
Lock up your medications
Lock up your medications
Lock up your medications
I’m not even going to get into this. Just please, do this one thing for me. If you fail to heed this advice: not only could your medications disappear, but I also find it to be a massive invasion of privacy when people are checking out your medications in your cabinet. AND THEY WILL.
See again: People will snoop. Put your stuff away.
Hang Fantastic Art
Bathroom wall art is an often overlooked item in bathrooms. You’d be surprised how an amazing piece of art in an ornate frame can make a whole room feel upscale (even if the room is just meh)… or how a bunch of little art pieces can make a bathroom feel a lot like your Great-Aunt Betty (Bless Her Heart) decorated it in 1978 (with add-ons from the entire decade of the 80s at which time she declared it perfect and never changed another thing ever again). I prefer one big piece to many little ones: it seems to make the room feel bigger and much more clean and uncluttered.
The Easy Way To DIY Breathtaking Landscape and Scenery Paintings
Flowers or Greenery
An orchid is a fantastic choice for bathroom staging… it doesn’t take up much countertop space and is easy to care for. It adds a dramatic flair and I just love ours in the new bathroom (like the brave woman that I am: I sent Rainman to the grocery store with directions to buy a tall, skinny flower arrangement and he NAILED IT). For staging, I also like a single palm frond or even a small branch, attractively arranged (just make sure these are bug free before you drag them inside!).
I prefer the orchid because no one harrasses me about it, like they do with the branches. (“Is that a tree branch?” “Where’d you find that tree branch?” “What’s with the tree branch?” “Is that a tiny snake on that tree branch… just kidding ha ha ha ha.” You see why it’s easier to just buy a plant).
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Buy A New, Pretty Shower Curtain
Seriously, when was the last time you inspected your shower curtain? It might be icky. If you haven’t thought about it in a while, it probably is. Even if you clean everything, if that shower curtain is greenish… that sends the buyer a message that you’re not taking care of the house (and will send them running out of there like an Alfred Hitchcock movie). Our bathroom here is quite masculine in design, so we went very feminine with the art and accessories to balance it. The clean, white, cotton ruffled shower curtain we used in this room is absolutely perfect and very economical.
During a recent party I may, or may not have, tucked the new shower curtain into the tub so it didn’t get peed on by the guests that were partaking. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Scent Your Space
Even once you have deep cleaned, sometimes there are lingering noxious gasses in the bathroom. There are three good options: If you’ve read our Showing Day Checklist, then you already know that the ultimate scent for home buying is Apple/Cinnamon. I guess it takes people back to the smell of grandma’s apple pie or something. We use:
Glade Apple Cinnamon Spray (which I like for showings, and I used an entire can just before we left for each showing)
Oil diffuser: This is varsity level sexy for entertaining. We like our black stone oil diffuser especially for a small space like the bathroom
Also, make sure your guests/prospective buyers have access to Lysol, Febreze, or Poo-pourri, or something to prevent them from dying of embarrassment if your shrimp, spinach, sausage, garlic cream sauce doesn’t agree with them halfway through the evening.
Skip the bathroom sets. They come across as really matchy and unimaginative.
We like pretty, artisan soaps in a fancy ceramic pedestal dish. I like to provide lots of options for hand washing, so we have bar soap, liquid soap, and hand sanitizer available so there is absolutely NO excuse for not washing hands. Our favorite, aromatic artisan made goat milk soap is from Viney Creek Farm and I highly recommend them!
Bathrooms are best kept minimal with regard to accessories: other than soap, just a couple interesting items are needed:
We have an antique jar filled with sharks teeth, a small glass pitcher with twinkle lights, the Orchid on one side and the soaps on the other. You seriously DON’T need to buy anything for this. Shop your house and you’ll find something wonderful.
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Holiday Decorating Tip: Give your bathroom a little love… and keep it generic (especially if your house is on the market). Some green lighted garland and twinkly Wine Stopper LED Twinkly Fairy Lights inside an antique bottle will go a long way!
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Staging A Powder Room Or Bathroom Like A Pro
Here is the complete source list for our bathroom staging:
What are some of your favorite ways to stage a bathroom? Let us know in the comments below!
Cheers!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
This site also contains affiliate links through //Commerce/Sovrn. //Commerce or our Publishers may be compensated when you click through links on our site.
One of the biggest challenges living in a new, or newer, home is making the house feel like it’s been there forever: lived in, loved, cozy, warm. I know. I’ve been there. I am also CURRENTLY there… We’ve been trying to accomplish this task room by room here. It’s slow going (because Rainman has to go to work… which is super frustrating and also QUITE INCONVENIENT WHEN WE NEED TO BE RENOVATING OUR HOUSE) but we did finally get to our downstairs bathroom remodel.
The neighbor had the audacity to remark to my husband that he thought our downstairs bathroom was fine and that time would be better spent fishing. I haven’t egged his house yet, but I’m considering it. Do people still TP houses or is that frowned upon? Asking for a friend.
And the bathroom?
It. Is. Awesome.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
As usual, the budget did not allow for me to hire a bathroom contractor (bathroom remodeling near me is SUPER EXPENSIVE- but, isn’t everything?). Apparently, every tradesman in my area has a ton of work and they can charge whatever they want to show up and work on your house (and that’s a BIG IF you can get them to show up).
Of course, it’s not like Rainman would hire out something he is “perfectly capable of doing himself” even if they can do it in under a decade, unlike us.
But… I feel like we got this amazing project done well under the average cost to remodel a bathroom because we did it ourselves (other than the plumber, who I begged Rainman to hire and ended up saving us probably about a week in work time) and I LOVE that we saved the money.
As most of you know: kitchen and bathroom renovations are the most expensive rooms in the house to remodel, but we managed to do this pretty reasonably, because I’ve been working on this for A WHILE. I’ve been sourcing pieces, researching,… cough cough… and buying stuff for this bathroom for about two years (and the guest room that was temporarily storing all of the construction stuff has finally breathed a sigh of relief and been emptied out again).
Long story short: how did we do?
This. Is. My. Favorite. Room. We’ve. Ever. Done.
Seriously. I am absolutely, 100% in LOVE… and have captured EXACTLY my design style. It doesn’t have a name.
It’s just me.
Without further ADIEU, here is the mood board we started with:
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
And the bathroom I was trying to take from boring and forgettable, to awesome…
I’m actually really lucky, because at no point did my darling Rainman suggest any silly things like, “this room is perfectly okay as is.” Or any other such nonsense. I believe he has truly embraced his fate in being married to someone who can’t just- for the LOVE OF GOD- leave well enough alone. I honestly don’t know why he puts up with me.
BEFORE (also see “Zzzzzzzzz” in the dictionary):
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
AFTER (and the clouds parted…):
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
BEFORE:
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
AFTER:
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
BEFORE:
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
AFTER:
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
BEFORE:
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
AFTER:
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
Here are some fun construction photos:
Don’t be discouraged by our two-week timeframe… we had to self-isolate for two weeks because we had a possible COVID exposure… so I very smoothly suggested that a lockdown would be an EXCELLENT opportunity to renovate the bathroom (for which we just happened to have all of the supplies)… This cut our normal construction time from about ten years per project to finished in about two weeks.
