Before and After: A Two Weekend, $600 Kitchen Facelift
This low-key kitchen refresh should serve as an inspiration to those of us who have these exact same cabinets and don’t know what to do with them other than replace them (super pricey) or paint them (it can be hard to get oneself to paint hardwood). All hope of improving our kitchens is not lost! As for that fan, however…
Here’s a full look at the kitchen before; Emily of The Sweet Beast went into this project with a smart perspective:
Because we do want to redo the whole thing SOMEDAY, we didn’t want to put too much time/effort/money/sweat into it to turn around and tear it all out in a year or two. I also didn’t want to make it SO livable that we would put off a remodel indefinitely.
The budget set was a hard $700, with the project eventually coming in at just under $600. The largest tasks at hand were removing the fan, painting the walls, and removing the wallpaper border. What wallpaper border, you ask?
THIS WALLPAPER BORDER. I went back and added this photo because you absolutely had to see it. Are ceiling borders a thing? Let’s cleanse our palates with a refreshing photo of the kitchen today:
Replacing that tropical cabana fan with an elegant ceiling light made all the difference in the world, and the charcoal paint in the next room—more on that below—is a much better complement to the wood than the green was. (The paint is Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron.) Meanwhile, that beautiful rug really ties the rooms together. The Sweet Beast has achieved the impossible, with the new accessories and fresh paint distracting the eye from the twee cabinetry.
This closeup reveals what a big difference a bit of styling can make. The plants add light and a pop of color against the white and grey, while the featured accessories add style without being overwhelming or fussy. Sticking to a predominantly black, white, and mixed-metals palette was wise.
This little nook is a really cool space, but it could use a little love.
Thanks to just a dramatic coat of paint, a bit of organization, an appropriate work of art, and that elegant chair rail, this nook is now a place of beauty as well as caffeinated practicality.
Be sure to check out all of the resources and details as well as more photos over at The Sweet Beast.
Thank you, The Sweet Beast!