Kitchen Renovation “One Room Challenge” (Week 2) The Design Plan

Only 1 week into the “One Room Challenge” and I’m feeling stressed. Did I really commit to doing a kitchen renovation in 6 weeks? Ummm…yea…I did, how did that happen? Five paint samples in, and close to choosing a color for one of the islands. I originally wanted to paint the larger island blue, but after several attempts with some samples, I realized it wasn’t going to happen. It just didn’t look right…not to mention my husband hated it. That’s fine, I wasn’t crazy about it either, it looked a lot better in my head than it did on the island.

If you’re joining for the first time, you can catch up on the Week 1 post HERE with before pictures. As I mentioned in the prior post, I have struggled with this space for a while now and faced many challenges. When we initially moved into the home, the kitchen was one of the first projects I wanted to tackle. We set aside a budget for the kitchen, and I started planning out the renovation. Doing a full gut of the cabinets and range hood was my first choice. But as new home owners we had so many other home projects to tackle that we weren’t prepared to spend that kind of money on new cabinets.

The next alternative was to reface the cabinets. This method involves keeping the cabinet structure intact, and replacing only the cabinet doors. This is a good alternative to total cabinet replacement if you are just looking to update the style and color of the doors. If you are looking to install new countertops or do any major structural changes, total cabinet replacement will allow more flexibility.

We contacted the cabinet refacing company with whom we had done business with in our prior home. We signed a contract with the company for all new doors, news panels on the island front and sides, and new hardware (70 doors total). They were also going to build the cabinets up to the ceiling. During the negotiation process, they suggested if we give a large cash deposit, they would in exchange lower the cost of the project. The idea of saving several thousand dollars sounded appealing, so I wrote them a check. OMG! One of the worst decisions I ever made!! I should have known better! The fuckers went bankrupt and we never got our project started or money returned. They admitted wrong doing and said they mismanaged money…but nonetheless, we are still out a shitload of cash!

Fast forward many months, and the kitchen is still in disarray. Our goal is to gut the cabinets and start over, but with the kitchen budget gone, that option is going to have to wait a few years. Onto option number 3, the most economical plan for the renovation,  painting the cabinets. I got an estimate for painting the cabinets…it’s not cheap if you want it done right. Considering we hope to gut them in a few years, I decided to paint the cabinets myself and put that money I saved on a painter towards furniture for the space.

Considering the size of the room, we need quite a few pieces. Over the past 6 months, I have moved new furniture in….and back out…new lighting up…and back down. The dining space can easily accommodate a table for 10 – 12 people, but finding the right table and chairs for the space has been difficult for me.

 I am determined to give full attention to this project and get it done in the 6 week timeframe of the challenge.

This week, I put together a design board to help me visualize the project as a whole.

I am designing the room around warm gray tones, with rustic elements.

Items on my to-do list for the renovation include the following

• Paint cabinets on island #2 dark gray
• Paint cabinets on wall and island #1 a creamy white
• Paint range hood creamy white
• Replace glass on cabinet doors with clear glass
• Replace all cabinet hardware
• Steam clean the travertine floors
• Replace the pendants hanging over island #1
• Replace the chandelier in dining area
• Decide on furniture for dining area and front of fireplace
• Replace bar stools
• Replace backsplash
• Install under cabinet and in cabinet lighting

As I mentioned, the blue island isn’t going to work out for us, so I am moving towards painting the large island a dark gray such as in the following inspiration photo by designer Talbot Cooley.

We also have elaborate corbels on our large island…(which I don’t really care for). I am hoping they will look better once painted the same color as the island. If you notice in my before picture, the corbels are a wood stained color, different than the island cabinets and it looks terrible!

This week, I will begin priming the large island for paining. I have also ordered all the new hardware for the cabinets and researched renting a large high pressured machine to steam clean the floors.

Check back next week on our progress. You can also subscribe to the blog to get updates delivered right to you, and follow along in Instagram HERE.

See you next week!