A Vintage Farmhouse Makeover Made These ’80s Kitchen Cabinets Unrecognizable
When Danielle Herrett and her husband moved into their home in Ohio almost 11 years ago, they didn’t have a lot of room left over in the budget to make renovations. But the kitchen was one room they knew they wanted to change immediately — so they got crafty.
“It was your typical 1980s suburban-style kitchen. It was small in scale compared to the rest of the home, with orange-stained oak cabinets and overhead soffits that made it feel even smaller,” Herrett says of the original kitchen. “We wanted to open up the room to gain more usable space and help it feel like a focal point in our home.”
They Transformed the Kitchen in Stages to Help with Their Limited Budget
The limited budget wouldn’t stop the couple from updating the home, so they set out to transform the room in stages, which helped to save money. Even though Herrett admits that her design style is constantly changing, this space was inspired by “older homes and farmhouses that have rustic, lived-in charm.”
The First Step Was to Make All the Walls Align and Expand the Kitchen Space
The first order of business was to remove the overhead soffits — the jutting architectural features surrounding the space — and bring the walls in to align with the cabinets. “We debated how we wanted to do this because I didn’t want there to be a space above the cabinets,” Herrett explains. “We decided to install ‘shiplap’ — our version is rustic tongue and groove paneling — to our kitchen ceiling and to bring it down to the cabinet to give the appearance of taller kitchen cabinets without having to replace them.”
A few years later (and after installing new appliances!), it was time to begin the “real renovation process,” as Herrett calls it. To start, they removed the wall between their laundry and mudroom (which they moved to another part of the house) to create more space for their kitchen.
Next, they changed the cabinet layout and painted them in Sherwin-Williams’ “Alabaster,” then replaced the existing peninsula with an antique map chest that serves as their new kitchen island. “It has extremely long drawers that pull out, which are perfect for storing all the kitchen things,” Herrett shares.
Their Eclectic Furniture Added Charm, but So Did the Faux Wood Beams
New quartz countertops complemented the white cabinetry and trim, which was painted in Benjamin Moore’s “Edgecomb Gray.” More of the couple’s signature “shiplap” was added to the walls, and the existing tiles were painted white to blend in with the room’s palette. A new farmhouse-style sink and kitchen window replaced the previous ones, and the room was mostly complete.
Part of the charm in their kitchen comes from their furniture — it seems every piece has a story. Take the coffee bar, for instance. It was created from a barn door! A primitive cabinet — taken from a condemned house — has also been used as a pantry for years.
The coziness stems from the beams that the couple installed on their ceiling. You might be surprised to learn that they’re not actually wood! “They are Fypon beams — faux, very light, made of polyurethane material,” Herrett says. “They come pre-made — you can pick the style — ours is hand-hewn, and we stained them ourselves. Then, we just attached them to wood blocks secured into our ceiling. The stain was a combination of the Minwax colors Walnut and Golden Oak.”
Now the “Cookie-Cutter-Style Home” Feels Lived-In and Charming
Because they completed the renovation in stages, it’s tricky for Herrett to remember how much the entire transformation cost. However, she thinks it’s somewhere around $10,000 total. The kitchen renovation is a product of hard work, craftsmanship, and craftiness.
“I love that it feels old, charming, and lived-in — even though it isn’t that old,” Herrett says. “It’s a dream of ours to live in and fix up an actual old home, but in the meantime, we have found that you can still live in and enjoy a ‘newer’ cookie-cutter-style home by taking the time to find ways to make it feel more your own style.”
This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: ’80s Oak Kitchen Cabinets Are Totally Unrecognizable After This Rustic Farmhouse Makeover
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