I think renovations are a lot like having babies: you only do it again because you forget how painful and messy it is. But, you keep doing it because the end result is AMAZING (even if the process involves pain, bleeding, and occasional screaming). I’m trying to remind myself of that because the ENTIRE downstairs is in a state of construction mess.
Also, the six year old has done 5000 drawings watching Youtube videos. She loves it when we’re distracted. Insert mom guilt.
For those of you who have ever renovated a bathroom, you already noticed the water damage (NEVER, EVER PUT A WOOD FLOOR IN A BATHROOM). And you were already thinking, “I wonder if they have any extra plywood on hand for that subfloor because I bet it has rot.” And you’d be right.
You noticed the color is different than the mood board? Yes, I changed my paint plan at the last minute (like THAT’S never happened before). I decided to go with Benjamin Moore’s Smoke Stack Gray. I think it’s going to have the cozy feel I want anyway, because the room is very small and I’m painting EVERYTHING the same color (ceiling, walls, and trim).
But, here’s for the really fun part: FINISHED!!!
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
One of the best ways to save money on your sink vanity is to do an antique dresser vanity conversion. Vanities are super pricey, even the junky ones. So, why not build a beautiful custom one that’s not only WAY cheaper, but also way more awesome in every way?
You can look for an antique dresser made into a bathroom vanity for sale (lots of people sell these on Craigslist), or you can just find the dresser and customize it with a smashingly fancy white porcelain vessel sink basin and any fixture you want.
I was the most surprised by this incredible faucet: I had no idea it could be that cost effective and be so beautiful. Check out some close ups.
One of the easiest ways to add depth to walls (and get rid of that horrid new house feel) is to add moldings. I wanted this already small room to feel cozy, but not claustrophobic. By painting everything one color, it feels bigger and taller. We added picture frame moldings, chair rail, and put in new baseboards. We were able to reuse the crown molding.
The Easy Way To DIY Breathtaking Landscape and Scenery Paintings
We pulled out the hardwood (why why why would you ever put wood in a bathroom???) and traded it for this gorgeous Travertine Field Tile in Ivory Honed (18″X18″). It is breathtaking but EXTREMELY finicky to install. We cracked two tiles during installation. The end result: SO WORTH IT. Travertine tile (limestone floor tile) is timeless and I made sure to pick one without the peachy/pink hues that I hate.
The commode we already had (we have upgraded every toilet in our last two houses to the American Standard Champion 4, because it is the UNCLOGGABLE toilet). It’s also very attractive, so win win. This just required a removal to put down the floors and a reinstall afterward.
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
In this shot you can see the antique Hall Tree I found on Craigslist for (I think) around $100. It was painted in a robin’s egg blue, and it was no small task getting all the paint off, but I used this paint and varnish remover, and that helped tremendously. I absolutely ADORE how it turned out (and that I can use the hooks for towels).
One little problem, though. It is ENORMOUS.
Remember Mr. “That Bathroom Doesn’t Need to Renovated” from next door? Well, as penance I asked him and his son to come over to help hang it. This involved he, his son, and my husband squeezed into this tiny bathroom, holding it up, and trying to line the bolts up with the holes we had dry fitted.
I was balancing on the toilet lid behind them, waiting with the drill to drive home the bolts as soon as someone signaled they had a bolt lined up.
So, Rainman says, “I think it’s in.” And, without hesitation, I leapt into action… RAKAKAKAK… and drove that bolt home…
Smashing Rainman’s finger between the mirror and the brick.
We might have to work on our communication.
But, I’m betting the neighbor probably won’t mess with me after that. I feel like the head of an organized crime family. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Then there’s my son, who is apparently NOT afraid of me. He thought I needed to replace the mirror part for one less “antiqued” (which he brought up no less than thirty-seven times prior to installation). Pffffft. What he doesn’t know yet, because he’s an amateur is that this is the perfect party mirror: everyone looks lovely in it. He’s just not old enough to appreciate the beauty of an imperfect mirror.
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How about those awesome Veneer Bricks from Old Mill? This is the third time we’ve used these (the Castle Gate color) and they are absolutely FANTASTIC. They are 100% authentic brick, just thinner and easier to install. We went with a medium gray grout this time to achieve the antique look we were going for and I’m absolutely over the moon with how it turned out!
Watch for our installation tutorial coming soon!
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
So, by now you’ve noticed those Dreamy 2 Light Sconces With Smoke Crystals. Yes, I’ll be buying more when they are in stock again. They match our RH Rococo Chandeliers (in smoke) perfectly, but with a much smaller price tag.
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
And more pictures of my “Smithsonian bath,” (as my sweet sister dubbed it).
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
How To Create A Historic Bathroom In A New Home
Here is the complete source list for our bathroom reno (and staging items):
Can you see doing something like this in your bathroom?
Check out more fantastic projects and design inspiration on the blog!
Cheers!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
This site also contains affiliate links through //Commerce/Sovrn. //Commerce or our Publishers may be compensated when you click through links on our site.
For those of you that follow along with us, you already know that we’ve been in the middle of kitchen planning, designing, and installing on a kitchen in another state. I am in North Carolina and the kitchen that I designed for my mom’s forever home is in Vermont. Luckily for me, my sister and brother (who is our “contractor” and carpenter) are in Vermont and have done almost all of the heavy lifting themselves. My sister, who owns the home, has painted more than she ever wanted to paint in her life.
When we began talking about this project (when the property that adjoined my sister’s farm came up for sale), I think it was sometime around February (2020). When we started actually planning it, the idea was for my brother to have everything ready for me and my husband to drive up and help with the installation (especially because he thinks some of the design choices I made are a major pain in the butt). But, then this weird thing happened: a pandemic. Our trip obviously got delayed. But, on the positive side, my sister and brother were able to continue working on the rehab and the kitchen just about full time since everything was closed due to Covid.
Sneak Peek (the AFTER):
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
*This post may contain affiliate links and is sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
The Before
I was able to get a decent idea of the space from talking to my sister and lots of pictures and video chatting. I came up with a preliminary design that would save her time and money by leveraging the existing layout. We agreed it would be a nice kitchen.
In addition to detailed wall measurements, locations of lights, switches, plumbing, etc, I was working from the following before pictures:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
The Design Style
I talked to my sister at length about the intended style of the house (she was doing a complete renovation, not just the kitchen). The house was, at the time of purchase, sort of a bad mid-century look. We agreed that “Vermont Cottage” was a good style to strive for, throwing in some modern conveniences, and some new cabinetry. Trying to save her money on the reno, I had suggested we try to paint and re-use some of the cabinets, but it would not have been as polished of an end look.
However, if it’s a total tear down, I have some great tips to save you money. The main component of a kitchen remodel is the cabinetry. There are so many cabinet options and they can run from $100 each to thousands of dollars each.
Thousands of dollars. “For a CABINET???” you ask. Oh yes, for a cabinet.
Anyway, here is the original “Vermont Cottage” mood board that I made for my mom’s forever kitchen to give my sister an idea of how I wanted the finished space to feel. You may notice that it has some polished elements, some rustic elements, and some commercial/industrial level elements also.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
For my mom and her husband, we had some specific design considerations on top of the usual desire to create a timeless kitchen:
Her husband cooks greasy steaks on high heat almost daily: Although a dedicated hood was not in the budget, we chose a microwave that was capable of venting to the outside. We also planned a stainless steel sheet as a stove backsplash to make clean-up easier.
