The Big Kitchen Reveal!
Ok, y’all–today is the day! After two and a half months of weekend projects and paint in my hair and finding sawdust in corners I cleaned three times already, we’re finally here! Our appliances were delivered last week, and while I still have a few tiny projects left, I can’t wait any longer for the big kitchen reveal!
Where We Started
Just to remind you all, in mid-January my kitchen looked like this:
Light pink cabinets, boring cabinet hardware, no backsplash, standard faucet and reverse osmosis water filter, no storage for our pots, no command center, mismatched and old appliances, ugly light, and let’s not forget the hole in our ceiling.
Drumroll Please! The Kitchen Reveal is Here!
And, here we are now!
Beautiful white cabinets with dark bronze hardware:
New farmhouse faucet and no reverse osmosis filter:
Floor to ceiling pot racks for storage:
Extra spice racks and a knife rack for even more storage:
New family command center to stay organized:
Cleaned and painted kitchen shelves for storage:
Under the Cabinet Kitchen Lighting:
And, no hole in our ceiling:
What do y’all think?! I’m absolutely in love with everything about it. Besides the granite and the floor, every bit of this kitchen was updated or replaced in the last two months. It now feels more modern for Steve, but still traditional styling for me. It’s definitely much more functional, providing more storage than we could have imagined without adding any cabinets or square footage to the space. And, it feels brighter and most importantly, more like us.
You Can Do This Too!
If your kitchen needs an update, you may feel overwhelmed about everything that needs to be done, not have the time or money to get it done, or not feel confident that you can complete some (or any) of the projects.
Let me tell you: I felt the exact same way. Between working full time and a new diagnosis of POTS and not having ever completed any major projects around the house, I didn’t think I could do most of what I did before I started.
That’s why I started with one thing I knew I could do: the kitchen cabinets. I knew how to paint, and I figured I could sand after watching a YouTube video on how to use my orbital sander (that I bought and never used). I knew it would probably take a couple of weeks to get done, and I could break it down to hour-long pieces in the afternoons after work or on the weekends.
Once I finished the kitchen cabinets, I did a few little projects that I knew I could do (like the pot racks and spice racks–just needed to know how to hang something with drywall anchors and a level) before tackling the next scary (and time consuming) thing–the backsplash. Doing those small projects in between let me invest in the kitchen as I had time, and then see big results in our every day lives because of them. That motivated me to keep going and tackle all the projects I had dreamed of completing in the kitchen.
And so, slowly but surely, the whole kitchen was complete!
Asking for Help is Okay!
If you start doing something and you get stuck, don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you read my reverse osmosis filter removal or kitchen faucet posts, you’ll know I got most of the way into removing my reverse osmosis filter one Saturday morning, and I got stuck. I had to call my handyman to come finish the project. While at first I was disappointed I couldn’t finish it myself, after he came and finished it for $120 and an hour of work, all I cared about was it was done and done right!
This was a big lesson for me to learn in this project because I was raised in a family that you do everything for yourself to save money (and because you can) unless it’s major plumbing or electrical work. My husband, on the other hand, would have preferred to hire someone for the whole project. I think we both met in the middle here, with me realizing sometimes it’s better for our mental health (and the project) to hire someone to help, and Steve realizing there’s a lot we can do ourselves with proper preparation.
I hope you’ve learned a little on this kitchen journey with me and gained a little inspiration to tackle something around your home that you’ve been afraid to. I’ve truly appreciated all the love and feedback I’ve received from all of you, and I’m excited to keep getting to know you all!
What’s Next, Now that the Kitchen Reveal is Over?
And, I’ve had a few people ask if I’m going to stop the blog now that I’m done with the kitchen after the kitchen reveal. The answer is a big fat NO! I’ve loved sharing how to complete projects with you all (and the inspiration I’ve gotten to complete a project from knowing I need to write a post this week). In the upcoming weeks and months, I plan on sharing projects from our garden, bathroom, home gym, general home maintenance, and others. If you have any topics you’d like to hear about, let me know in the comments below! If it’s something I’ve done or plan on doing around my house, I’ll post about it!
~Lauren
