Before and After: A No-Fuss, No-Nonsense $400 Kitchen Facelift
What do you do when some your kitchen is kind of dingy and depressing but also full of “that eclectic and funky 1970s charm?” You’re going to need $371, four weeks, and plenty of hard work.
Here’s a full look at the sink area, along with a description of what inspired this makeover:
The house was built in 1974—and it appeared the kitchen hadn’t been touched since then. The kitchen was dark and uninspiring, with muddy colors and dark finishes.
I wanted a space that made me happy—bright colors and unique touches. It’s my first home, so I wanted to put my touch on it. I truly believe your environment has an impact on your mood, so I knew if I had to cook everyday in that old dingy kitchen, I was going to be depressed!
Let’s see what the kitchen looks like now . . .
I love the blue paint, the clean white upper cabinets (no more two-tone!), the new light, and what a difference removing the “gingerbread house” flourish made. Katherine Tlapa of My Eclectic Grace is behind this low-key, low-cost renovation, and the results are so well done. The kitchen has been majorly freshened and updated, but it has retained all its distinctiveness.
There wasn’t anything really wrong with this kitchen pre-spruce, but I will say this: that’s a lot of taupe. Since Katherine didn’t replace the floor, it was smart to eliminate all the taupe paint. Here’s now everything came together:
My boyfriend and I started work on this kitchen the day we got keys to the house. It took a total of four weeks from start to finish and the total cost was $371. We had no help other than each other: I designed everything and did the simpler work, like tile and painting, and he did the labor, like installing new lighting and doors. The only setback was we accidentally painted some cabinets the wrong colors—I was too eager to get started and numbered them wrong! I was mad then, but we joke about it now!
That rug is pretty great, and it also does a good job of breaking up the large expanse of tiles. I can’t quite tell what colors it is, but I can tell it looks perfect with the blue. The new white cabinets help make the white appliances feel unified, while the classic KitchenAid adds to the vintage charm. Katherine likes how everything turned out too:
I love everything! It’s so bright and cheery. I love getting up in the morning to make coffee in a kitchen that I truly put my sweat and tears into. It’s clean and fun, but keeps that eclectic and funky 1970s charm. I didn’t want to totally take away from that. If I had to do anything differently, I would go a little slower with things. I got paint everywhere, and tiled a little too eagerly, so there was some messes to fix.
Here we can see the sweet little dining area, with yet another rug to cover some of the floor. This one appears to have the same hues as the other, in a very different configuration—smart! And while the shell chair was created in the 1950s, it really suits this 1970s room.
Katherine leaves us with this advice, which is really beautiful and inspiring:
My advice is do the work yourself, because you’ll appreciate it so much more in the end. I also say go for the style you love—even if other people tell you it’s not in style anymore. I decided what would make me happy—it’s my house after all!
Thank you, Katherine Tlapa and My Eclectic Grace!