Her husband is a mechanic: If any of you have a mechanic in your house, you know that black fingerprints are a fact of life. We chose dark stainless for the appliances and beefy black hardware to minimize smudges.
My preliminary design had options to use the existing layout and cabinets, add some cabinets and move the sink under the window, and to add some cabinets and bridge shelves from IKEA to the wall that was blank in the kitchen. This design was the most budget friendly.
Then my sister brought my brother in to look at the space before we agreed on a design. He said, “let’s open it up.” Read: please scrap your entire layout. We’re doing this differently.
The problem was: inbetween the closed off kitchen and living room were two walls and a staircase that went to the basement. Apparently, for carpenters that wear superman capes, this is a non-issue. He informed us he was going to move the staircase to the other end of the living room, frame the hole in, build a new staircase with kneewall, and we would have one BIG, FANTASTIC, open living space.
So, I revised my plan, which doubled the cabinet space we would have in the kitchen, plus the overall aesthetic was going to be awesome!
The Design Plan
I got out my graph paper (yes, I am old school and I still use graph paper for my designs) and was back to the old drawing board. I put my wall measurements and locations of fixtures, etc (including appliance measurements) down onto graph paper and then proceeded to start filling in standard size (non-custom) cabinet sizes to see how much of the space I could use. It turns out, I was able to use almost every inch of the back wall and create a nice big kitchen.
While I was designing I was also researching pricing for cabinets. YIKES. There are a lot of options, and some of them, even their off the shelf prices (non-custom cabinets) are pricey. I’m always trying to find a good deal, especially when I’m spending someone else’s money. I found a company that was running a sale that has good reviews and had a cabinet style I liked. They also offered design services, so I figured getting a pro to look at my design couldn’t hurt, and I was curious to see what they would come up with.
This is what I sent them (I also told the designer we wanted to do an island with four base cabinets on each side):
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Graph Paper Design for the lower cabinets
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets, Sink and appliances information
Fancy, right? Ha.
Tip: You don’t need anything near as detailed as what I sent to the cabinet company. You can send them basic wall dimensions with locations of outlets, plumbing and light fixtures, and doors and windows, and they will design the kitchen for you!
Well, this is what they sent me back (and why we ultimately went with the company):
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
I was super impressed with the designer’s knowledge, and they have a whole tech team dedicated to rendering 3D images of your kitchen so you can easily visualize EXACTLY how it’s going to look.
I think it was about this time that I asked the company if they would like to sponsor our kitchen (we received a discount on the price of the cabinets), so we teamed up with Lily Ann Cabinets for the cabinets, and decided to go with RTA to save my sister some money on the ever-growing budget for the project. (Pssst, don’t tell them, but we were going to use them anyway because they were already the least expensive manufacturer I could find).
Ready to get started? My readers can use the code SDIY2018 at checkout to get 5% off your Lily Ann Cabinets order!
RTA cabinets are “ready to assemble” and my husband and I had previously installed some in our old kitchen, so the RTA thing didn’t scare me at all. My brother, on the other hand, flat refused to assemble them (and when he’s adamant I just go with it), and insisted we do it when we came for the kitchen install. We agreed and we moved forward with our planning.
Except, remember that whole COVID thing? The entire design and ordering process was accomplished by Lily Ann employees working from home, and the order assembled and shipped by a skeleton crew in their warehouse. Our planned working trip over the kids’ Spring Break was smack in the middle of the lockdown. And our ability to plan another trip was completely on hold with really no end in sight.
I sent the designer my sketch on Feb 28, 2020 and the cabinets were delivered April 14, 2020. The whole process, from starting the design to delivery of the cabinets, was less than seven weeks and that was during the pandemic lockdown.
Tip: Don’t hack up the old cabinets with a sledgehammer like the TV shows do. Why?
1) It’s super messy. Instead: you just need to remove a few screws to pop the whole thing off the wall.
2) You can either re-use the cabinets in your garage for extra storage or you can donate them to the Habitat For Humanity Re-store and get a donation slip from them that you can write off on your taxes (they’ll even come pick up your donations!).
Cabinet Assembly
By this time, the cabinets had been delivered and were sitting in a neatly packed palette in the garage. I think my brother started getting antsy, because he was going to put the flooring down after the cabinets went in, and we were still on a travel lockdown. So, suddenly I started getting pictures of cabinets going together and up against the wall.
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Assembly Pictures
I was a nervous wreck at first… I was holding my breath waiting for my brother to deliver the verdict that the cabinets were junk and were a nightmare to assemble. But, guess what? That didn’t happen. My brother, the wood snob/very talented carpenter was SUPER impressed with the quality craftsmanship and how easily the RTAs went together! I breathed a sigh of relief. Whew!
Not handy? It doesn’t even matter. Check out the following two videos from our build that show the complete assembly of an RTA cabinet box (which takes about 3 minutes total):
Of course, after the RTA box is assembled, the doors and drawers are attached, which takes a few minutes longer, but is still very simple.
Is it really that simple?: Yes! Here are some more photos of the cabinet assembly:
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Assembly Pictures
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Assembly Pictures
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Assembly Pictures
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Assembly Pictures
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Assembly Pictures
Installation
My brother quickly assembled all of the cabinets and started installing them. He was able to do this without me there, because he had a detailed layout guide from Lily Ann. With exact measurements he was able to do the entire installation.
Remember these?
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Lily Ann Cabinets Design Files
Following the detailed layout the designer provided: they started tying them into the walls and the kitchen was really starting to take shape!
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
Using the design, he had the electrician put in all new can lights, outlets, and receptacles for the other fixtures.
The Rest Of The Kitchen Installation
My sister immediately got going on painting in the main living spaces, including the kitchen. She very carefully covered the cabinets and went to work.
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
Later, the floors went down and lights went up. My brother also installed the decorative panels on the sides of the cabinets so that the countertop people could measure accurately.
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Light fixture installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: RTA Cabinet Installation
Next, the countertops went in (except for the kitchen island, which my brother had wood curing for).
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Countertop installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Countertop Installation
How To Measure For, Design, Order, and Install Your Dream Kitchen From RTA Cabinets: Countertop Installation
They were finally ready to bring the appliances up and it was amazing how it ALREADY looked, even though it wasn’t finished. And we had a little problem coming up… We were supposed to do the “reveal” on my mom’s birthday in July. But, we were still unable to travel north because of COVID.
So, my sister and brother did a mini-reveal to show her the progress, knowing that we would be up soon to finish the space that still needed: molding, an antique for a spice rack, the stove backsplash, the backsplash above the counter, the cabinet hardware, the hanging herb garden, and the open shelving to the left of the sink. But, the before was still pretty awesome and my mom was blown away. Here’s what it looked like on her reveal day with my brother’s custom island top he manufactured from wood on his property and his wood mill:
And who doesn’t love a good reveal video? Warning: it makes me weepy every time.
What do you think? Would you use RTA cabinets for your renovation? Let us know in the comments below!
