Before & After: Lilly’s Laminate to Butcher Block Kitchen Counter Upgrade
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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
From Lilly:
When we were shopping for our home and walked through what is now our kitchen, I was really taken aback by the dark and cheap looking laminate counters and back splash. However, I thought the ceramic tile floors and off-white cabinets could be a great base for an update. Knowing that those components can be the most time consuming and expensive parts of a kitchen remodel, I felt like we were already over halfway to getting a look that would work for us, and waited for inspiration to hit for the rest.
I grew up in Western Kentucky and also lived in Lubbock, Texas, so I am used to a country aesthetic in my kitchen space. Our house has a mostly mid-century feel, so I tried to go for accents that were a balance of the two looks. Our kitchen counters are the Numerar oak counters from IKEA and were surprisingly easy to install ourselves. We used an eco-friendly mineral oil sealant, Velvit Oil, as the stain and topcoat, and it’s held up extremely well. The sink is also from Ikea and the faucet was purchased off of Amazon, which was great because I could read the reviews and it arrived at my doorstep for free two days later for free thanks to my Amazon Prime account.
I purchased the tile off of Overstock.com, and it was another great experience as far as arriving at my house for free. We had the tile professionally installed since it is such a focal point for the room, and there was such a small square footage of space that it only took the team a few hours and was relatively inexpensive.
With new countertops, sealant, tile and installation and a new, eco-friendly dishwasher and disposals, the total costs for the project were around $2,500. We love how bright and full of character the new kitchen is and love spending time making meals here as a family!
Check out more details and photos over on Lilly’s blog, Pancakes & Beet Juice.
Thanks, Lilly!
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(Images: 1. Lilly Neubauer; 2. Alexandra Minton Photography)