Kitchen DIYs, Details and Sources!
November 18, 2015
Share this
Well hello! I can't thank you enough for the kind comments about our kitchen here and on social media! I always appreciate that you take the time to do that and it's especially nice after working so hard on a space! If you missed the big reveal, check it out here.
Have I mentioned crazy happy I am to be done with this room? It was a labor of love but I worked my butt off. Wish that was literal, but no. ;) I'm recapping all of the projects I've done in this room and I'll share some resources on products as well.
You can see my overall plan for the space early this year here. I stayed that course pretty well! Planning this all out in my head for YEARS helped because I was pretty confident with what I wanted to do. I'll start in order of what I tackled -- first with the window seat! I had some help with that one, but I finished all the trim and painting myself:
Some of the items I get asked about in this area:
- The pillows are a mix of buy and DIY -- the lattice were from Target, blue with stripe are fabric from Joann's and the wide stripe are napkins from West Elm I made into pillows.
- The lights are outdoor lights from Lowe's
- Pantry door was done years ago and I got that at Home Depot. You can find more info about that here.
- My fork and spoon are from a thrift store and I sprayed them. I hear there are similar ones at Hobby Lobby.
- Yes a cushion is coming. A friend is making it for me, I hope to have it before Christmas. :)
The island was next! I am still so thrilled with this transformation -- making the island bigger is definitely one of the big things that makes this room feel custom:
I wanted to pack a TON of function into this! Here are the details:
- You can see more about the wine rack I added here (I think that's one of my favorite parts!)
- I get asked about the stools a lot! Here's more info about those.
- The lights above the island are from Lowe's as well -- the metal is much darker than it looks in the photos, almost black. I found the exact same lights for way cheaper on Amazon here. (Only four left as of right now.)
- The big reveal and more details about building the island are here.
- I finished it up by adding the microwave to the end a few months ago.
I am asked a lot about how we like the microwave down there -- it's been an adjustment (more that we moved it to a different spot than it being lower) but we like it! I prefer to pull the hot dishes up and onto the island than pulling them down. It feels safer to me. We're both tall, I'm 5'9" and my husband is taller and it's not a big deal for us. I'm SO happy we moved it!
Back in August after a summer of slothdom, I started tackling the kitchen again. The first step was to take down the cabinets along the window wall, as well as the old microwave:
Let's look at this one during that process, shall we? I love seeing how far it's come:
More about this area:
- Dad and I took down the tile and drywall and it sucked. :) More about that here.
- I found the new lights for the wall on Amazon. They are a dark bronze and I ended up spraying them black. I left the underside bronze and it looks so cool with the two-tone.
- I thought I wanted to do a tile backsplash but then wasn't feeling it. I ended up doing a planked wall that I LOVE so much, but it took some tweaks. I used fiber cement boards -- super cheap, easy to install and they are fine to use behind the stove. You have to watch the dust while cutting though, be sure to check out this post for more info.
- The vent hood is another favorite in this room! We decided to vent ours outside and there are a few things to consider if you are thinking of doing the same. I shared that info and the vent hood build here.
- I love the open shelves! I shared more about the wood shelves and the gorgeous metal brackets here:
The counters are one of my favorite parts of this room. They are simply gorgeous! I wanted a marble look but more color and variation and less upkeep. I found River White granite and knew it was the one:
I kept our granite sink and faucet because both were still working great:
I love the dark gray sink with the counters! That worked out beautifully too.
Here's more info about the counters and that area:
- The sink was from Home Depot years ago, but they still carry it. It's very deep and upkeep is easy. We had it mounted over our old laminate counters and as you can see it can be undermounted as well.
- I shared the process for picking out the granite -- it's not a simple as I thought! This information is helpful if you will be doing the same.
- Marble is gorgeous but you have to baby it a bit or be OK with imperfections. I shared a bunch of stone counters that have the marble look without the worry.
The cabinets were probably the biggest change in here! I did a ton of work to these:
Here's the list!