Ready to get started? My readers can use the code SDIY2018 at checkout to get 5% off your Lily Ann Cabinets order!
Thanks again to the team at Lily Ann Cabinets for making our build possible, to my sister, brother, and brother-in-law in Vermont for all of their hard work, and to my favorite Rainman for doing working vacations with me without a single complaint!
Cheers!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
Slavetodiy.com is also a VigLink affiliate advertiser which works similarly.
I have officially reached the end of Pinterest. I have saved every kitchen that I love in my kitchens folder. I AM NOW READY TO START RENOVATING MY KITCHEN. (Do you think he heard me?)
As you already know: I am ALWAYS in design mode on my own house and looking for ideas for clients. I’m also sort of a real estate junkie and I make it my business to know the local market and am always scouting for real estate deals! What do those things all have in common? KITCHEN OBSESSION. (Yes, I love that million dollar home but the kitchen… IS… AWFUL).
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
Yes, I am obsessed with kitchens. Recently, as I was staging for photographing our project in Vermont, something occurred to me: STAGING IS EVERYTHING.
Whether you’re entertaining or showing your house that’s on the market, staging is the make it or break it of beautiful (or even MEH) kitchens. If you sift through your Kitchen board on Pinterest, what you’ll discover is that the ones you REALLY love are staged really well (which is why you saved it, whether you realize it or not!). They have been tricking you all this time… You saved a beautiful flower or branch arrangement that happens to be in a kitchen. But, you saved it, which is the important take away!
Don’t believe me? I’ll show you!
Via @kellynuttdesign Instagram
This kitchen, though probably stunning in person, would be a washed out BLAH in photos without the greenery and fruit. Notice how the big tin bucket with branches anchors the right side of the photo.
Via @wdesigncollective Instagram
Just like the photo before, this kitchen is stunning. However, it has the potential in photos to appear too monochromatic and kind of cold. The branch arrangement, once again, anchors one side of the photo.
Via @ckandm Instagram
Look carefully… If you removed all of the accessories, would this space be very memorable? It’s not that it’s not an amazing kitchen, it’s breathtaking. But, in photos, it really needs some visual interest to look like a DREAM kitchen… which it certainly does here. They have arrangements on both sides here providing an interesting frame.
Would you save this photo? Of course you would!
And, wait, if you saved it… SO WILL YOUR FUTURE BUYERS! They’ll save it to their Pinterest board and obsess about it until they make you an offer over asking price and want to move in, like, yesterday!
So, how do we do that, Campers? Well, I’m going to tell you. I promise.
Step one: take everything off the countertops. Take everything off the shelves. Then add a few, specific things and shop your own stuff!
It’s really that easy: I’m going to show you how and provide links for everything we used here! Altogether, we spent $350 on staging, not including dishes (shhh, don’t tell!!!) and here is how it turned out:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
A mirror in a kitchen you say? I say YES. A blank wall in between two windows was begging for a mirror. Mirrors brighten small spaces and reflect light. Win, win. Scale it BIGGER! (Unexpected can be GOOD and in this case, it’s kind of awesome). If you have a tiny kitchen, or a dark kitchen, I’m talking to you.
This mirror we found on Craig’s List for $60. (“If you stalk long enough, you will have success,” I always say!)
Kitchen Herb Kit from IKEA: The Complete Kit For Staging Your Kitchen Like A Pro
Don’t judge me. I have a thing for herbs in the kitchen, and this one wasn’t going without! The rails and bins are from the Kungsfors IKEA Collection. They are both beautiful and functional, and make the kitchen feel that much more cozy. The window is wider than the rails so we used scrap lumber and a Kreg Jig to install them.
Fresh herbs in the kitchen say, “There is some serious professional chef level cooking going down in this kitchen. You must buy this house.”
Don’t want to deal with hanging all those spice racks? Some fresh herbs tied with ribbon on the counter (in front of the chopping block) serves the same purpose for photos.
The Complete Kit For Staging Your Kitchen Like A Pro
HOW CUTE IS THIS???
Demijohn: I’ll admit, I’m a little bit of a demijohn snob. What is a demijohn, you ask? I’ll tell you: What is a demijohn and how to use it in your decorating… I like them enough I wrote a whole post about them, because I’m an obsessive nerd. We found this perfect little demijohn at Hobby Lobby for around $20 and it’s perfect for this application!
Candlesticks: Also shown here, these TOTALLY AWESOME real Iron Candlesticks from Hobby Lobby are about $20 each (which I just went on and purchased more of because they’re on sale). Score!
Tree branch: Scalped right out of the woods on the kitchen property. FREE! (Visualize the clients AND Rainman looking at me sideways on staging/photo day walking toward the woods with pruning sheers in hand… “Where are you planning on putting a branch that big, Griswold?” But, I’ll leave it there, and keep it PG).
And that’s all you need for the corner of the island! As the photographer moves around, move your arrangement around so it’s anchoring the outside frame of the picture.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
For this next corner I borrowed some items that belonged to the client (shop your own house!)… The little silver tray I used to hide the cord from the lamp. The little vases and tiny plant were also hers, and they look adorable in the spice cabinet!
And that lamp? I looked at about 500 lamps before I found this one with just enough fancy and just enough cottage-style to be convincing. And after I spent hours looking… I finally found it no place other than Amazon: The Perfectly Sized French-Style Countertop Lamp for around $30. (Some of the other sites are REALLY proud of their lamps and I’m just trying to be reasonable here).
The little oil paintings with gilded frames were a bit of a splurge and I found them on Ebay. I’m pretty sure there are some fairly convincing knockoffs at Target if you don’t want to be too extravagant and you’ll ultimately achieve the same look.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Notice how we moved the demijohn and candles for this shot? We moved them just enough so they’re anchoring an uninteresting side of the room and creating balance.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Every time we changed the camera angle, we repositioned the candles and spun the branches so they looked nice and full, but also just wild enough to be wonderful and daring.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Another angle for good measure! (Aren’t those fat candles just the coolest? Also on Hobby Lobby, if you’re looking).
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Now, if you haven’t mastered the art of the shelfie, here’s a quick crash course:
Arrange in threes and in triangles. Okay, so we have a couple “twos” but it’s all about balance.
There is a triangle of “tall items” and a triangle of bowls and a triangle at the top of crocks and teapots.
Believe it or not, those shelves used to be the temporary stair treads to the basement. You can find the black metal shelf brackets here if you’re looking to open up some space on your own wall!
Butcher block, cutting boards, and charcuterie boards, (Oh My)… How To Stage Your Kitchen Like A Pro. Designer: @callsigndesign (Instagram). Photographer: @loganbspring (Instagram). Cabinets @lilyanncabinets_ (Instagram)
The perfect cutting/charcuterie board corner: every one of these the client already had!
The Cambria Stoneware Kitchen Utensil Holder was from Pottery Barn but I think they may have been discontinued in that color. We displayed her wooden spoon collection in them and I think they look perfect!
Shades of blue created perfect, subtle pops of color in our staging. Wouldn’t you like to do some cooking in this kitchen?
If you’re in the market for quality RTA cabinets go to Lily Ann Cabinets and use offer code SDIY2018 to get 5% off! (The cabinets pictured are Grey Shaker Elite).
