It’s the happiest Monday of all because today I finally get to share our completed kitchen makeover. Eek!!!! You guys, I can’t even believe this day has arrived. I’m feeling so many different emotions as I sit down to right this post, but mostly I’m just so excited and grateful to have this project complete. And if I’m being honest, I never really thought this day would come. I mean, even though I hated our kitchen with the awful tile countertops and multi-colored backsplash, I never imagined that we’d actually go through the process of updating it. But little by little we made it happen and I’m so darn excited to share it with you all today. We have new quartz countertops, new backlash, and a farmhouse sink. Our little kitchen doesn’t even look like the same place anymore! I have a gazillion photos to share, so grab a snack and let’s get into it. First here is a little reminder of what the kitchen looked like before:
Can you even believe this is the same kitchen?! Every time I walk in here I am in disbelief that this is my kitchen. The transformation is pretty remarkable. I mentioned a few times that we were unsure on what to do with our countertops. I was strongly leaning towards butcherblock, but ultimately I decided that quartz would be a better option for us. It’s just so durable and low maintenance. Plus I wanted it to be white in order to open this space up and make our small kitchen feel bigger. It’s exactly what I envisioned and I’m soooooooo thrilled with how it all came together.
If you’ve been following along with our renovation progress you probably saw my post about installing our farmhouse sink. (You can check it out here if you missed it.) The faucet and sink is from Sinkology and it was actually pretty simple to install, but the tricky part was making the cabinets around the sink work. My husband was a genius and figured out a way to take apart the lower cabinets and cut them down so we could still use them in this spot. He did an amazing job on this sink and I love it even more than I thought I would.
One of the things I really wanted to do was get rid of our multi-colored tile backsplash. I didn’t love it and the colors were way too bright for the look I wanted to create. We talked about several ways to replace it–but I really wanted to do something that would be affordable and DIY-friendly. Believe it or not, we actually ended up putting the beadboard directly over the tile and it worked amazingly well. I LOVE it. I’m so happy we decided to go that route because it brought a lot of texture and warmth to this space, which works really well with the sleek quartz countertops. I’m going to share a full tutorial on that soon, so stay tuned!
Now to the other side of the kitchen, here’s a before photo of how it looked when we got started back in February:
And how it looks now:
Check out this post to see how we created the passthrough. That was a doozy of a project and took us several months to complete, but it was totally worth it. Definitely one of the best things we could have done in our kitchen.
Living in a fixer upper and slowly updating it over time is an interesting process. I mean, you see in your mind how you want your home to look and then it’s an uphill battle to make it happen. Financially, physically, and even emotionally. I know that probably sounds a bit dramatic, but it’s true. There’s a lot that goes into it, especially when you’re doing it slowly and DIY-ing a lot of things as you go. It’s a process that can get really discouraging at times and it requires a lot of patience and energy. But it’s always worth it in the end and it’s almost like the struggle makes it even sweeter, if that makes any sense. And looking at our little kitchen now, I can’t help but feel emotional about how far we’ve come in our fixer upper. It’s been a heck of a journey and I’m just so grateful to see my vision for our home come to life. Our kitchen may be small, but it has such a cozy, cottage feel now and it fits us perfectly. I am so happy with how it all came together.
Thank you all for following along on our journey over these last two years. I’m so blessed to have this place to share my ideas for our home and all our renovations. You guys are awesome and your support truly means so much! xoxo
KITCHEN SOURCES:
Cabinets are painted in Hush by Benjamin Moore
Quartz countertops are in Arctic White
Sarah, it all looks amazing, what a beautiful transformation!!! What a difference! I am enjoying your post extra early today as we had an unexpected school closing here in Vermont, due to high winds and power outages. I was up early, trying to get my hair to look voluminous after seeing your post. Midway through the blowout my hubby told me we didn’t have school so I never finished and will have to try again!!
