Mom’s Coastal Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover
My mum was hesitant to buy a fixer upper. Understandably so, since we had never really done any major DIY projects before this.
The whole house was covered in what can only be described as grandma-on-crack wallpaper. It was going to be a heck of a project, but one that was exclusively cosmetic, which make it a little less daunting. The light at the end of the tunnel was the vision of giving my mum her dream kitchen on a limited budget. After all, she basically lives in the kitchen and is happiest throwing together an epic family meal. I always joke that we aren’t Italian, but my mum feeds us like a Nonna.
I'm quickly learning through this reno that when you finish up a project you forget how much work it was. The hours stripping off wallpaper, prepping and painting cabinets, sourcing, the list that went on and on fades away when you see the final product. Not to mention that not having a functional kitchen takes a toll on everybody. Living in a complete reno mess all the time is not fun, but the payoff is SO worth it.
Nine months later, I am pretty dang proud of this kitchen! Here are some before and afters (more photos at the end of this post):
before
after
before
after
If you’re wondering what the process of refinishing a 70’s grandma-wallpaper kitchen looks like on a DIY budget, here’s how it went down…
Removed all wallpaper with a steamer and multiple bottles of wine (for us, not the walls, of course).
Removed cabinet doors, hardware, and numbered each cabinet to match a corresponding door.
Prepped, primed and sprayed the doors, meanwhile the cabinet frames were following the same process by hand. This takes a WHILE but it’s all in the prep!
Repaired and painted the walls & trim.
Reattached cabinet fronts and added new hardware.
New appliances, countertop & light fixtures!
Refinished a $40 Craigslist pedestal table.
Built custom floating shelves (super dang proud of how these turned out).
Crown moulding & additional soffit trim.
Refinished jam cupboards.
New curtain rod & curtains up.
PRODUCT LINKS/SOURCES
If there’s a link that I’m missing, just comment below and I’ll see if I can find it and add it to the list!
Kreg Jig Pocket Hole maker for shelving
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