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
Slavetodiy.com is also a VigLink affiliate advertiser which works similarly.
Who doesn’t love a good before and after reveal??? We teamed up with Lily Ann Cabinets to do this awesome project for my mother’s forever home and I’m super happy with how it turned out. We used their RTA Cabinets, Lily Ann’s Grey Shaker Elite (and you’re going to love them!).
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
The kitchen turned out beautifully and the carpenter was super impressed by the quality of the RTA cabinets. That helps a LOT when the carpenter happens to be your brother AND he’s a meticulous and dyed-in-the-wool wood snob.
Quick story:
My family has been playing musical houses for almost my whole life (I’m an army brat). So, when my mom finally decided to pick a house and stay in it, my sister reached out to me to help with the kitchen design (they were really busy renovating the whole rest of the house). The place had great bones, but was really ugly. One little problem: I am in North Carolina and they are in Vermont. To any lesser team this would’ve been a problem (working with family and from a different state… what could go wrong???).
I sent my initial design which was nixed by my incredible carpenter brother who wanted to knock down walls and move stairs (who am I to argue with that?). So, I worked up a moodboard and completely new design and sent it to my sister and brother.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Then there was the issue of finding a cabinet company that wasn’t going to break the bank. I looked and looked, but everything I liked was super expensive! And since I had added a huge island, the cabinet total had about doubled. Then I stumbled across RTA (ready to assemble) cabinets. I found them on sale (even though they were already significantly cheaper than the other cabinets I had found before the sale), and I sent the company my design. My brother said, “that’s fine, but you guys are putting those cabinets together.”
Almost ALL of this was carried out without me physically at the property because suddenly there was a pandemic. Yup. Perfect timing. I corresponded with a Lily Ann kitchen designer in Michigan that was working from home and had the details and 3d renderings in just a few weeks. A skeleton warehouse crew got our order out and it was delivered about a month and a half after we first contacted them.
Back to the house: imagine my delight when my brother (who had said NO WAY was he assembling RTA cabinets) called me to say he had assembled and installed them and the quality was amazing. Oh, and they went together super fast. I was in shock. I will save the rest of that story for another post. This is a simple before and after, remember?
If you love this look, you can find these cabinets from Lily Ann Cabinets. My readers can get a 5% discount by using the offer code: SDIY2018 at checkout!
Grandma got to see her almost finished kitchen on her birthday in July and I think you’ll appreciate the video (it still makes me cry every time):
All that was left (after the first reveal) for install when we arrived in Vermont (two months later and on re-scheduled trip number three) was hardware, the backsplash, the shelves, and crown molding. Still, five full days of install while trying to persuade my six year old to do her virtual school independently was a bit challenging. And, to be perfectly honest, my brother had told me the quality was good, but the cabinets were even better in person. The finish was beautiful and I quickly realized there was nothing “discount” about these cabinets other than the price.
The after photos were all taken by @loganbspring on Instagram, so give him a follow! I think you’ll love his work as much as we do!
Drumroll please!!!!
This is looking through the front door at the door that went down to the basement:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Here is the front door now:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
This is looking from the corner of the kitchen back at the front door:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
We couldn’t REALLY get this “before” shot because of the wall, but you can see where the new front door is now (the wall started roughly where the island begins):
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
This is standing by the front door, looking at the kitchen.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
And here is the after:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
This is a shot of the space after the walls came down, but before the staircase was moved:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
And after:
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
And just for fun, here are some more detailed shots of the kitchen we took during staging:
Reclaimed shelves with iron brackets, fully staged. Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Grandma’s cutting board/charcuterie board collection next to her wooden spoon collection. Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Kitchen staged with gold pictures and a french country style lamp. Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
Reclaimed shelves against a herringbone backsplash. Before and After Pictures of Grandma’s New Vermont Cottage Kitchen: Sponsored by Lily Ann Cabinets and designed by @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
This was quite the journey, but it was all worth it to see how happy my mom was at the end. What do you think of our design and renovation? What is your favorite part? Please let us know in the comments below!
Once again: If you love this look, and want to pay less for awesome cabinets, you can find these cabinets from Lily Ann Cabinets. My readers can get a 5% discount by using the offer code: SDIY2018 at checkout!
Special thanks to my brother and sister for all of the hard work and making it so easy for us to look good!
Thanks for joining us on our adventures! Cheers!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a paid affiliate for Lily Ann Cabinets and received discounted products to provide this review. As always, our opinions are honest and we promote only quality products that we use ourselves.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
Slavetodiy.com is also a VigLink affiliate advertiser which works similarly.
“Ok, Campers! Rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s COLD out there!” Phil Connors from Groundhog Day. So, no it’s not cold yet, but I am so in the mood to completely skip all of the other festivities and head straight to Christmas. It is HANDS DOWN my favorite time of year and I’m always on the lookout for better ways to make my house warm, beautiful, and wonderful for my family.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
For those of you wondering how to decorate your fireplace for Christmas this year: I compiled some of my favorite Christmas Fireplace Mantels from last year that hopefully will give you some inspiration!
I’m going to start with our Christmas mantel this year, which I whipped together the day after Halloween like a crazy person. I didn’t realize how many changes we’ve made in this room since last year (and I’m loving it dressed in Christmas)!
Mashup Monday: Classic Christmas Mantels That Will Be In Style Every Year. From @callsigndesign on Instagram and @slavetodiy on Pinterest.
This one (how amazing is this mantel?) is done in beautiful mixed greens, sleigh bells, and woven grass and twig pieces for great texture. How awesome are those crochet stockings and all those white twinkly lights?
Christmas Mantels 2020: Via @the.little.bird on Instagram
This next one is simple and beautiful, in mixed natural fabrics and minimal decoration, it feels like home and I’m definitely in for the Griswold trip to go cut down a Christmas Tree.
Christmas Mantels 2020: Via @harpergrayce on Instagram
This, for my more sophisticated readers that like a little more bling in their Christmas cheer, is amazing in all of its glittering glory. Mercury glass mixed with some playful patterns, greenery, and fresh cut white flowers is as fun as it is elegant.
Christmas Mantels 2020: Via @theglampad on Instagram
This next mantel (and gorgeous tree) is done in traditional blue and gold tones, for a truly timeless Christmas display.
Christmas Mantels 2020: Via @lynnallmandesign on Instagram
I was giggling a little here… I have this SAME mirror over my fireplace but the mantel greenery is FAR superior to anything I’ve tackled myself. How amazing is that fireplace insert?
Christmas Mantels 2020: Via @therealmlandreth
And for you farmhouse gals, I’ve got you covered, too. Decked out in stark whites, with abundant winter greenery, paired with eucalyptus and a fantastic mixed-metal candlestick collection, this is a fireplace to envy for any real (or faux) farmhouse. If you’re looking for some inexpensive Eucalyptus swag for your own mantel, check out my tutorial on How To Make Your Own Eucalyptus-Fir Mixed Christmas Garland For A Fraction Of The Price.
Christmas Mantels 2020: Via @loveresideshere on Instagram
I love the simple black accents here and elegant greenery draped in a warm, fireplace hug. And, as always, all we need is a little more COWBELL!
Christmas Mantels 2020: Via @champagne.chaos on Instagram
Which one of these is your favorite?
