Our Kitchen Make Over, Going From Ordinary To Amazing… 

As soon as we walked into the kitchen during our initial house tour, we knew it needed a kitchen makeover. The original kitchen felt dark and made us feel very constricted and boxed in, with the peninsula blocking easy access to our back deck.

A New Vision…

There were so many things to consider, including the layout of the kitchen work triangle, which determines the placement of the stove, sink and refrigerator, whether we wanted floating shelves or upper cabinets that reached the ceiling, if we wanted to replace the tile floor, and so on. 

We wanted to make the space more feng shui and ‘light and bright’, one that blends timeless design with modern functionality.

Thankfully, we didn’t need to do a gut renovation, or to reroute any plumbing, but we did need to rework some of the electrical so we could relocate the stove.  Plus, all of the appliances were old and damaged and needed to be replaced.  The stove was too close to the fridge. It actually violated code!

While we aren’t thrilled with the porcelain tile floor, which continue into the 1st floor bathroom and front hallway, we determined there was no added value to replacing them.  Doing so would only increase our remodel budget, create an enormous amount of dust and debris and lengthen our remodel timeline.

We waited for holiday sales to order all new stainless-steel appliances from Lowe’s.  Then Luke drafted plans for the kitchen remodel.  Below is a Sketchup rendering.

We shared that draft with our contractor, Glen Mitchell Contracting, and brought it with us to Affordable Granite & Cabinetry. They produced an AutoCAD rendering for the kitchen layout and showed us various countertop options (quartz and granite).  To make the porcelain tile work, we decided to go with a Calacatta Enora quartz with minimal design and white shaker style kitchen cabinets.

Donating is rewarding…

We don’t like to contribute to unnecessary waste if possible.  It was very appealing to us to salvage the old kitchen cabinets.  They were in great shape and it was obvious to us that someone would be able to use them.  Also, it’s expensive to junk kitchen cabinets.

Keeping this in mind, Luke used his favorite power drill to remove each of the dated cabinets and dark countertops. 

Through some research, we discovered that Habitat for Humanity of Newburgh was happy to take the old cabinets and could resell them at Newburgh ReStore. It’s a great local resource that resells household items in good condition and then uses that revenue to help build or renovate affordable homes. They even drove out to our house to pick them up.   

It’s a win-win for everyone!

The final kitchen makeover results… 

Glen Mitchell Contracting and his team installed our new kitchen cabinets.  The chrome colored drawer handles and sink faucet ordered from build.com match perfectly with the stainless steel appliances we ordered from Lowe’s.  

We have open shelving for plants and other colorful items.  We even got lucky acquiring two gray cushioned stools for the island from friends that tie everything together.

There is even shelving built into the kitchen island for cookbooks, which has started many conversations with guests about eating gluten-free (Joanna has celiacs disease).

Lastly we visited West Elm during a holiday weekend sales event and found the perfect expandable dining room table (seats up to 10 people), super comfortable chairs and a matching rug.

We’re so happy with the kitchen makeover results!  Everything now feels lighter and brighter, more functional and feng shui! It’s such an inviting environment to have friends and family over for meals.

Whether you’re dreaming of your own remodel or looking for inspiration, we hope this design gives you ideas for creating a kitchen that feels like home.

If you like this story, check out our Deck Remodel post.

Materials & Cost$:

Affordable Granite & Cabinetry:

– Cabinetry $12,860.00

– Countertop $3,523.00

Lowes Home Improvement:

– Microwave Item #878060 $269.00

– Stove Item #2501534 $1,999.00

– Washer Item #1174499 $1,049.00

– Dryer Item #1174500 $1,049.00

– Refrigerator Item #6600033 $1,799.00

Build | Ferguson.com:

– Kitchen Sink Model: 522414 539.5 / QTY 1 $539.50

– Cabinet Handles Model: BP36571PN $5.25 QTY 34 $178.50

Amazon:

– Chandelier $24.69

West Elm:

– Anderson Solid Wood Extendable Dining Table (40″–90″) $1,599

– Mid-Century Dining Chair – Metal Legs $399

– Heathered Basketweave Wool Rug, 5×8, Steel Item #: 7122497 $299

Donation from friends

-Island Stools

PROJECT TOTAL $25,318.69

+ Labor