Well, we made it! I can’t really believe we have a brand new kitchen and we got it done in less then 6 weeks. I’m so glad we took on this One Room Challenge, at times I thought it wasn’t possible, but gosh this room is gorgeous. I’m hoping my pictures do it justice, because it’s really so pretty in person.
Before we look at all the afters, when I say “we” and the work, I mostly mean my brother, Ash. Lonnie and I have been his assistants, but Ash has led this project’s work load and I really can’t thank him enough. The guy is a perfectionist and a jack of all trades (oh and today is his birthday) and this room shows his handy work all over the place.
And now for the “afters”. I will try to link everything, but this post also has a lot of the sources too. This room really is exactly what I wanted. It feels modern and fresh, but still fits into my 100 year old house. When we started with week 1, I was positive that the lower cabinets had to be black. But, now I can’t imagine anything but this gorgeous green in this space. The room is so much brighter. I think it’s the combination of the fresh white paint, the lighter marble countertops and the white backsplash. I just can’t wait to shoot some recipes in here. No more hauling everything to the sunroom and shooting on a large marble cutting board. I now have over 12 feet of marble to shoot on.
Ok, before I go into all the details, let’s look at some side by sides of “befores” and “afters”. Just in case you forgot what our kitchen looked like just 5 weeks ago.
As you can see, we did not change the floor plan, foot print or cabinets at all. This was really a cosmetic makeover. But, finishes can bring a lot of style to a space.
I teamed up with Bedrosians Tile and Stone on this room makeover and they have been a dream to work with. The team here in Bakersfield are the best! I couldn’t have found better floors, countertops and backsplash anywhere. They have so many options, but I think I went with the best! This honed marble is pretty much the prettiest thing I’ve ever owned. I’ve been wiping it down and polishing it over and over.
We hired Pat Callahan to fabricate our marble counters and install the tile. These guys are the best of the best and we are so happy with the work they did.
In our first house, I went with a very bold backsplash, it was avocado green glass. I LOVED it, but I’m excited to have a neutral, clean back drop. And while subway tile is a classic, I wanted to play with something with a little more pattern. So, this Reine 3″ x 12″ Wall Tile feels like a nice updated version of subway tile.
I think the floors make this space. And early on in the process I wasn’t sure if we would replace the floors or not. Oh gosh, I’m so glad we pulled the trigger and added the floors. I paired this modern starburst tile floors with a very traditional style rug and I think it works. I would have loved to have found a vintage rug, but I’ll be on the hunt. And until I do I actually really love this runner I found. It’s comfy under foot and it’s all the right colors. Often these Persian style rugs have a lot of reds and blues, which are colors I do not use very often. I love mixing old and new styles and I never wanted this kitchen to feel tooooo modern, so I think to rugs check all the right boxes.
Every inch of this room got a fresh coat of paint. I think we spend about 3 full weeks just sanding, filling, priming, painting and then sanding and painting some more. The walls and cabinets were a very yellow/cream color. We primed everything with UMA primer and then painted the walls, ceiling and upper cabinets Sherwin Williams Alabaster White and the lowers a Benjamin Moore color, Dark Olive. We used Sherwin Williams, Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel Trim Paint in Satin. I actually had a hard time deciding between a semi-gloss or satin finish, but I’m really glad I opted for something with very little sheen. The paint sprayer saved the day! We just wouldn’t have gotten this awesome, professional finish with a brush or roller.
A friend came over last week and thought we had replaced our windows. I was flattered, these 100 year old windows look fantastic because we sanded and filled and sanded some more. It’s really amazing the power of a fresh coat of paint.
You can see here that having a paint sprayer really paid off. Everything came out looking like brand new cabinetry.
Changing the hardware on the cabinets had a really big impact as well. I actually think these matte black handles really add to the Craftsman feel of this space.
We also changed out all the hinges on the cabinets. If you look back at the befores, you can see that the hinges were exposed on the outside of the cabinet doors. It took some research to find the right hinges, but I think this was a really a great investment for our kitchen.
We kept all our old appliances. Just the stove is semi-new from what is in the “before” pics. We got this new stove last Fall. The old stove was very inefficient and actually heated up the entire house whenever I baked anything – hence no cookies in the Summer. The only appliance I would like to replace in the near future (but probably won’t happen until it dies) is the fridge. It’s a great fridge, it is just too big and sticks out too far from the cabinets. We brought it from out old house. Ideally, I’d probably like a counter depth fridge at some point. This isn’t a huge kitchen, so those couple extra inches might be nice to gain. But, until that day, I’m totally a-ok with my fridge sticking out a bit.
