Reader Redesign: DIY Kitchen Do-over
It’s no surprise that we’re in the mood for a good kitchen makeover these days. Okay, who are we kidding, we’re always in the mood for one. But Erin & Zach’s do-it-yourself remodel of their 1950′s kitchen is especially familiar (and inspiring since we’re just at the beginning of our current kitchen’s transformation). Here’s their letter:
We wanted to share the redo of our 1951 kitchen (take note of the sweet before lamp and the heavy-duty ceiling beam disappearing act).
We were so lucky to peel up the old laminate floor and the plywood to find original (albeit quite damaged) wood floors that extended into the middle of the kitchen. We found matching red oak floor pieces and filled in the missing & damaged spots.
One of the cool things we did was to buy two pre-made cabinets from Home Depot to create the breakfast bar. We put them side-by-side and filled one of the openings with wood pieces to make it seamless.
We also re-used all the cabinets but updated the hardware. Painting that many cabinets and doors definitely took patience … and three coats of paint. The new blue color in kitchen is Behr Primer + Paint in Clear Pond, Eggshell.
Thanks so much for checking out our kitchen. We love it!! ~ Erin & Zach
We love it too, guys. Congrats on a job very well done! It’s a reminder of not only how much work is ahead of us, but also what a big payoff there can be at the end! Seriously, it doesn’t even look like the same room.
PS: We’ve announced the winners to this week’s giveaway. Click here to see if you’re one of them.
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Wow! Really love the wall color. Also the white cabinets w/ the dark countertops really pop. Awesome job!
awesome pumpkins! Great ideas that I can copy :)
Hello-
love the remodel! Can you share where you purchased the pendent lighting? Thanks so much!
hi there – we found those at Home Depot!
I just used Behr’s Paint + Primer last night for the first time and it took me three coats just to paint over a painted sheetrock wall. I never had this happen with Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore paint.
Yeah, we’ve heard from a few folks who say primer + paint is definitively less fantastic than using traditional primer + good paint. But it can also depend on the color you get (some cover a lot better than others).
xo,
s
That looks fantastic! The breakfast bar! The blue walls! White cabinets! Black countertop! My heart is swooning . ..
That is awesome! My house was built between the 50s-60s so my kitchen looks very similar…creepy (minus the light). I am more than excited to paint the cabinets and i’m thinking of doing the top ones white and the bottom black to switch things up a bit :) LOVE this redo and can’t wait to see what yall end up with :)
Wow, what a difference! So bright and beautiful!
Wow!!! They did an amazing job! Haha, do Erin and Zach want to come remodel my kitchen?? ;-)
I love how much wider the kitchen looked just by changing from laminate floors that were lined up one direction, to the wood floors that were the other direction. It really makes the room looked stretched out! Crazy!
Off topic but did you see that your pumpkins are posted on Apartment Therapy:
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/halloween/easy-peasy-finger-painted-pumpkins-young-house-love-158876
Feel free to share this message. Just wanted you to know. :)
Thanks for the heads up!
-John
Do you happen to have a tutorial for that gorgeous kitchen. I would like to know how much that they spent. We are wanting to do something similiar.
That is such a great transformation! It’s definitely inspiring, since I’ll be starting a kitchen renovation soon also. It’s so bright and clean!
Erin and Zach I do like the kitchen re-do. It looks very together where-as the before looks separate and not pulled together.
Gorgeous!!! Love how bright the kitchen is now. Great job Erin-n-Zach. :)
That kitchen is fantastic. It’s so happy and light. The before and after is AMAZING.
This kitchen looks fantastic! I would have never thought to switch the layout a bit to accomodate a breakfast bar; so smart! I also like how the dishwasher just blends right in with the cabinets. I feel like so many people would feel the need to update all the appliances but this is a great example of how painting the cabinets can make your existing appliance fit right in to the rest of the room. Congratulations!
We have the same style of kitchen bar/counter top which is fantastic! In one side we use for kitchen prep, and where we place our coffee maker and some other treats.
And on the other side we have a couple of bar stools. It’s fun to have people over and as we are prepping some goodies, they always fight for the bar stool spot.
This kitchen is so airy, bright and beautiful. A real inspiration.
Erin-n-Zack, where did you get your pendant lights? I love them!!
Thanks,
Meg
It seems like everyone is doing white cabinets these days! I agree that it looks good, but they are so hard to keep clean! I’ve been living with white cabinets for several years now, and they always get fingerprint smudges and drips down the front. We’re redoing our kitchen next year–have you heard anything about creme cabinets showing dirt?
Anyone have any advice for Michelle? We had white cabinets in our last house but they were glossy so they were so easy to wipe down. maybe it has to do with your finishes (glossier means things stick less and can be wiped off more easily)?
xo,
s
I cannot even believe that is the same kitchen!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome!
NiSSSSSSSSSSe!!
Wow! So beautiful. Such a great transformation! Love the wall color against the white cabinets.
That is an Amazing redo! It looks like you didn’t have to do too much construction besides redoing the floor and adding the peninsula. Just painting the walls and the cabinets makes a AMAZING difference. I love it! Y’all did a GREAT job!
It’s beautiful! I love the breakfast bar and the paint color is gorgeous.
We are in the midst of our own kitchen remodel (more of a revamp) at the moment and it has taken all the wind out of my sails. We are supposed to be hosting a Halloween party next Saturday and everything in the house in covered in plaster dust and insulation… Cripes.
Good luck! I bet it’ll all come together at the last minute!
xo,
s
Very nice indeed!! A good bit of inspiration
the bright blue wall with the white cabinets and dark counter top really do a complete 180 from 1950s drab and dreary to modern, light and spiffy!
The room is almost unrecognizable! I love the finished product, especially the cool blue and white color scheme