Ready for the kitchen before and after? Here is the before–not terrible, but not what we wanted:
And here is what it looks like now:
We love how open and simple it is. And it’s the perfect balance of masculine and feminine for us. (And not at all preppy.) The handmade iron brackets give the perfect feeling to the room, like they have always been there and this is how the room was meant to be.
The breakfast area still has a few updates to be done: window coverings, new chairs, and a light fixture to replace the ceiling fan. But those are quick and simple fixes.
Here’s the before, and after again.
I really am excited about it every morning when I walk in there. And a big bonus: putting dishes away is really easy, as is getting ready for dinner.
Aside from the range hood, the only things we had to buy were the brackets, shelves, paint and stain, and all that cost about $250. (The iron brackets are from Anthropologie, and the shelves are stair treads from the DIY store. The wall color is Martha Stewart’s “Tailors Chalk” in Behr paint. You can see all of our materials choices and progress along the way here if you’re interested.) And it was a pretty simple DIY. Not bad for a completely new-feeling kitchen!
Angie
October 21, 2013 at 11:34 amWow… that looks awesome.
Christina
October 22, 2013 at 7:10 pmThanks, sister!
Abbe PB
October 21, 2013 at 11:42 amIt looks so nice and airy! I also love the new hardware on the cabinets, it’s a very sleek look.
Christina
October 22, 2013 at 7:11 pmThanks Abbe, and good catch, I totally forgot to mention that in the post, edit to come…
Leena
October 21, 2013 at 1:36 pmAwesome! The kitchen seems so much wider on the last picture. Before it was like a long tube now it feels as wide as it is long. what a difference! Well done you two!
Christina
October 22, 2013 at 7:13 pmThat’s exactly how it feels, it was so skinny before and now it feels wide and open! Thank you, Leena. 🙂
Tammi@1914house
October 21, 2013 at 11:30 pmWow! Even the coffee maker looks different. Ha! Just teasing. The “new” kitchen looks great. The window looks wider, too. I’m jealous of how simple and easy everything is. We lived like that at one time, but not so much anymore. I should try to figure out why 🙂
The Hubs
October 22, 2013 at 10:29 pmTammi, you make an interesting point. I thought we had been living simple style (you know, with still having all the luxuries of modern American life), but then we started looking at all the stuff we didn’t actually use but maybe once a year. The realizations keep coming. The open shelves in the kitchen really become an extension of that. If we don’t use it, why is it taking up shelf space? It isn’t anymore!
Libby
October 28, 2013 at 7:04 pmWow Christina its looks fantastic! much more open and simplistic. Love your iron brackets.
Christina
October 29, 2013 at 9:54 amThanks, Libby!
Meeha Meeha
October 30, 2013 at 4:05 pmThe transformation is amazing, it does feel like a different room! I am a big fan of open shelves, even if with an open kitchen and two kitties I can’t say it is very hygienic… I love the details, like that beautiful cooker hood and the fact that you kept the same light fixture above the sink.
Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse
October 30, 2013 at 5:24 pmMeeha is right, it feels like a different room, not only because of the open shelving, the new wall colour is perfect, lighter.
Alysha
November 24, 2013 at 7:33 pmI am totally satisfy to see your creativity and this is a Brilliant and authentic design as well as information and I think this will really help people like me who don’t have enough experience on decoration. Can you provide me your Facebook page URL or Pintrest ? I want to share with my followers. Thanks for all your information.
Caleb
March 25, 2014 at 3:39 pmYou did an awesome jobs. The transformation is awesome and most important things is that they are productive changes which means they have been done for a reason. The range hood is a great addition to your kitchen.