Is there an element that you have to have every year on your mantel?
I’ll leave you with this night-time shot of our Christmas mantel that is seriously giving me all the feels:
Mashup Monday: Classic Christmas Mantels That Will Be In Style Every Year: Night time shot of Christmas Fireplace Mantel by @Callsigndesign on Instagram.
Thanks for hanging out with us today and be sure to check out more of our DIY and design inspiration on our blog.
Cheers!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
Slavetodiy.com is also a VigLink affiliate advertiser which works similarly.
Are you planning a kitchen renovation? One of the fears many people have when they’re planning a big renovation is the concern that the kitchen will feel dated soon after they complete the renovation. It can be very daunting to lay out the money for an extensive renovation and then consider that you might be doing it again in just a few years.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
To help you in your planning and design process: Here are the top things that date your kitchen:
A Trendy/Patterned Backsplash: Don’t follow backsplash trends (trust me here… this is THE FASTEST way to date your kitchen). Both material and pattern date the backsplash. Unless you’re flipping a house, skip the trendy stuff. Plain white subway tile is a safe choice, as is brick. Ignore me at your peril: if you do something trendy, you’ll be updating this every couple of years.
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, Backsplash from Hawaiihomemag.com
2. Arches and Busy Woodwork. If your thick, wood doors have an awful 80s/90s era arch on them, there is simply no fixing that. If there’s an arch/bridge over the kitchen sink, just take the whole thing down. As for the cabinets themselves: If you stick with basic rectangular doors you can always update those, but you can’t undo an arch. Also, if you MUST have fancy woodwork on your cabinets, adding appliques that can be removed later is your best bet (anyone who has those grape inlaid cabinets is giving me a silent high five right now).
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less grapes from Kitchen-Design-Ideas.org
3. Trendy/Patterned Floors: You’ve seen it: The vinyl planks, the wood-look-alike tiles, etc. None of them stay in style very long. Instead, think of classic materials: travertine, limestone, brick, wideplank wood floors, terra cotta tiles. Any of these are classic choices that last! Try them in herringbone or antique formations (travertine) that will make them look as if they’ve always been there and are forever chic. As a rule of thumb, I avoid anything that has the word “faux” in front of it (remember the original Corian? It cracks and melts under abuse). If you go with authentic materials and shapes, you’ll be happier in the long run.
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, Patterned Floors from Tileoutlets
4. Shiplap. Skip it. (Trust me here, there are going to be oodles of ladies cursing Joanna Gaines in a few years when they have to undo all that faux shiplap they put up). Don’t get me wrong, even though we have VERY different design styles, Joanna Gaines is a design superstar, and if she’s anywhere close to as cool as she appears on her media, I’m a big fan of her as a person. I’m a little bummed that she singlehandedly ruined shiplap. Shiplap was a classic element in coastal homes (especially on the East Coast), with a white wash or watery white wash… it was beautiful. Now it is faux farmhouse and COMPLETELY overdone. It is dying a slow death from over-popularity. It’s going to be the 2010s equivalent of seventies porn panelling in a few years. Just trust me!
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less from “This Old House”
5. Trendy Appliance Finishes: This can be tricky, because we all remember when white appliances were the ONLY thing, then black came along, then stainless, dark stainless, copper, etc. If you can’t decide on a finish, choose a commercial-kitchen-looking option (stainless, stainless, stainless). Stainless was introduced to the residential arena a LONG time ago and the most expensive brands are still sporting the look. Why? It’s what commercial kitchens use, and when we’re designing kitchens, everyone’s a wannabe chef/foodie. We want what the pros use. (The exception: If you have a retro or mid-century house, the sky’s the limit… you can do colorful or plain, and it all works).
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, Copper finish from Kitchensource.com
6. MDF Painted Cabinets. Do you remember when painted cabinets weren’t a thing? Solid wood cabinetry was very popular once (it was sort of the only game in town) and is still around. It’s very versatile… if you don’t like it you can paint it. Want it to be stained again? Strip the paint and stain it again. I know they’re cheaper, but, if you opt for MDF painted cabinets those can’t be stripped and stained. You’re going to have to replace the cabinets, or at least the doors if you tire of painted cabinets.
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, MDF Doors from Thefrugalhomemaker.com
7. Any cabinet style that is not inset or full overlay. For all of you that painted your 80s or 90s cabinets, the appraiser can tell that you did a very “mini” flip on your kitchen. How? The cabinet style. If you can see the frame around the outside of the cabinet doors, the cabinets are old. Full overlay is the cheaper of the two timeless choices and you can get away with it… probably forever. For a pricier option: Inset cabinets were found in historic homes and have stayed in style for cottages and period homes for the duration. This is my choice for something that may NEVER be dated. Less expensive that completely replacing your cabinetry? Try a cabinet door company. With careful measurements they can help you build a full overlay look that will look like you’ve done a complete gut on your kitchen.
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, Traditional overlay from secondsandsurplus.com
8. The Wall and Cabinet Colors. Seriously. Just paint it! Is your kitchen still stuck in a deep red faux Tuscany phase? It’s time. Go on Pinterest and search for kitchen paint colors. There are some really talented ladies that will tell you which wall colors best complement your cabinetry (if you’re planning on painting your cabinets, skip the paint brush and check out our article on How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer For Painting Cabinets or Furniture).
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, Red walls in the kitchen from pinterest.com
9. Your window treatments. If you’re looking at them right now and pondering, chances are they need to come down. Heavy, dark window treatments, broken blinds, vertical blinds, and valances (unless you live in a multi-million dollar home, take it down) need to come down. You can thank me later. Every one of your windows is better off naked than with outdated window dressings.
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, Dark Valance from Prioritywindowvalances.com
10. That weird soffit over the cabinets that serves no purpose whatsoever. First, please check to make sure that it’s not housing plumbing, venting, or electrical. Then, rip it out! For some great ideas of what to do in that newly opened up space, check out our post on The Best Ways To Transform An Outdated Kitchen On A Tiny Budget.
Kitchen Crush: Things That Will Make Your Kitchen Feel Dated in 5 Years Or Less, Soffit over cabinets from Pinterest.com
That doesn’t mean that your new kitchen has to be boring, it’s just that if you keep the bones of your kitchen neutral-ish and classic, you’ll avoid design mistakes that will end up costing you money again.
Trendy things you can purchase for your new kitchen (that are easier and inexpensive to swap out later):
Kitchen faucets and fixtures
Hardware
Pendants/lighting
But, as for the rest of it… keep it classic, keep it in historic home color families, and you’ll never have to do a full renovation again.
What are some kitchen elements that date your kitchen?
Cheers and check out more of our great content over on the blog!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
Slavetodiy.com is also a VigLink affiliate advertiser which works similarly.
