House Tour - Kitchen Renovation - COMPLETE

The sun is out and the hardware is on so even though we still have a few decorative touches to add to the kitchen, I won't make you wait any longer for the photo reveal.

See the before photos here.

Shockingly, this kitchen renovation was completed in just eight days spread over the course of three-ish weeks. The transformation is so much brighter and lighter and we are all really, really happy with the finished product. Overall, everything about the process was fairly smooth by comparison to our bathroom renovation drama and we are thrilled about that too!

We swapped the countertops for white quartz with a gray marbling. We had the cabinets professionally painted "Shaker White" and changed the hardware to be black matte to match the new faucet. We changed the floor and we also had the walls painted in the kitchen and in the dining room. We used the same paint color from the bathrooms called "Gray Cashmere" which is a really pretty neutral gray that doesn't actually look gray at all. You can tell from the photos that the lighting impacts the paint giving it different shades throughout the day. I'm not sure the photos really give it justice but it is a really clean, neutral, and calming color in person.

We got a "slim" over the stove microwave installed and a new dishwasher and sink. We upgraded the light fixtures in the kitchen and hall. We also swapped the chandelier in the dining room. Since we had painters on site, we decided to have them paint the ceilings throughout the entire first floor which took care of the water damage stains from our bathroom leak and the balcony leak. Some other minor things we took care of simultaneously included swapping all outlets in the kitchen for tamper proof, and we had two unsightly drywall bumps fixed on the first floor. The project ballooned in extent and budget from what we initially had in mind but in the end we took care of everything at once which is definitely the way to go if you don't want to feel like you're living in a permanent construction project.

Our favorite part of the project was extending the countertop on the fridge wall which essentially doubled the counter space we had. We also added an outlet so we can use this space for the crockpot and other moveable appliances that we pull out on occasion. This wall needs a shelf and some decor still and we plan on adding a couple of stools under the counter as well.

Mandy and I have really enjoyed collecting accessories and decor to add extra touches. And cleaning and cooking in the space is a novelty. It feels like a new toy! We are all really really happy with how everything turned out and how nice all the workers and painters were who were in and out of the house during the process. Tip your workers well, every day! It really seems to motivate and guarantee quality craftsmanship.

And just to keep it real, not everything went perfectly. Our flooring initially arrived completely destroyed by rodents in the warehouse. Our contractor bailed out on us several days last minute. And the microwave outlet situation which started this whole project wasn't even necessary after all! As for advice, the cabinet painting was the most invasive part of the project leaving us without any kitchen access for four days. But, it was 1,000% worth it in the end. The impact of painting the cabinets really elevated the whole upgrade. And finally, if you do a project like this, make sure to budget for eating out because we had to do a lot of that while all the work was being done. 

It will be awhile before we can do any other kind of major house project like this but I've always got dreams in my mind and stars in my eyes.