Haha well try it again another day! Meanwhile enjoy your day at home! And thanks so much for dropping by, I appreciate it 🙂
I looks amazing!
Beautiful! Love technology counterinsurgency and the bead board looks amazing!
Lord, dumb phone. Love the countertop!
Thank you so much Annette!!
Beadboard is what I want to do in our kitchen. I have crappy fake brick. When we moved in it was red with black grout( gross)!!!!!! I have painted it a muted gray with off white grout. I wonder if we could put beadboard over that?! I love your kitchen!!!!!
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work over brick too?! I’ll be sharing the tutorial soon!
Love it! We put beadboard in our kitchen too – it really does warm the space up and just looks so classically farmhouse! We’re fixing up our little house too, DIYing each step. Takes time but it’s so rewarding. Good job on your kitchen! It’s beautiful!
It really does warm any space up. And so affordable!! Thanks so much Cecilia!
Sarah!!! It looks amazing! I am thrilled for you!! Love reading your blog and following you on Instagram!! You’re such an inspiration to me! Thank you!!
Oh thank you so much Michelle, I am so happy to have you following along!!
Looks great!! Great job, Sarah!!
Thank you Jen!
Yay!!!!!!! You have convinced me to pull the trigger on the beadboard!!!! It looks AWESOME! Cannot wait to see the tutorial!!!!!! WELL done, darling!!!!
Yay!!! Thank you Lisa! You will LOVE the beadboard. I’ll be sharing that tutorial soon 🙂
This is amazing! Great job you guys!!!
Thank you Anna!!
Your kitchen is gorgeous! We did a reno a couple of years back — super stressful, but so worth it in the end!
Do you mind if I ask where you got your rug? I definitely need a new one.
Have a blessed day!
Thanks so much Angie! And the runner is from Target!
It’s so cute! I’m excited for you! We have gone from pulling down our old backsplash and ripping up our old counters to completely demoing the walls where the backsplash was because the tile just wasn’t coming up right. The counters were actually like four different layers of nonsense! Now we’re struggling with trying to cut down our lower cabinets under our sink to make room for the undermounted farmhouse sink I just received. I have no idea what your husband did but he did a great job making it look like it was always supposed to be that way. If you have any pointers on that, feel free to shoot them my way!!!! Thanks for sharing!
I’ll definitely be sharing a tutorial for that soon!! Stay tuned! 🙂
Wow, it looks amazing, may you have many happy years in your kitchen cooking and enjoying family and friends.
Oh I can’t wait, thank you Beth!!
Love your kitchen! Did you do away with your microwave?
Marilyn
Yep, we never used it!
I love it!! I can’t believe how different it looks. Good choices!
So diffrent, right?! I can’t believe it either. Thank you sweet Nikki!
Looks great! Where is your dining table and chairs from?
That set from Pier 1! You can find it here: https://rstyle.me/n/cssg8yb6hgf
What a change again. You and your husband have worked hard. Yes, it’s always worth it in the end. Thanks for sharing with us.
It is always worth it in the end! Thanks for dropping by today Barb!
Oh Sarah- your kitchen is absolutely beautiful!!! The beadboard looks amazing and I love the way you extended it to the ceiling on the refrigerator side. A cozy, charming kitchen for sure!
Thanks so much Deedra!
I can see why you are so proud of your beautiful kitchen! You and your husband are so creative and it looks beautiful. I really enjoy your blog every day and have gotten so many ideas from you.
Aw thank you so much Cathy, I really appreciate that!
You and your hubby did a fabulous job on your little farmhouse kitchen, Sarah! Loving that beadboard and to think it covered those tiles perfectly. The new countertops really brighten up everything and makes it look so bright in there…bet you just go in there and take everything in, don’t you? : ) Must be fun to prepare your meals now. Love the cute little breadbox too! Did you build the island? Can always use extra space when putting together meals! Love the passthrough, it sure opened things up too. Everything feels right!
Oh definitely! It’s a total game changer when it comes to cooking, which I’m not the biggest fan of doing! 🙂 And that island is actually something we had built when we were living at our first home about 9 years ago. I love it, but I plan to add some shelves to it soon. Thanks so much for dropping by Rhonda!
Beautiful! Just in time for the holidays. So jealous of that sink too. Everything is gorgeous!
Yes indeed! I am so thankful to have this done before the holidays.
Beautiful job! Love the beadboard, it looks so warm and cozy. Cherish your husband, he is so creative and handy. My husband can’t hammer a nail, lol but I love him to death anyway. Enjoy your beautiful kitchen. Xx
Wow, this looks so amazing!! I love the way the headboard turned out. I went to IKEA for the first time this weekend and was drooling over the kitchen section! Thanks for giving me inspiration for my kitchen one day 🙂
Thanks so much Alyssa!!
Looks great! Love the sink & beadboard idea! Kim
Love your kitchen! It looks beautiful!
I absolutely love your space!! Great job- it is fabulous!! Thank you for the inspiration. 🙂
Thank you so much Jacy!
It looks amazing!!! Love it all so much and I am thinking that I want to do this in my kitchen as my tile is getting outdated after 11 almost 12 years in my house. Looking forward to watching the tutorial on how you did it.
Thank you so much Brenda, I’m still amazed at how well the beadboard worked. The tutorial will be soon!!
I really love the result. It made a kitchen that had a really 90s look (and not bad looking at all) into a classic kitchen that will stand the test of time. It looks amazing!
Thanks you so much Lelanie, I really appreciate that. And you’re so right, the kitchen had a very 90’s look to it. I can’t tell you how glad I am to have that backsplash gone!!
Wow Sarah that looks amazing! I love those white counter tops and your bead board is a perfect partner! Brilliant!x
Thanks so much Helen! xo
Wow I’m blown away at how this turned out. I came across your Instagram several months back and have followed along as you’ve done the renovation and it seriously looks like a completely different kitchen. Using headboard for the backsplash is just pure genius. I would have never thought of doing something like that! It turned out amazing and has given me some inspiration to finish some DIY projects of my own!
Aw thank you Tayja. I really appreciate that and I am so happy to have you following along!
Love the transformation, it looks gorgeous! I have been thinking about using bead board for our backsplash and this post definitely makes me want to even more. Now I just need to decide what to do with our ugly honeyoak colored cabinets.
Your posts are very inspiring, thank you.
Thank you so much Laura! I am so happy with how it turned out.
Absolutely beautiful! What a transformation!
Thank you Jenny!!
I love the transformation. You and your husband did an amazing job. The farmhouse sink is my dream sink. I can’t wait to one day remodel our outdated kitchen. Until then I will gladly admire yours!
Thank you so much Kimberly, I really appreciate that!
Hey Sarah, your kitchen does look fabulous.. love the sink. Trying to talk Uncle Skip into one. 😉We will see, I might win that battle ha ha! Love the bead board “back splash”. It ties into the rest of the house. Thanks for sharing your project. Hugs to you
haha well I hope you win that battle! You would LOVE it!
I love small spaces! They’re just so cozy. And I love making them functional!
Your kitchen is amazing! I love how it turned out! I’m sure to be using your spaces as inspiration for our fixer! Especially that bead-board backsplash! It’s just beautiful!
I completely agree April! There’s just something so charming and cozy about small rooms. It fits us perfectly! 🙂
I love it, send the tutorials soon, my kitchen need a SOS!! Yours turned out lovely!
It’s coming soon!!
Looks so refreshing!! Love your updates.
Oh Sarah! It looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!! Your before kitchen was still a nice kitchen, but the changes you made to it, made it look like a completely different room and it’s just so beautiful! I LOVE EVERYTHING about it! You have the BEST ideas for style & decor! I see other people’s pictures of their homes and I think “oh, I like that” or “Oh, that’s so cool” but there is always something that I don’t like and think to myself “I wouldn’t have done that”…I have NEVER, NOT ONCE ever looked at any of your pictures of what you have done to or in your house and thought that! I love absolutely everything about your home and the vision you have brought to life in it! I’ve told you this before…If I could have my choice of any home, I would pick yours & exactly like you have it because it is just everything I want! Thanks for sharing it with us 😊
Wow, Sherri! You just brought the biggest smile to my face and I am blown away by your comment. I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate your sweet words!! Thank you SO much for all your support, it means a lot to me!
Your kitchen looks great , love the sink. We remodeled ours about 3 years ago, it is a process, but so worth it. Love you blog, great ideas on projects I want to do. Congrats on your new kitchen hope you and your family make lots of memories there. 🙂
Thank you so much Robin, I can’t wait to make lots of memories in our new kitchen!
I love, love, love every bit of your new kitchen. You really have such great style, and even more, patience! It is SO hard, I’ve been through it. We knocked down walls to enlarge our kitchen and had custom cabinets made. I was actually cooking everything in the microwave and washing dishes in the bathroom sink! So happy for you!
jane
Wow, you’ve definitely been through it too! Washing dishes in the bathroom sink is the worst. We had to do that during a lengthy kitchen reno project when I was a kit and I’ll never forget it. We actually had to wash the dishes in the tub! But it was all worth it. Thanks for your sweet comment Jane!
Somehow I missed this post. Great job!!! I love it!!!
Thank you Meg!!
Love your kitchen. I was wondering where you got your bread keeper? I love the pass through, but was wondering do you have a vent over your stove? Thanks
Hi Debbie! We didn’t put a vent over the stove. We talked to several people that said we didn’t need one and there haven’t been any issues with it. And the bread box is available here: https://rstyle.me/n/cpbaskb6hgf
Amazing…amazing….amazing! Love how it turned out. Are you going to talk more about that incredible island more later?!
That island is actually something we had made when we lived in our first home about 8 years ago. I plan on adding some shelves to it soon so I can get some extra storage out of it!
Hi!
What brand of kitchen counter top did you buy? You mentioned the color artic white but not the brand or did I just missed it while reading about it?
It came out great!! I am happy for you that you finally did it and it was all and more of what you envisioned!
Oh my gosh! Sarah, it looks amazing! I just love it!!!! I bet it makes cooking so much more enjoyable now. That can make or break an attitude when you love the space you’re in.
Beautiful ,I loved every bit of it. You And hubby did a great job. Loved the sink and the bead board back splash. We moved out of our home of 35 yrs and moved into a small, old house. ..so I understand the struggles of renovation. But your end results are fantastic. Best wishes.
Aw thank you so much Judy, I am so happy with how it turned out. xoxo
Beautiful kitchen!! I love the color of your cabinets. Were they painted? If so could you share the color? Thank you.
Hi Debbie! The color is called Hush by Benjamin Moore.
Hi Sarah,
I’m dying to know how your kitchen sink is holding up. Is it durable? I’m loving the look, but I’m nervous to pull the trigger on it with three crazy boys who will throw every dish in there at full speed!
Beautiful remodel! Where did you buy your countertops?
from a local store in Denver!
What paint color are these cabinets?!
I love your kitchen renovation. I am moving into a new home and it has a U shape kitchen. It will be my first one like this. It needs some renovations as the flow is off. My question for you is… is your kitchen a U shape or more of the ally style? Also wondering if you could send me some more photos of the bigger picture. I wanna see how you incorporated your fridge space too.
Thank you! I love following your blog.
Hi Sarah. Was wondering if you thought the rustoleum chalk paint would work on kitchen cabinets with that minwax sealer like you did in your bathroom vanities?
Hi Sarah! I know this is an older post, but still a gorgeous kitchen! What manufacturer/brand of quartz is that?