What I remember most about my first condo was how much I hated the kitchen. Actually, hate might not be a strong enough word. It was dark and depressing, with a weird window and aged-orange vertical shades, all illuminated by a florescent fixture with brown burn marks on the plexiglass cover. The condo itself had space and was the right price, but the kitchen was awful. It was tragic. However, my total budget for transforming the space was right around ZERO dollars. Even the grocery budget was tight, at the time, so much that I sometimes worried about being able to buy diapers for my one year old. So, how the kitchen looked wasn’t a priority, regardless of how depressing it was to cook in it.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
I’m betting many of you can relate. Stuck with dated, 80s arched doors or a too-dark 70s finish, or even worse, the orangish-tannish builder grade oak cabinets of the late 80s and 90s… the scalloped arches over the kitchen sink, the brown and orange vinyl flooring. All of this made MUCH worse by the endless taunting from Pinterest and Instagram: the gorgeous, highly edited kitchen photos of IG starlets showing off the latest dishes and gadgets they’re creating and using in their maddeningly perfect kitchens.
I understand. I’ve BEEN THERE. But, I’m going to tell you a secret: You CAN transform a kitchen you hate on a tiny budget. I’ve done it, multiple times.
Now, I’m not going to tell you that I’m still in that place, because I’m not. That was twenty years ago and I’ve been Blessed financially since then, so I’m working on planning my FOREVER kitchen in a MUCH larger home and loving every second (keep the FAITH, you’ll get there!). However, I want to share my secrets with you… I want to share how you can make your kitchen a place you like to cook, even take pictures of, especially if you’ve got a little bit of cash for supplies and energy to do the heavy lifting, I’ll tell you how to make BIG impact transformations for just a little bit of money.
So, here’s the big impact list:add molding, cabinet color, hardware, counter kits, counter stools & kitchen furniture, light fixtures, repurposed furniture island, and, yes, backsplashes.
Add Molding:
You may not realize when you look at those horrid 70s, 80s, and 90s kitchens what in particular makes them so hideous, but I can tell you for sure that one main thing is the soffits! Some of them are for no reason at all other than to close the space in above the cabinets, and others house vents, etc. However, this is fixable! You can add molding over soffits or close in spaces above cabinets to completely update cabinets and bring them into this century! There are some really neat molding stackups I’ve seen done and it can totally change the look of a kitchen for not very much money!
Check out this incredible makeover from Remodelandolacasa.com. A combination of paint and some smaller build projects, including adding molding to the ceiling, created a dramatic transformation in this great kitchen before and after:
Isn’t that amazing the difference? Adding molding completely changed the look and feel of the cabinets. To see this whole transformation, go to https://www.remodelandolacasa.com/2012/01/kitchen-remodeling.html
Cabinet Color:
Cabinet Painting is ALL the rage these days, and with good reason. A new color can totally transform the space. On the positive side, if you have a 70s or 80s kitchen, chances are the cabinets are solid wood and will hold up really well to sanding and painting.
Pro tip: beware of the tutorials that tell you to slop on some paint with a brush. It’s going to turn out like poo and you’ll regret it. There’s a cheaper way to do this that has GREAT results. There’s a cute little basic paint spray gun that you can get for about $35 bucks that will take your cabinet paint job from “Yikes, she painted her cabinets” to “wow, how did you afford new cabinets?”
I recommend the paint from Benjamin Moore that makes it look and feel like a hard factory finish. If you’re one of those farmhouse gals that’s dreaming of a white kitchen, Benjamin Moore’s White Dove in CO-INSL-X Cabinet Coat is the BEST option. This is an enamel and will dry to a hard finish. It’s AWESOME. But, that paint is NOT cheap. If you can’t afford it, run down to the local hardware store and the paint guy should be able to tell you which paint to buy.
One of my favorite transformations is from Laura at inspirationformoms.porch.com. She did a heavenly flip on her kitchen:
How’s that for a fantastic before and after on kitchen cabinet paint (and did you notice the molding at the top of the cabinets???). To see this whole transformation go to https://inspirationformoms.porch.com/kitchen-before-and-after-reveal/
Hardware:
New hardware, and swapping out dated hardware, can completely transform a kitchen all by itself. It’s like remembering accessories when you get dressed up: the perfect necklace and jewelry to accent and improve your cute outfit. Think it’s expensive? Think again.
One of the coolest things that has happened because of Amazon in the last few years is that competition has SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the cost of cabinet hardware. The 3″ Stainless Steel Bar Kitchen Cabinet Pulls I purchased for a renovation in 2011/2012 at $25 each you can buy on Amazon today for a quantity of 25 for the same price (try to visualize the steam coming out of my ears). Yes, THEY’RE LITERALLY A DOLLAR APIECE. This is a project you can afford, and you don’t need any specialty tools to install them. If you purchase hardware with the same hole spacing as the old ones, you won’t even need to drill.
Country Living Magazine has a great blog post on easy DIY and inexpensive hardware updates. It’s amazing to me what a difference hardware makes, and how it can COMPLETELY change the style of a kitchen.
From Country Living Magazine https://www.countryliving.com/home-design/decorating-ideas/g27572367/kitchen-cabinet-hardware-ideas/
Countertop Update Kits and Butcher Block:
I know you want solid surface countertops. I get it. I love them, too. But, guess what, you can’t afford them right now. So, you’ve got two GREAT options:
Tiny budget: Vinyl contact paper. There are very convincing vinyl self-adhesive countertop paper kits that can make your laminate countertops look like Carrera Marble. They have great reviews and cost about $29 bucks. But, be careful with these: they won’t stand up to abuse or hot pans.
Small budget: Butcher block! It’s super popular right now and I have a great post on Where To Find The Best Deals On Butcher Block Countertops if you decide that’s the right option for you! To give you a ballpark idea, when I wrote the article, you could purchase 50 inches of butcher block countertop from the Home Depot for $105 plus tax. You’ll need some special oil to treat it and some screws to install it. How awesome is that?
Pro tip: You can find left over granite slabs on Craigslist and letgo for around $50 if you scour the internet and be patient. It’s not an easy project, but if you have any experienced craftsmen in the family, they can help you, so be on the lookout!
One of my favorite countertop updates is from my friend Krystle at Spruceandabide.com. She and her husband did a kitchen flip and I just love how it turned out (and definitely give them a follow on Pinterest and IG, they are the cutest couple ever):
Krystle from Spruceandabide.com did a gorgeous butcher block countertop update. You can read all about it at https://spruceandbide.com/our-rustic-kitchen-makeover-a-mini-tour/
Counter Stools:
Maybe your parents and friends donated some furniture to you when you moved in, and you know what? They were so generous because they didn’t want it anymore. Because it’s ugly. How are your barstools? Kitchen furniture can make your space look dated really fast. You can buy some VERY reasonable new bar stools both on Amazon and, my personal favorite place to find deals, Overstock.
One of my favorite types of stools are tractor seat stools, they’ve been a thing in my native Vermont for several decades but have picked up steam more recently (thanks, Joanna). If you watch for antique tractor seats on Craigslist, you can add them to the top of a basic wooden stool, for about $25 each (plus the cost of the tractor seats and a little spray paint)!
Tractor Seat Stool From Overstock https://bit.ly/2X53QN8
Light Fixtures:
I’m not suggesting that you can get REALLY NICE light fixtures at this point in your life. But, what if they looked just like really nice light fixtures but were a lot cheaper (come to think of it, why are there more expensive fixtures when you can buy cheaper ones)? Once again, thanks to global competition, you can get some really nice looking light fixtures for a lot less than you’d imagine!
