Kitchen Remodel Reveal – Before and After

In February, Nick and I decided it was finally time to make some updates to our kitchen. We have lived in our place for five years and I’ve hated the kitchen pretty much the entire time! It was a long overdue project that we talked about doing for way too long. But we finally pulled the trigger and I am so excited to share our kitchen remodel reveal – with before and after pics!

Before the Kitchen Remodel

When we moved in, the only change I made to the kitchen was switching out the knobs and pulls on the drawers and cabinets. The original kitchen, as you can see above, had light wood cabinets with dark grayish-green granite counter tops. The appliances, luckily, are stainless steel, so we decided not to purchase new ones (and that’s a huge expense that we didn’t necessarily think we needed to do).

The floors in our place are a dark wood and clashed with the old cabinets. I always envisioned that white cabinets would make a much better contrast against the dark wood. So that’s what we decided to do!

Steps to a New Kitchen

The kitchen remodel was done in phases but was completed within about a month. We worked with a contractor – a referral from a friend – who did a quick and great job. He was able to source the counter tops and other materials for us, which alleviated some of the searching and shopping on our part. 

Step 1 – Paint the Cabinets

The first step in our kitchen remodel was to paint the cabinets white – and wow, what a difference just a coat of paint can make! Our place immediately looked bigger and brighter.

Step 2 – Counter Tops 

Remove the old granite counter tops and replace it with white quartz counter tops. Our contractor found the counter tops for us and coordinated everything – sent us photos of options, ordered it, paid for it, and installed it. I love the all white with the big gray lines through it. White quartz is a great alternative to marble. It looks just like it, but doesn’t stain as easily! 

Step 3 – New Sink and Faucet

After the counter tops are in, the next step in our kitchen remodel was to install the new sink and faucet. But I should mention that you will want to have those two things picked out before the counter top installation. Whoever installs the counter tops will need to cut out the size and shape of your sink and faucet – therefore, they will need those items on hand when installing the counter tops. 

Our contractor was also able to get a sink for us, but we had to find the faucet. Of course, we were super last minute on this since everything was moving so quickly. There are a ton of faucet options on Amazon, but we had to run to Home Depot the night before install to pick one. With limited options, I was nervous we wouldn’t find something we liked, but I actually ended up loving the one we took home!

Step 4 – Back Splash

Add the back splash. This is always the last step – accordingly to our contractor. He brought all of the materials to do the installation except for the tile. I found the white subway tiles at a local tile store in Logan Square called Tile Outlet. 

Step 5 – Replace the Bar Stools

Our previous bar stools were a hand-me-down from Nick’s friend. Before they were ours, they survived years of living with 20-something year old boys and years before that of living with Nick’s friend’s mom. So I think it’s safe to say we were ready to get rid of them!

I found these bar stools on Amazon for $90 for a set of 4! Honestly, I don’t think you can beat that price. I almost bought a used set on Facebook Marketplace for more than that. I’m so happy I went with the Amazon ones instead. They arrived within 3 days and the quality is amazing for the price. 

Step 6 – Paint the Kitchen Walls Gray

The last step in our kitchen remodel was to paint the walls in our kitchen gray. After we moved in, we painted all of our living space. We chose to do a light gray in the living room and a warm beige in the kitchen and hallways. Our place is small so we thought the two colors might help separate the space and make it feel bigger. I’m not sure that our plan worked – I wish we would’ve painted everything gray from the beginning! 

Once the kitchen remodel was complete, the beige walls really stood out – and not in a good way. The color clashed with the gray in the counter tops. So we decided it was time to paint the beige walls gray to match the living room. Luckily, we still had an old paint can from the living room so we were able to go buy the same color. We used Benjamin Moore Ozark Shadows AC-26.

So How Much Did it Cost?

After everything was completed, our total spend came to just about $4,000. I know that’s a big chunk of change, but in my opinion, to completely change the look and feel of our kitchen for under $5,000 is a bargain. I always imagined that kitchen renovations cost a minimum of at least $5,000, if not much, much more! 

However, we do have a small kitchen and we did not replace any of our electronics or buy new cabinets. Those are typically the highest ticket items – besides the counter tops. For us, the counter tops were the most expensive piece of the kitchen remodel. 

Here is a breakdown of what we purchased and the labor needed for our kitchen remodel that cost us $4,000:

• Hire a contractor to source materials and labor for every step of the renovation
• Paint cabinets white – our contractor included the price of paint and all materials in our fee
• Purchase new counter tops – again, our contractor handled this entire process for us – we just paid for the counter tops
• Buy new sink and faucet
• Purchase tile for the backsplash 
• Materials to install the backsplash – our contractor brought all of the materials and included the cost in his fee
• Purchase new barstools
• Paint the surrounding walls gray – this is totally something we could have done ourselves, but decided to hire someone else to do it for us

And that’s about it! I am so happy with how everything turned out! Our kitchen feels brand new and makes our space look bigger – which is exactly what I wanted. I’m also excited at the thought of how much this will help our resale value!

Below are links to our barstools and the decor you see on our counter tops:

xoxo,

Whit