A new kitchen needs a new kettle. I love this simple Japanese one I found. I really didn’t buy any other new accessories for the space, all my old stuff just looks new in this space.
The sinks we installed are amazing, they are big and deep and have cool components like cutting boards, drying racks and colanders. The bar sink is huge and has a cutting board and the main double sink has a ton of cool accessories.
No more dish drainer taking up real estate on my counters, this drying rack is one of the coolest features.
The little wet bar, or as we refer to it as the coffee bar, looks fantastic with the new lighting and the two-toned cabinets.
We also got rid of the random lighting combinations and the “boob” light fan and replaced then with two really cool globe pendants.
We hung them in different directions for a little interest. Nothing about this kitchen is very symmetrical, so we decided to play a bit.
I also changed up the art that was on the wall a bit and added a little more color and pattern.
This is one of my favorite before/after pairs.
Well, that’s our new kitchen! What do you think? I wanna know. And if you in the neighborhood, please stop by for a cup of coffee (I mean it).
It is absolutely beautiful, really stunning. I hope you get some rest now!
i LOVE ❤️ it! the craftsmanship is so well done.
It is soooo beautiful! All of that hard work paid off… now go relax and have a wonderful mother’s day! Fantastic space!!! And btw… my fridge sticks out too much too and takes up valuable real estate!!! It’s so big… but it would be hard to go smaller with all of the food my fam eats ?.
OMGoodness I’m loving it! You’re totally right, the green makes the kitchen, and I was team black all the way! Thanks for sharing, this was so fun to follow along in IG
Thank you for sharing all those links! We live in the Alta Vista area in an older home as well. We have a super tiny kitchen and this post has given me so many ideas and so much inspiration. Also, the sink with accessories two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Looks great!
Wow!! So good!
Your kitchen makeover is stunning! Those marble countertops, the tile, the two tone cabinets and new hardware are so pretty! I love how you have some art above the window. It all looks amazing!
Wow, it looks absolutely gorgeous. Well done, six weeks wow!
Amazing job!! I think you nailed the modern but homey look. I honestly love all the finishes that you picked.
It looks so beautiful! The green cabinets were the way to go! And the floor is a showstopper.
We did a similar revamp of our kitchen last year, but with blue lower cabinets and cement tile backsplash. It’s bold but I love it! I also highly recommend a counter-depth fridge.
So glad you had a good experience with Pat Callahan. His crew is the best. I would love to take you up on that coffee offer sometime.
Congratulations on a job well done!
It looks so beautiful! I cannot believe it is the same cabinets. They look amazing!
So beautiful! Can’t wait to see it in person
The tile is beautiful!! Love every detail, the cabinet color, the lighting, all of it! Great job!
Absolutely beautiful!!!! Well done!
Amazing kitchen makeover! I love every detail…especially the floor! The green cabinets were a great choice also. Congrats!
This is an absolute dream – every inch is just perfection and I want to transplant it into my house! Love it all!
Beautiful transformation! And I love that hanging mobile… do you mind sharing where you found it?
It’s actually from Target years and years ago. I think it was Nate Berkus.
I found your blog on the Gathering Table Instagram- I’m so glad to have some good recommendations now in Kern County as we eye our eventual remodel. Your kitchen is beautiful! Yay for keeping the 100 year old windows!
That’s awesome! Old windows are definitely beautiful.
Im still trying to make it through the reveals of all but this is definately at the top of my list of faves (and the only one I have commented on 😉 I love everything about the whole space – the colors, finishes, etc all flow together like a dream – amazing job! thanks for the inspiration
Ahhh thank you so much.
Did you buy the Benjamin Moore dark olive at a Benjamin Moore store or did you have sherwin Williams color match?
The article says you use SW emerald paint.
Just looking for some clarification?
I had it matched at Sherwin Williams because I like their paint best.
Love the dark green base cabinets and horizontal picket backsplash.
Are those matte or glossy?
Thank you and the tile is actually a matte finish (and I love it!).
Great to hear from you! Do you find the matte finish hard to clean?
What shade are the green cabinets?
No, they are very easy to clean. And the cabinet color is a Benjamin Moore color called Dark Olive.
Hello!!! What color grout did you use on the tile? Absolutely gorgeous!!
It’s a light grey, I believe it’s called storm.
Very beautiful! Do you remember what color you painted the walls? Love Alabaster cupboards and looking for slight contrast like you did here 🙂
The walls are alabaster as well 🙂