Kitchen Reveal!

The last few months have brought some big changes in our family. The biggest and best of all being the birth of our sweet baby girl! I have been spending my days soaking in every moment and enjoying motherhood more than anything! During this time another change has taken place in our home…we finally finished our kitchen renovation, or as I like to call it, ” kitchen face lift”.

More than a specific look, I wanted to create a feeling when approaching this design. A place where I could picture great conversations, or a cup of coffee in the morning before the sun comes up, or a place to prepare meals for my family with the windows open and music playing on summer evenings. My biggest inspiration for this project, actually came from movies. Specifically, Nancy Meyers movies. You may recognize her work from The Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give, and Father of the Bride, to name a few. In fact, her sets have become so popular that the term “A Nancy Meyers Kitchen” has been coined. They are not only beautiful, but are lived in, family homes that are never too fussy. I wanted to incorporate some of this into my design. Below are some examples of her work:

In a previous post I discussed the extent of work we wanted to accomplish. Here are some things to consider when approaching a renovation in your home:
1. How long will we live in this house?
2. What is the resale value in my neighborhood?
3. What style sells in this area?
4. What style is true to the homes existing architecture?
5. How long do I want the construction process to last?
For our project, we knew that we don’t want to live here long term, and that the resale in our neighborhood wouldn’t account for things like stone countertops and new cabinets. We also have an infant and didn’t want to be without a kitchen for too long. This led us to working with a smaller budget and reasonable scope of work. Even with the limited parameters, I think we were able to achieve a dramatic result! Here are the before and afters:

When we first moved in, our house was a palette of orange, flesh, and band-aid tones. I wanted to lighten things and create a cohesive pallet. We started with replacing the floors ourselves and then hired out the work for new laminate counters, shiplap, and a new sink. The whole process was completed in just a few days.

In order to open the space a bit, we replaced the cabinet next to the sink with floating shelves. True to a Nancy Meyers film, I styled them with neutral dishes, that we actually use everyday.

We carried the shiplap from the kitchen through the entryway in order to create the illusion of a more expansive space.

I set up our coffee station on this leather tray and picked some of my favorite things to store coffee filters, coffee grounds, tea spoons, and sugar.

I try to cover outlets when I can, and used a serving board here to cover where I plugged in this lamp. (I think every kitchen could benefit from having a small lamp on the counter!)

For our fridge, I purchased these lightweight frames for family photos.

Big changes around here- and we couldn’t be happier!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed our budget makeover!