Kitchen Makeover!

My husband and I bought a house in October that had a lot of great features but was in need of a serious makeover! It is an adorable 1951 cape house, but much of it had not been updated since the 1970s. Needless to say, it was time! A lot of improvement could be made with paint alone, but the kitchen cabinets, bathroom, and floors need renovating. The kitchen cabinets need to be fully replaced and can't simply be refaced but, of course, buying a house is expensive and often doesn't leave much in the way of finances to do full-on renovations off the bat.

But, first things first—we'd need to paint. I like the kitchen to be light and bright, and here, there was old wood paneling, which had an orange tinge and the whole space just needed refreshing. To provide some depth, I went with Sherwin Williams Shoji White on the walls with bright white on the trim and the backsplash, which was faux brick. What a difference! But the cabinets still had a heavy feeling, and, knowing that we would eventually replace them entirely, I decided to have some fun.

I removed the doors on one section of upper cabinets, which immediately gave a more open feeling to the space. Being the impatient person I am and not knowing when we would be able to replace the old cabinets, I opted to paint them. I had originally planned on painting the upper cabinets Shoji White to give a cohesive feeling but eventually decided on bright white instead. Because the house is small and I wanted the color scheme to flow, plus I was working on a budget, I decided to go with SW Fawn Brindle, a greige color that I was also using in the living room, on the lower cabinets. For the record, if you are looking for a longer-term fix, I would recommend a more durable paint meant for cabinets.

I first used liquid sandpaper on the wood, but with a heavy gloss that wouldn't budge, opted to use fine-grit sandpaper as well. Having learned from painting the rest of the trim in the house and struggling hard-core with bleed-through, I used a Sherwin Williams shellac primer prior to painting. If you're painting over previously finished wood, this. Is. A. Must. Save yourself the headache and don't skip this step. Two layers of paint later, plus oil-rubbed bronze spray paint to the handles (again, short-term fix) and voila! It felt like a whole new kitchen.

But, then there was the countertop. While I am actually a big fan of butcher block countertops, this was a laminate version that had seen better days.

So, still open to have some fun but on a budget since everything will be redone, I decided to try out a gray marble contact paper. And, while I actually think I would prefer a real butcher block top longterm to go with our style over the marble, I have to say it brightens up the space even more and looks pretty darn good. The seams are definitely noticeable to me, but everyone who has seen the surface both ways has been seriously impressed.

While it was a bit difficult to put on, it took substantially less time install the contact paper than it would have been to use one of the resurfacing kits (though I'm sure it is not as durable). Plus, it was all of $30 and that is hard to beat!

All in all, I am looking forward to having permanent replacements that are more functional for our kitchen space, but really enjoyed the opportunity to get creative and breathe some new life into this great little house we now call a home!