- I built a surround for the fridge -- this is another DIY that makes this space feel much more expensive than it really is. :)
- The big change came when I built the cabinets up to the ceiling -- huge!
- I sprayed all of the cabinets -- I love love LOVE the sprayer I used. More on that and the full tutorial on spraying your cabinets in this post.
The paint colors in this space are all Sherwin Williams, but the cabinet colors were mixed in Advance paint by Benjamin Moore:
- lower cabinets are Peppercorn
- uppers and trim are Pure White
- backsplash is Gray Clouds
- walls are Analytical Gray
Goodness, I think that's it for the DIY stuff! If I forgot anything you were wondering about please let me know! I have been asked about the accessories in the room so here's a list:
Runner: Target (no longer sold but this is very similar)
Round clock, pie sign, marble and wood pedestal (I've had it for a while, not sure if they still carry it): World Market
Kitchen table chairs: World Market
Bars on island and under vent hood: IKEA
Bamboo shade and cabinet hardware: Home Depot
Chandelier above kitchen table: Lowe's (I painted the "wood" parts)
See how I added DIY cabinet lighting later here.
You can shop many of the items in this room here! (Click on each photo):
OK, if I forgot anything let me know! I hope this answers all of your questions. :) Thanks again for following me on this long kitchen renovation journey! It took me nearly a year but I finally did it! I do have a few more posts to share with you and I'll be sharing more about accent lighting and some night photos soon. I love this room at night. Sigh. :)
Some affiliate links included for your convenience!
It really is totally awesome. You did such an amazing job in the design and all the hard work. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAgain, LOVE this kitchen!! I just keep coming back back to drool over it. I think I may remember you addressing this before it maybe not...how are you getting along with all the cabinets you removed? It seems like you have a lot of great storage solutions in your other cabinets so did you just majorly condense? So, so lovely.
ReplyDeleteHello Aubrey! We still have plenty of storage so it's worked -- two of the cabinets we removed were small ones so we didn't lose a lot there. I have the dining room built ins for serving dishes and the window seat holds a ton too. I did some purging too, so with all of that combined l it works out well!
Deletefabulous, so happy you finally got the kitchen of your dreams!
ReplyDeleteb
So gorgeous!!! I think you are amazing to do so much yourself--from a vision! I am getting ready to have my cabinets painted and am considering the peppercorn for my island. I may have miss it but where did you purchase the handles--they are truly like jewelry.
ReplyDeleteI asked in your previous post, and maybe I missed it in this post, but where did you purchase your cabinet drawer knobs & pulls?
ReplyDeleteHome Depot!
DeleteI am still speechless and in awe about what you did to your kitchen, Sarah! It is simply stunning! Even though I may have a different taste I still think you are a DIY genius! Magazine-worthy, definitely. I would also like to know where you got the drawer pulls....would you share that?
ReplyDeleteLove your blog.
Thank you! They are from Home Depot. :)
DeleteI hope you are enjoying some downtime, even for a week!
ReplyDeleteI love every decision you made about this space. It turned out so lovely. You should be proud. I think kitchen reveals are my favorite and I've been anxiously waiting to see your finished space. Thanks for sharing all the details. When I clicked back through some of the links, i couldn't believe the time that had passed ...island ...February?!? Wow! I'm sure you are so glad to sit back now and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteDid I see a dinner bell in the reveal?? Looking for one and would love to know where you found it! Thanks and your kitchen looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where Sarah got her bell but I found one at Homegoods.
DeleteYep, from HomeGoods! I know a reader found one on Amazon too.
