DIY Kitchen Remodel

Everything looks better with a fresh coat of paint

Can you guess how many of the upgrades are done with paint?

When we bought our house, I knew it was going to need a lot of updating. The kitchen was the highest priority for DIY projects I planned to do. I am just an average stay at home mom with no construction background.  I decided I would see what all I could knock out on my own just by watching youtube videos to learn how to do things.  I also, wanted everything to be able to be done on a very tight budget.  Let me give a list of the things I planned on changing from this picture:

1. Cabinet color
2. Formica countertops
3. Drop down fluorescent light ceiling
4. White plastic sink
5. Dated faucet
6. White appliances
7. Color of the kitchen walls and ceiling

8. No backsplash
9. Baseboard size and color, no chair rail
10. Hardware on the cupboards
11. Dining room table also needed an upgrade

12. Replace arched cabinet doors 

13. Replace hinges with hidden hinges

When I watch home makeover shows on tv, the remodel jobs always happen so fast.  In reality, when you are doing them all yourself, and you don't know how to do anything but paint, there is a large learning curve.  I took lots of photos and videos all along the way.  My initial plan was to have a blog post of hits and misses each time something went well or really flopped.  I wanted to document which youtube videos really worked and which ones should be left to the professionals.  It turned out that doing my own projects and documenting all the steps became very time consuming and I neglected to post as I went along.  

I may still post each step at a future date, but for now, here are the finished kitchen projects.  Well, sort of finished.  I am always changing my mind and redoing things here and there.  Let me give an example;  I hate the arches on the cabinet doors.  I have replaced about half of them, but the others are still being built, by me.  The new cabinet doors also have hidden hinges.  These are things you wouldn't necessarily notice but they certainly look better when they are all done.  At this pace it will probably be 6 months before they are all done.  I will do one every time another project I am working on needs time to dry or I am waiting on supplies etc.  If you look closely in the pictures some of the upper cabinets are still arched.

List redone, cabinet color, formica countertops, drop down fluorescent light ceiling, white plastic sink, dated faucet, white appliances, color of the kitchen walls and ceiling, backsplash, baseboards size and color, hardware on the cupboards, replace arched upper cabinet doors, hidden hinges

One of my favorite projects was the counter and backsplash.  These are just painted to look like marble, then coated with Stone Coat Countertop Epoxy.  I did my dining room table as a trial run before taking on all the countertops.  I love them so much.  It was hard to photograph because they are so shiny.  It's like taking a picture of a mirror, but they make me so happy!

I know having a cabinet desk combination is very dated, but we use this space a lot, so I decided to just give everything an update instead.  I see in this picture the ugly linoleum in the laundry room off to the side on the left.  I painted that to look like tile.  It's not shown in the picture, but it no longer looks like this. I'm reminded of another blog post I still need to do. Painting linoleum is a great way to update without a lot of commitment or expense. 

I can't believe how different it looks with recessed lighting

I ordered special lights to go in the Pendants.  They have silver tips on them.  Regular lights were a little to bright and I wanted a little more pizazz. 

I love the backsplash on this and the marble countertop.
Well it looks like marble. It's just paint and epoxy.
I also added chair rail and painted all the walls grey.

Taking down the light structure and installing recessed  and pendant lighting turned out to be the hardest project I have ever done DIY.  I had to get my kids and husband to help with the heavy lifting.  If I had it to do over again I would probably hire that part done.  Drilling holes in the ceiling and in the joists so I could run wire was a huge challenge.  But, now I know how to do it.  Thank you youtube, and my brother Daniel who facetimed me to make sure I didn't electrocute myself. 

Stay tuned for my next project.