My Favorite Kitchen Makeover!

20-year old Kitchen Gets a Paint-Lift

Painting kitchen cabinets is ALWAYS a win in my book. I’m never not amazed, surprised, and blown away!

Original Kitchen Cabinets

This kitchen project was a 2-part episode shared on Today’s Homeowner. And I’m still obsessed with it. The cabinets were in pretty good shape considering they were original to this 20+ year old house. But they showed their age in the stain color.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the look of stained wood. But this orangey color was done so much during the time period this house was built, it automatically puts a date stamp on this kitchen and it keeps it from feeling modern or current.

There was also a rather unsightly shelf across the ceiling that divided the room and just collected dust. And the fluorescent light fixtures kept the room from feeling cozy.

And while there are some laminate countertops available these days that look really good, the yellowed original countertops had seen better days. Plus there was a perfect spot to add an overhang and a stool on the island but the countertop just ended with the cabinets.

Changes We Made

The most obvious one is painting all of the perimeter cabinets WHITE.

Yes, white cabinets are done all. the. time. But that’s because it works! It’s an instant way to update and brighten a kitchen or bathroom!

Another change we made was removing the laminate countertops and having granite installed!

This could be considered a ‘splurge’. But if you’re updating the rest of your kitchen yourself, perhaps saving for professionally-installed granite would be easier to attain and worth it in the long run! You could always paint the cabinets and change out countertops a few months down the road too!

We were able to extend the countertop on the island to create an easy little nook for a stool and a quick snack!

You’ll also notice that we painted the island cabinets a darker, moody color!

It’s Mined Coal from Behr and adds a touch of ‘design’ and depth to the kitchen that all-white cabinets would have lacked.

Lighting Update

One of my favorite changes was replacing the double fluorescent light fixtures over the island with modern, sputnik-style pendants.

Having slightly trendy light fixtures is a fairly inexpensive and easy way to add a little style to any space without a big commitment. Had we opted for more streamline, subdued light fixtures, the overall impact of the makeover would have been less significant and impressive. In my opinion.🙂

We also changed out the light above the eat-in table with one that coordinated but wasn’t matchy-matchy.

Unique Backsplash

Speaking of dramatic and trendy with low-commitment, the homeowners, Brian and Catherine, own a ‘large format’ print shop. AKA they make signs for businesses and such. They had a novel idea to PRINT a patterned backsplash on weather-resistant vinyl.😱

So they got a bold, statement backsplash without the expensive and permanency of tile! Love, love this idea!

Catherine jokes that if she didn’t like it or wanted to change it up in a few months, Brian could just print her a new one!😅

We completed A LOT of projects to get this result. And Catherine and Brian worked hard! If you’re looking for more details, head over to TodaysHomeowner.com to watch the 2 full episodes that cover the transformation!

And just for funsies, here’s some before and after pictures from the same angles!😍

I hope you enjoyed this transformation as much as I loved being a part of making it happen! As we approach the premiere of the 22nd season of Today’s Homeowner, I’ll be ‘catching up’ and sharing more of my favorite projects from season 21. So sign up for my RSS feed and monthly newsletter to get emails when a new post is up!

Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea