Heart Transplant--Remodeling the Heart of the Home

by Woodshop Diaries

On somewhat of a whim, we decided to completely gut our outdated kitchen in our "new to us" house. It was an adventure to say the least. My husband, father and I (with help from a family friend) DIY-ed practically the entire project ourselves. The difference is amazing! Follow along the whole story from beginning to (almost) end at www.chasingadreamblog.wordpress.com. The final reveal is now posted!
https://chasingadreamblog.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/heart-transplant-part-1-remodeling-our-kitchen-the-heart-of-the-home/
https://chasingadreamblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/heart-transplant-part-2-remodeling-our-kitchen-the-heart-of-the-home/
https://chasingadreamblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/heart-transplant-part-3-remodeling-our-kitchen-the-heart-of-the-home/
https://chasingadreamblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/heart-transplant-part-4-remodeling-our-kitchen-the-heart-of-the-home/
https://chasingadreamblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/heart-transplant-part-5-remodeling-our-kitchen-the-heart-of-the-home-final-reveal/

farmhouse style kitchen remodeling, home improvement, kitchen design

The "before" kitchen was just kind of blahhhhh. My favorite color is yellow, but this nacho cheese color (that is literally the name of the color--we found an old can of it in the basement) was not doing it for me. The cabinets were falling apart, had stains, and were way too dark for this room.

Speaking of dark, the lighting here was AWFUL. All the lights cast light in one direction--down. At night, it felt like a dungeon. And the drop ceiling...don't get me started...It was so low, that my dad would hit his head on the light fixtures when we was walking through.

The column in the middle of the kitchen was an eyesore and took up space that could have otherwise been useful. I HATED IT. The appliances were needing to be replaced as well. When we added it all up, we decided we should just do it over instead of "fixing" all the problems.

Oh, then there was this cabinet and metal staircase that took up VALUABLE space in my kitchen for NO APPARENT REASON. The cabinets here were only 12" deep, but it stuck out almost 2 feet into the living room and you had to walk around it to get into the room. Who does that?! I was so glad to see it gone!! The whole story of the demo is in the blog posts above. Check them out!

The "almost" done kitchen. The table and backsplash was still to be completed. We rearranged the layout, changed the colors, got rid of the column, added more light, removed the drop ceiling, installed butcherblock, new cabinets (with a pantry!!), appliances, moulding on the windows (did it myself!), new sink, new floor, new trim, and THEN I built us a new table.

I built the table frame from scrap wood and bought the wood for the top new. I looked all over the internet for a good table to "copy" and I ended up just using several ideas all put together to make mine. I didn't go with plan, I just threw it together and there it was! I guessed on alot of the measurements, but it wasn't too difficult. It's just a simple table. But, it seats 10 people! I whitewashed the legs and stained the top, then I added large turnbuckles for a little "industrial" feel.

I made the matching bench and bought the chairs at a local "junk store" for $8 each!. I love our new kitchen. Now that the backsplash is complete, I have posted my final reveal!! Pictures are below and the link is posted above.

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3 of 45 comments

Lyo1824257 on Aug 03, 2015
Lovely! Especially the butcher block! We love butcher block counters but haven't run them right up to the sink for fear of staining or rot problems. How has the wood counter held up?

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- Woodshop Diaries on Aug 03, 2015
  @Lyonsmaine I have only had them for a few months so far, but they have held up pretty well. We do not cut directly on them, and when I prepare food, I usually do not let any touch it for fear of stains. I use a drying mat for wet dishes and I make sure to wipe up after washing dishes, and after I wash my hands. It's a little extra work, but not much. It takes about 5 seconds to wipe everything down real quick. I accidentally spilled a whole cup of fresh (HOT) coffee on them about a month ago and I immediately wanted to cry because I thought they would be ruined, but after I wiped it all up, you can't tell anything even happened. I just put a little mineral oil over it because I think the heat dried it out. I oiled them A LOT at first, but now just every couple weeks or so. I just use mineral oil (it's super cheap) and a rag. We used silicone around the edge where the sink meets it and I make sure to oil around the sink and faucet really well every time I oil. I researched A LOT before I decided on butcher block. I knew they would be a lot of extra work compared to laminate or granite. But, we got them cheaper than we could anything else, and I thought they fit the style I wanted really well. Truth be told, if I did it over again, I may have picked something more "durable" so that I didn't have to be so careful, but I still love them.
  
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Jwz1785668 on Aug 21, 2015
Wow, amazing, the previous kitchen looked like a dungeon, but it now looks so modern and up-to-date. Wonddrful job, well done

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