But, which ones should you swap out? Well, the giant florescent light fixture I would leave alone. I know it’s a bummer, but changing those out is not a straightforward process and I don’t want you to get mad at me for suggesting it (the replacement fixture isn’t that much, but it leaves an area of the ceiling needing repair and it’s a big mess). If you REALLY hate it, go get a new piece of plexiglass (they have seeded glass and rain pattern plexi panels cheap) for it and paint the wood on the outside to match your cabinets.
However, some light fixtures are very straightforward to swap out: if you have an outdated dome light over your kitchen sink, that’s a great opportunity to swap it for a pretty pendant for about $25 bucks. You can get a Three Pack of Industrial Edison Bulb Pendants to replace island lighting for $35 bucks! These might not be Pottery Barn fixtures, but I’m betting that your friends can’t tell the difference and YOU are going to love them.
Edison Bulb Pendants (Pack of 3)Find on Amazon at https://bit.ly/2X53QN8
Repurposed Furniture Island:
One of my favorite kitchen updates is seeing furniture transformed into functional kitchen islands (for a LOT cheaper than a custom build or using store bought cabinets)! If you want to see lots of ideas on this, check out our design inspiration post on Kitchen Islands Out of Repurposed Furniture and Materials! Craigslist finds are my favorite source for these, or dressers you couldn’t find a purpose for, etc. The point is, the island adds counter and storage space for next to nothing in cost if you’re creative!
My favorite idea is fancy antique pianos that are no longer working… how cool is this?
Mashup Monday: Kitchen Islands Out of Repurposed Furniture and Materials: From This Old House “Salvage Projects You’ve Got To See”
Backsplashes:
What’s popular right now? At the Home Depot you can get 3X6 Bright White Subway Tile for 15 cents each (and they generally ship free to your house)! That means that for the entire run, let’s say you have 10 linear feet of counters (and an 18 inch tall backsplash), the tile would cost you $19 plus tax. Now, once you add in the mortar, grout, and basic tools, the total will probably be closer to $100 bucks. But, what a HUGE impact! One of my favorite subway tile transformations is from my friend Krystle @spruceandbide on Instagram. Isn’t it cool???
Kitchen backsplash update from Krystle @spruceandabide on Instagram. Check out the whole kitchen update athttps://spruceandbide.com/our-rustic-kitchen-makeover-a-mini-tour/
The point is, just because you’re broke doesn’t mean you have to live and cook in your depressingly outdated kitchen. There are absolutely ways to update your kitchen without spending a bunch of money!
How have you updated your spaces on a small budget? I’d love to hear about it!
Thanks for stopping by and check out more design inspiration and DIY on our blog. Cheers!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
Slavetodiy.com is also a Sovrn affiliate advertiser which works similarly.
I have been wondering about using a paint sprayer for years now, because of course I see all these gorgeous finishes on people’s cabinets, furniture, and small paint projects. So, I did a little research, and finally settled on a small project paint gun that is inexpensive, works really well, and is very simple to set up and clean up. Here is the process and what we used to get outstanding results!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.
The first step is having a place to paint. Now these doors were unattached and I REALLY didn’t want to do prepwork inside to paint (especially because of the cats). So, we waited for a day when the wind was relatively still, and set up a clean work surface on the ground and screwed in eyelet screws into the top of the cabinet doors. Then we wired them to an outdoor arbor so they were suspended and accessible.
What you’ll need:
A paint gun: we used the Critter Paint Gun, (great design, very simple, and the best news: CHEAP!).
Paint straining bags: you can get these for a buck and change at hardware stores or buy them online: Paint Strainer Bags.
A compressor, hose, and basic attachments. We have a large Dewalt Compressor (which I bought apparently thinking we’d be framing walls and working in a commercial building environment) but we used the smaller and much more easy to wield Bostich Air Compressor for this project).
First we dry fitted everything on the gun to make sure it worked with the compressor hoses.
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
Then we used one of the paint strainers to strain the paint into the jar.
TIP FROM RAINMAN: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP. If you don’t strain the paint, little chunks will clog up the tiny tube that feeds the sprayer.
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
We realized after the first few minutes that the best method is to put the strainer all the way in and then pour the paint in. It lends some weight to the process and makes it strain MUCH faster.
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
Once the paint is in, lift the strainer out until it has all drained into the mason jar. We layed the bag down on our clean surface, knowing we would use it again, but if you’re taking a long time, you might want to rinse it with a hose between uses (we have not found a non-messy way to do this).
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
Attach the mason jar back to the gun, and make sure your air compressor is set at 30 PSI.
TIP FROM RAINMAN: USE SCRAP WOOD TO GET PSI, LIQUID NOZZLE, AND DISTANCE SET (35 PSI WITH LIQUID NOZZLE CENTERED WORKED WELL WITH THIS PAINT AT AROUND 4 INCHES FROM SURFACE).
Rainman sprayed around the edges, then into the corners, then did a good layer, spraying back and forth across it.
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
Spraying around the outside:
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
Door two: holding it steady to start spraying (this is where those eyelets and wire are handy).
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
Spray the front sides, then the back sides, and give it a little time to dry. Make sure you get any outside edges you will see.
The Dark and Moody Fireplace Update; Painting the doors with the Critter
Depending on the paint and color, you will need at least two coats. We did three for good measure and for even coverage.
TIP FROM RAINMAN: LIQUID NOZZLE MAY NEED TO BE CLEANED (PICK OFF ANY DRIED/DRYING PAINT), ESPECIALLY IF YOU LET THE GUN SIT BETWEEN APPLICATIONS.
Pose for a “finished painting” photo:
The Dark and Moody Fireplace Update; Finished Painted Doors
We took the doors into the downstairs shower (where there are no cats if we close the door) and where we had a rod across the middle and resecured them to the rod for three days to make sure they were really good and dry before we mounted them.
TIP FROM RAINMAN: CLEAN GUN WITH PAINT THINNER BEFORE PAINT DRIES ON GUN SURFACES.
Clean-up: Rainman rinsed out all of the paint from the mason jar, rinsed all of the tubing and the outside of the paint gun off, and then added mineral spirits to the jar. He sprayed that all out to clean the inside of the tubing and the inside of the gun. Then he dumped that out, added water, and did it again. Take the components apart and let them dry completely before you put it back together. We stored it back in the box and will definitely use it again!
TIP FROM RAINMAN: NOT SURE HOW LONG JAR GASKET WILL LAST; PROBABLY NEED TO ORDER SPARES.
Here are the doors mounted on the fireplace:
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
Here they are mounted and COVERING THAT AWFUL GAPING HOLE!
How To Use An Inexpensive Paint Sprayer and Get Outstanding Results
We had already painted the rest of the fireplace with brushes and rollers. If I had realized how easy it was to use the sprayer and how little overspray there was, I would’ve used The Critter to paint that, as well. The finish looks VERY professional, and I’ll definitely be using it to do our cabinets once we get to that point.
I’d love to see your paint projects and hear about how this little paint gun worked for you! Please share in the comments below and check out more great project tutorials and inspiration over on our blog.
Cheers!
*Legal stuff:
I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it. I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.
Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale. Amazon links are not “pay per click.” If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.
Slavetodiy.com is also a VigLink affiliate advertiser which works similarly.
