the Creative Orchard: Modern Kitchen Renovation

Guess what? This is the second time that I have been a Guest Participant in the One Room Challenge and this will be my biggest home project yet! For the next 6 weeks I am going to RENOVATE my outdated KITCHEN and share the entire design process!

To learn more information about the ORC, to register as a Guest Participant, or to check out the other participants/designers room transformations, visit oneroomchallenge.com . You can also follow the ORC on Instagram @oneroomchallenge #oneroomchallenge #bhgorc.

We have lived in our home for exactly 13 years this month. At the time, this was the best option on the market and met our families needs. But no house is perfect and since the day we purchased it, I have desperately wanted to paint the kitchen cabinets. My husband, Charles, on the other hand thought the tan walls, khaki counters, cinnamon maple cabinets and orange oak floors all looked “fine” together. Ummm.... not so much. So over a decade later he finally gave in. I guess my wife negotiating skills aren’t that good. Lol. Despite all of that, I finally get the KITCHEN makeover I’ve been dreaming about for years! Yay!!!

Since we first moved in, the only updates I have made is painting the walls twice and swapping out different bar stools. Here is the “BEFORE” picture of the kitchen. It's basically a boring beige nightmare!

Although I have been thinking about this renovation for a really long time, until recently I didn’t think about how many BIG decisions we were going to have to make...

How much money to spend?
How can we save some money?
What can stay?
What absolutely has to go?
Which projects can we do ourselves?
Which projects must we hire professionals?
How many weeks will it take?
How will our family live in this chaos?

Here are the basic answers to all those questions...

Budget: $10,000
Timeline: 6 - 8 weeks

In order to save money, some items will stay but get mini makeovers, I will be taking advantage of any sales going on, look into competitor price matching and also mail-in rebates if possible. Although the One Room Challenge is only for 6 weeks, the last couple weeks have been spent picking out finishes, getting advice from professionals and ordering the items that take a long time to get delivered or need to be scheduled for installation ahead of time. That way I can stay on schedule. Below are samples of the finishes we chose from Home Depot. The color scheme will mostly be blue, white, black, gray and chrome silver.

The cabinets are going to get a painted facelift, wood floors will get touched up for now, wall color will stay the same because it was recently painted and I still like the hardware so we will be reusing the existing knobs. The laminate countertops will be replaced with a stone product. We currently don't have a backsplash so that will be a nice addition instead of painted drywall that doesn't clean very easily. The appliances are outdated and I don't like the look of silver stainless steel anymore so those will all be switched out to new matte black ones. The current faucet leaks water and the sink was just a cheap builder grade one so those will both get replaced. The island is a little small so I'm going to expand it's size by placing a counter height table in front of it for casual dining. Recently we purchased new stools, so I decided to order two more for additional seating. Also my kitchen is small so it needs to be way more organized, decluttered and I need to figure out better storage solutions.

PROJECT PLANS:

DIY Projects:

Paint Cabinets
Repair Wood Floors
Install Tile Backsplash
Assemble Stools
Wall Already Painted
Install Microwave, Sink and Faucet
Repair Ceiling Damage
Assemble Kitchen Table
Put Hardware Back On
Decorate

PRO Projects:

Install Countertops
Install Stove, Fridge and Dishwasher

DESIGN PLAN:

I spent months researching KITCHEN DESIGN inspiration online and inside magazines. To be honest, I started with a completely different vision in the beginning but since I’m married, there is another opinion to consider so unfortunately some compromises had to be made. But in the end, we made decisions that will make both of us happy and I know it’s going to look beautiful and be much more functional for our family.

I put together a DESIGN BOARD so you can get an idea of our vision for the space. Keep in mind that this is just INSPIRATION and some details may have to slightly change throughout the process.

DESIGN BOARD PRODUCT SOURCES:
Target - Cactus Jar, Cactus Shakers, Faux Cactus, Stool, Carpet Runner
World Market - Counter Height Table
Home Depot - Counters, Backsplash Tile, Sink, Faucet, Appliances, Paint
Kohl’s - Textiles

KITCHEN INSPIRATION: