Jan 26, 20222 min read

Kitchen Update Under $1,250

Hey Everyone!

I'm finally getting around to sharing the details and before and after's of our long overdue Kitchen update! We needed to get this kitchen ready to sell and wanted to do so quickly and stay on budget! We just moved a few months ago to a new home (can't wait to share some fun projects with you), BUT I couldn't go on without sharing some of the fun updates that turned out to be SO EASY and made us think, "Why on earth didn't we do this sooner?".

First up: The Before Photos.

These are the photos of the kitchen when we first bought the house over 8 years ago.

The first thing we did was tear up the flooring. I think their intention was to "match" the real hardwood throughout the rest of the house with this faux hardwood... but it never really meshed together.

....and underneath was the flooring that everyone's grandmother once had in her kitchen. Nostalgia in the worst way, amiright?

The flooring we chose was.... a peel and stick flooring. Can you believe that? AND it's grout-able. I typically don't like to share this information with too many folks because there is some stigma around "peel and stick" flooring, but really you guys, between my 3 kids and 2 dogs, this stuff held up NICE. The best part: You can walk on it immediately.

What a difference new flooring made. Visually it could be a lot for some. However, with everything else in the room being white and simple, it was really nice.

Next up: this awkward little corner. I always thought there needed to be more cabinets in this spot. It always seemed like a waste of space.

Enter in-stock base cabinet for under $200. This cabinet fit perfectly in this space. It was technically meant for a sink, so the middle drawer did not open, but I was thrilled to have more cabinet and counter space.

Next we changed and added laminate countertops from Menards in their "Calacatta Marble" color. This was probably the biggest change of all and really made a huge impact in the kitchen. And for under $450 for new countertops, it was a steal.

We did repaint all the cabinets in Simple White (Ben Moore) and it made them look new and fresh!

We added some shelving above the new cabinets for decor and added storage.

One of my favorite views of the house and that little sliver of buffalo check wallpaper peeking out. We loved our old house so much and put so much work into it. I can't wait to show you all the new projects for the new house! Here's a few more before and after's: