Complete Kitchen Renovation

When my husband and I were deciding on the house that we now live in, we knew that we would need to completely renovate the kitchen.  It's a small kitchen, but that wasn't even a problem for us.  It was very outdated, the appliances didn't work very well, and the layout wasn't very functional.  We took the room down to the studs.  This was a lot of work, but it was well worth the expense and wait.  By doing this, we were able to rearrange the appliances, add new switches and plugs, and expand the doorways.

Here are all of the before pictures...

And now for the after pictures...

When we began to put the room back together, the first thing that we had to decide on was our cabinets and layout.  I chose to go with cabinets from Ikea because they have an enormous amount of selection between style and color.  With our kitchen being smaller, I knew I would have to choose my cabinets wisely.  We had to put them together ourselves, but it really wasn't bad.  I also chose to get our butcher block countertop from Ikea as well.  Our appliances are Frigidaire Gallery from Lowes.  There's nothing like new appliances.  I still have to add my backsplash.  Once I do, I will be sure to share the pictures with you.

I don't like to overcrowd a window with decorations, because after all you want to be able to open and close it.  However, I do like to dress it up like everything else.  When putting the trim around the window, I added a ledge to the bottom so that I would have a place to set my little decorations.

I saw this in a magazine before and really liked it.  Not knowing if they purchased the letters finished or unfinished, I knew I had to create them myself.  I bought the letters from Joann Fabrics and spray painted them white to match the cabinets.  I chose a simple font, but they have others as well.  With the letters being leaned against the wall they can be removed at any time.  I also like to decorate in ways that are not very typical.  I didn't want to have a typical paper towel holder.  Instead, I took this wire basket (painted it black) and threw a couple of paper towel rolls in it.  

I always try to incorporate decorations that tie in either colors or feels of a room.  That is what I did with these containers here.  It brings the black and the white together into one piece which makes the connection between the two colors.

These shelves were a must to incorporate into my kitchen.  I love how on the top I can display different dishes  and the bottom I use for towels and baskets.  In the baskets I have chip clips, measuring spoons, etc.  Having these baskets lets me free up some space from my drawers which is always needed.

Keeping with not liking typical uses of items, I found this white strainer at HomeGoods one day and thought it would be really cute to sit on the counter and put different fruits in.  It is not something that I keep out all the time, but it is a nice accent when I do have it out.

I hope you enjoy my complete kitchen renovation.  It took a lot of time, but it is so nice having everything just the way you want it.  If there is anything I missed and you have any questions for me, feel free to email me.  I would love to help you create your dream kitchen too!