Before & After: A Smart “Tide Me Over” Budget Kitchen Upgrade for My Mom
First of all, shout out to Tanya’s mom for choosing kitchen elements way back in the ’80s that wouldn’t look totally insane to our modern eyes. As smart as her choices were, time waits for no man and since the kitchen was showing its age, Tanya figured she would jump in and help her mom update her space.
From Tanya: My mom last renovated her kitchen in the 1980s and, although the finishes she chose (all white cabinetry, flooring, and counters) proved to be timeless, everything was just wearing out. The glue has discolored the flooring over the years, the laminate counters were chipped, and the melamine cabinetry had bubbled. The kitchen really needs a full renovation but that’s not in the cards right now. In the meantime, the shabby state of her kitchen was really upsetting her, so we rolled up our sleeves and gave the room a spit and polish, budget-friendly update that can tide her over.
We painted the walls a soft pink, painted the cabinetry pale grey to hide to bubbling, refinished the laminate counters, removed the lacquer from the 1980s brass knobs to reveal a pretty brushed finish, replaced broken baseboard and painted it out to match the walls, laid down a cheap peel and stick floor, and gave an old tulip table I found for $5 a fresh new look. I lent her a pair of mid-century modern teak dining chairs which we recovered for $5 in a pretty gold tweed and I also gave her a quirky vintage pink art print I had framed in a brushed gold frame. By working with what we had and shopping my basement, we created a kitchen that just glows on a tiny budget. Check out the link for more photos and angles that showcase many of the projects I chatted it about.
Thanks, Tanya!