This post has been a long time coming! I recently completed a six-month kitchen renovation project and survived to share the finished product with you!

Let’s start with a picture of my pretty new kitchen before I get into details on everything.

Some backstory…I purchased my home in 2010 under the first-time home buyers program. I was working in advertising at the time and able to get approved for a loan on my own thanks to having a steady salary. I have a feeling that might be trickier now with all of my various jobs!

It’s a 1300 square foot single family home. The exterior is brick and there are hardwoods throughout the house (other than in the kitchen). Owning an older home has pros and cons. I love living in an established neighborhood with mature trees and bigger lots but the house requires constant updates, upgrades and repairs. Since being in this house I have replaced the roof, replaced the HVAC, replaced all of the soffit and fascia board around the house, refinished the tub, painted the interior walls of every room and most recently…this kitchen renovation. That’s not to mention the countless times I’ve had plumbers and handymen out for other issues and upgrades.

The house was semi-updated when I purchased it but I have a long list of things I’d like to do to it. Last summer I finally decided to pull the trigger and tackle my most desired major renovation…the kitchen! Since it’s my favorite place to spend time, it seemed like the best place to start.

Let’s take a look at the before.

The floors in the kitchen are tile. The walls are painted wood paneling, which you’ll find in pretty much every home in my neighborhood. Apparently, wood paneling was quite the trend when these houses were built. The cabinets are original to the house, laminate countertops, updated (but not great) appliances.

Nothing special happening with the sink and I wish you could see the lattice piece of wood that was over the sink and the old light fixture but oh well!

And here’s a shot of the dining room. It’s attached to the kitchen and features a big window and brick fireplace.

These were two features of the kitchen area I loved most when I bought the house.

Overall the kitchen was very livable and functional and I made the best of it for years. Last summer I was finally able to bite the bullet and move forward with the renovations thanks to a few major work projects coming through (and a WHOLE LOT of training clients at 5:30 a.m. and a WHOLE LOT of teaching yoga). Even with this, I still had to do it a little at a time as my budget allowed over the course of six months.

Let’s take a look at what I did!

First, I had all of the walls painted to get rid of that awful olive green color. I went with Benjamin Moore’s China White but color matched by Sherwin William’s. I love white kitchens and I wanted to bring as much light in from my windows as possible.

I had a cabinet extension built. I always hated how the cabinet ended so abruptly so I hired a contractor to build an extension with a trash can cabinet, another drawer and built-in shelves. This allows me to hide the trash, display wine, cookbooks, etc. on the shelves and extra counter space.

The contractor also ripped down the wood piece over the sink and installed a recessed light. This allows more light into the kitchen in general and gives more light over the sink.

The granite went in after the cabinet extension was installed. This included a new undermount sink and a new faucet.

Next I had the cabinets painted and if you’ve been reading for a while…you will remember that was the pain in the ass of the century! The first painter I was working with (he was doing it for a trade) painted them not only the wrong color but used the wrong type of paint so it immediately started peeling and chipping. They were like a weird blue/green/gray color.

So I had to bring in my regular painter (who is amazing and I should have just used from the beginning) to sand them and start over. In an ideal world, I would have purchased all new cabinets but it just wasn’t in the budget. I love the finished product!

I took a 3 month hiatus from kitchen improvements after the cabinet painting fiasco. I picked it back up again in November and was determined to finish. First up was the backsplash. Little did I know that installing a backsplash would require demoing the wood paneling.

My kitchen was a disaster for a few days!

But the finished product was completely, 100% worth it. I went with white subway tile for the backsplash and I love how clean, timeless and simple it is. In this photo you can also see the new oven, microwave and dishwasher I had installed. They’re all Maytag appliances. You can also see the new cabinet hardware. I went for pulls instead of knobs because I think they look more modern and clean.

Here’s a close up of the granite. It’s really beautiful and has little specks of silver throughout. I especially love it because it doesn’t show every crumb and streak on the countertops.

Here’s a closeup of the sink area. It’s such a nice bright space to do dishes. I added a “All you need is love…and a dog” sign and some lucky bamboo.

The last thing to go in was a new fridge. It’s a tight space so I was really limited in what I could do but I love the option I ended up with.

In this view you can see the recessed lighting I had installed in the kitchen and the overall flow from the dining area to the kitchen (the fridge had not been updated yet).

This is where we are today. Overall, I am really pleased with how everything turned out. I love the white and gray and I’ve been accessorizing with pops of yellow and red. The only thing I have left to do is the floors but I just couldn’t swing them quite yet. And I also have no idea what direction I want to go in with them but all I can say for sure is that white tile + two golden retrievers does not a clean floor make! 🙂

Here’s the breakdown on everything:

• Wall paint: Benjamin Moore China White color matched by Sherwin Williams
• Cabinet paint: Benjamin Moore Stone Harbor color matched by Sherwin Williams
• Granite: Azul Platino from Imported Stone
• Backsplash: white subway tile from Home Depot with a gray grout
• Cabinet pulls: Lowe’s (I think these)
• Appliances: Maytag from Home Depot
• Faucet: Moen Barossa from Home Depot

Let me know if you have any questions about anything. (Or suggestions on what to do with this floor! Ha!) The renovation was worth it but it definitely took longer and costed more than I anticipated…but that’s the general rule with most things involving home improvements, right?

Now, I’m off to cook dinner in my new kitchen!