We bought this house in October 2014. We went from a 2500+ square foot home to just about 1200 square feet. There are many reasons why we downsized, but it mostly boils down to cost and function. I knew we could live better in a smaller home; an older home, one we could renovate to reflect us. Our lifestyle. I can't exactly nail down what that style is. But I will say I am influenced by our vacations (think cottage-y beach) with a modern, worldly (travelled) twist. So whattayawanna say about that? I'm eclectic, definitely. I took a stab at an estimate for our kitchen renovation budget. I didn't want to spend more than $3000. I figured we could get a nice kitchen for that price. One third of that cost went to the dishwasher so we really updated our kitchen for $2000.
My favourite item in the new kitchen (and most used) is our Ikea Domsjo sink. Ikea is having a hard time with their kitchen distribution and I had no idea of this. So of course we went ahead and ordered the beautiful butcher block solid wood countertops before we got the sink. I will never do that again! Thank God we sourced the sink on Kijiji for a fraction of the cost. Had we not been able to get the sink, we would have had to order a larger piece of countertop since the sink reaches all the way to the back dividing the counters in two. In the future I will have all items on hand that need to be installed within that month!
Greg and I both worked on this kitchen. No professional help needed (except my lovely cousin and father did help with that extremely heavy sink!) I did much of the painting, designing, shopping, cleaning, organizing and fetching.
Because the cabinets were a medium toned wood, we sanded them down, primed and painted 2 coats of Benjamin Moore's furniture paint in Cloud White. I painted the insides of the cabinets as well. I wanted everything to feel new and fresh.
The biggest splurge of this kitchen was the dishwasher. We already had decent appliances so we decided to get a good dishwasher. You know, the one with the third drawer at the top for bigger utensils? It also had to be extremely quiet since our kitchen is close to the bedrooms.
I absolutely love how Ikea's new carpet pulls the whole look together. It also breaks up the tile which we left intact. I'll probably switch it up in the winter for something soft and warm underfoot.
There is a little more to do. I am totally settling with our colourful little eat in kitchen set-up until we cut out and create a half wall behind it, leading to the dining room. This will open the space right up and provide even more seating with 3 bar height chairs on the other side! Greg says not until fall, so that's totally fine with me;) I'd like to incorporate built in benches with a round table to anchor the space within the kitchen. That's another project for another day.
Before...
And after...
All prices include tax, all prices rounded +/-
Budget $3000 (did I think this is where we'd come at? Not convincingly!)
LG Dishwasher / Home Depot / $1149
Carpet, garbage, accessories, oil for counters / Ikea / $115
Hood & kitchen light / Patrick Morin / $287 + $40
Placemats, counter accessories / HomeSense / $50
Marble backsplash (3"X6") from Turkey / La Tuilerie / $122
Backsplash tools etc. / La Tuilerie / $19
Kitchen paint & primer / Benjamin Moore (Cabinets Cloud White + Walls Balboa Mist) $160
Double Farmhouse sink / Ikea but bought on Kijiji with large colander! / (saved $255!!!) $165
Moen Faucet / Rona / $293 (15 % off weekend sale)
Real solid wood 1&3/4" countertops / Bolduc et Gregoire / $401
Kitchen pendant light / Revive Decor / $35
Black Walnut 8'-0" shelf (last minute splurge) / Bois MDM / $230
All other not fun things needed for renovation (screws, wood, glue, etc) $83
Kitchen cupboard handles / Richelieu / Free
Cupboard door hinges / Home Depot / $50
Total Spent: $3199
*I am going go ahead and blame that last minute decision to buy the shelves that brought us over budget by $199, but they are ridiculously gorgeous and deserve a post for themselves, coming shortly!
What do you think of the transformation? I'd love to know what you would change in your kitchen :)
XOXO