DeleteYou really knocked this one WAY out of the park. What an amazing transformation. I hope you enjoy it for many many years.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, I've been glued to your transformation of your kitchen but too shy to comment before! You have inspired us to consider DIYing our way to our own dream kitchen next year, thank you so much for your thorough step by step explanations. Can I ask one question? I remember you saying that originally before you began extending your island, it's dimensions were 3 feet by 4 feet....and that you planned with the new countertop to give a bit more width on the top to make sitting at the stools more comfortable - what finished width did you end up with? and you also mentioned changing from your plan of extending the length to 8 feet, and instead went with 6 feet - is this how it ended up? It looks plenty long enough! We are starting to play around with taping the size of the island out on the floor like you did, and I just wondered what you final dimensions ended up being? Thanks! For the inspiration and your generous sharing x
ReplyDeleteDon't be shy! :) Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! The island is 3 x 6 1/2 feet. I couldn't go wider because of the butcher block sizes available. I wish I would have gone to seven feet long but it is PLENTY big! I say go as big as your space allows, you'll use it! It is SO nice to bake/cook on it!
DeleteI am swooning right now! LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteXO Ellen from Ask Away
www.askawayblog.com
I like the pedestal plate by your stove. That's where I "store" my cake platter. It makes it easier to move all the stuff over to reduce cooking splatter My spoon rest also hides under the platter.
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen is beautiful.
Liz
Hi!! It's been a few months since I have visited your site and I just want say that I love what you did to the kitchen. I know it was a labor of love, but it looks fantastic! Great job and I know you are so happy to be done!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I commented on your kitchen reveal post, but I just wanted to say that you are a total ROCKSTAR. We are not DIYing our kitchen at all (we're building a house - almost done, yay!), and every decision has felt like the weight of the world was on our shoulders - I can't imagine doing it all myself! (check out our kitchen progress on Instagram: @jenna_lovelakeliving :)
ReplyDeleteYou just cost me $$$ - ha ha!! I had to go on World Market and order that wood and marble cake stand - LOVE IT - I've been looking for a cake stand that I loved....of course I should have known to check your kitchen first!!
ReplyDeleteWill you be doing a post with a breakdown of your financial investment in this project? I am deeply curious. You should be proud of yourself. You had the guts to take this on and the result is spectacular. Health and happiness to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you! If enough are interested I would! The majority of it (not including the stove and the granite) was just over $5000. That includes all of the labor (the parts I hired out) and materials. It helped to spread it out over nearly a year! :)
DeleteLove those counter-tops!! Watching HGTV and reading your blog does my bank account no good. Thanks!
ReplyDeletewww.kelseyhrvy.wordpress.com
Everything turned out just beautiful! I'm so happy for you, it must feel great to be done before the holidays, too!
ReplyDeleteWay to go Sarah!! WooHoo!! It looks gorgeous! I've enjoyed all the posts on your kitchen, well, your whole blog but the kitchen redo has been one I've truly enjoyed. My questions may sound silly but I really like the mason jar soap pump dispenser. Is if for your soap? I wasn't sure since you have one built in. Did you make it or buy it? I'd like one of those for my home.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was a gift from a friend and she found it at TJMaxx. :)
DeleteI had no idea you had a granite sink! We're planning on installing on in our new house because I LOVE the look. I had such a hard time deciding to go with one instead of stainless because I'd never dealt with one! I saw good reviews, but many horror stories too. Any tips for upkeep to keep it looking beautiful?
ReplyDeleteI use a magic eraser on it occasionally to keep it looking good, otherwise it's MUCH easier to keep clean than a stainless! Love it!
DeleteI love love love the kitchen! You did such a fantastic job. Very impressed! I'm gearing up to do my own (1959 time capsule kitchen) and yours was such an inspiration! Keep going girl, you're one of my favorite blogs. I'm always excited to read and see your pictures.
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen is amazing, would you mind sharing where you found the striped kitchen table chairs with the nail head trim, I think they are the perfect addition to your kitchen.
ReplyDeleteCan you open the cabinet door in the back corner all the way with the shelves on the wall? It looks like the shelves would prevent it from opening all the way in the pictures
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah for the source list. I don't think there's anything I don't love about your kitchen. Someday redoing my kitchen is on my dream list for our house; until then I'll live vicariously through yours.
ReplyDeleteLove the kitchen. Just had our kitchen painted peppercorn with white trim &new cabinets in jocobean. I thought it might be too dark but absolutely love it.
ReplyDelete