If I was blessed to be on one of those HGTV home reno shows, and it was totally free and someone else did all the work, I know exactly what this room would look like. My design would involve tearing down walls and reworking the entire room. But alas, this is real life. In real life, I had no idea what I would do with a load bearing wall and I also knew carrera marble would look really out of place in this house.
Flashback to 2010 and this is what you'd see! We did have a new fridge, which was an amazing gift from my in-laws for our wedding. But, the rest of the kitchen...let's just say it was pretty cringy.
The layout works just fine for me. The only time it bugs me that I have a small kitchen is when we have people over. Everybody wants to gather around the kitchen and there just isn't room. (If this were HGTV, I'd open the kitchen up to our massive dining room and spread out a little)
Our kitchen modifications happened over time. We bought a new stove one Black Friday, so that we could have matching appliances. I painted the cabinets, and we lived in a very white kitchen for a few months. Then we were able to hire an amazing guy to build a custom countertop for us, and then we had our talented family member install a backsplash to match.
Can I just brag on our backsplash for a second? I wanted white subway tile, but I wanted to break up the white with a gray grout. Groundbreaking right? Well it was at the time! We came up with this combo long before it was popularized by Fixer Upper. It was so new the relative who installed it was very skeptical about the combo, but he did it anyway and was impressed when it didn't look crazy. Anyway, it turned out great and if we ever resell our house people will like it.
Under cabinet lighting was the best thing I ever did to this space. The overhead light and window don't let in enough light, so with the puck lights we have great lighting for tasks. I would love to add some to the other side of the kitchen by the stove, but there aren't any outlets over there, so I've gotta figure that one out.
One thing I've always liked is the open shelving on the one side of the kitchen. It acts as a pantry and a place to store cake stands and smaller appliances. I'm also head over heals for our sink! We replaced our tiny double sided sink last summer for this big open sink with an awesome faucet. This was life changing since we are dishwasherless!
Leave a comment below if you have a tiny kitchen too! Do you have a dishwasher, or are you a handwasher like us? I'd love to know if people tend to gather in your kitchen, or in a different room of your house!
I really like the open shelving, and the white cabinets make such a difference! We live in a townhouse so we have a teeny little kitchen. We're hoping to move into a house next summer, and it feels like every place we look at on Zillow is judged by the kitchen, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteI totally get it! I'd say it's not too difficult to fix the cosmetic stuff, so look for a house with a great layout! That's not so easy to fix.
DeleteOh my goodness! I love your kitchen and the subway tile adds so much! When I lived in an apartment, my kitchen was teeny tiny! It can be a challenge at times but it looks like you guys have maximized space!
ReplyDeleteKatherine | www.oneswainkycouple.com
Thanks Katherine! It is definitely a challenge when we have guests. That's the main reason I don't think I could ever live in one of the those tiny houses! It'd be perfect for just us two, but I love entertaining too much.
DeleteWOW!!! What a transformation! That backsplash is dreamy! You made a small kitchen look so great!
ReplyDeleteThank you Erica! Yes, the backsplash is my favorite part-it really makes the kitchen and it really wouldn't look the same without it!
DeleteOooh yeah, I love that! We have a small kitchen too. It's about 10x10. Our dining room is the same size. We also want to knock down the wall and make a huge eat in kitchen but ya know... money. HGTV gives me unrealistic expectations. Lol. Luckily we have a dishwasher, but the whole kitchen is hideous and outdated. I love how yours turned out!
ReplyDeleteI actually can't really watch HGTV anymore! It was making me so discontent. It would be interesting to see what all our homes would look like if money weren't such a problem, haha!
DeleteLooks great!!
ReplyDeleteThank ya! =]
DeleteYour kitchen looks great and I hope that following the idea of decoration as you have done with your kitchen, I will be able to make my kitchen impressive.
ReplyDeleteOoh, the makeover looks awesome!! And how awesome would it be if we could get a house makeover by HGTV? That's all I watch at the moment, obsessed with Fixer Upper! One day I'll own my own house and do it up nice. For now, I have to make do with a rental. Ha
ReplyDeleteThis is SUCH a great transformation. It looks like a completely different space!
ReplyDeletexx katie // a touch of teal
Your new kitchen looks AWESOME!! It's amazing what you have done with the place!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you've done, classic and clean!
ReplyDeleteits really nice for small kitchen. we can easily change the design and style of kitchen. find more
ReplyDeleteWhile designing your kitchen you need to understand few things so your kitchen will look modern and simply stylish. That what above post has shown and I just liked it.
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nice kitchen interior thanks for sharing to know more find more
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