A Gray and White IKEA Kitchen Makeover

2 Materials
$5000
6 Months
Advanced
The kitchen in our post-reno house is finally getting pretty damn close to the finish line. It’s that pesky 5% left. You know – the small details like caulking and painting the trim that you just can’t seem to get around to doing. On the whole though, we can pretty much call this one done. It came out just the way I wanted it to: a gray and white kitchen with a largely classic and timeless look.
It’s pretty hard to believe that it was almost exactly a year ago (January 2015) that we were moving back into our home. One that had been a happy wee little bungalow and served us well for 5 years, before we took it all apart to create the larger family home of our dreams. Should we take a little step back in time and see where this room came from? This was demo day. When our bungalow was about to be no longer (and Dan and I were having serious heart palpitations). Here is our blast from the past kitchen…
And the living room on the other side of the wall (to the left when standing in the hallway where the pic above was taken).
Once it had been demo’d, the wall between those two rooms had come down, and the front door re-positioned onto the other side of the front of the house, this is what we were starting with. All of a sudden it felt so, so open.
Drywall went in…
And then flooring, cabinetry and appliances were up next. Woah – hey, kitchen!
After moving back in, we lived with plywood countertops for a while…
And then our marble-lookalike quartz countertops went in, which felt like a huge victory.
After backsplash, hardware, and other odd jobs, we landed here for a while…
And then one of the more recent things I checked off the list (back in late summer) was to paint the molding around that large window a very close gray to the bottom cabinetry (the same gray I used for all the interior doors on the main floor of the house), switch out the runner below the sink, and a few of the elements on the countertops.
More than a year after getting started, and 95% complete, we are here.
Overall, this is a very budget-friendly kitchen renovation. And if you click through, I'm sharing all the details on the choices we made, right down to the finishes!
Suggested materials:
  • Cabinetry   (ikea)
  • Accessories   (ikea)
The Sweetest Digs
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 6 questions
  • Shanna Shanna on Mar 03, 2016
    What flooring did you use in your kitchen, it's beautiful?!?
  • Ericca Heim Ericca Heim on Apr 26, 2016
    Just curious.....did you end up getting rid of your microwave, or is it hidden somewhere? LOVE your kitchen! Also, love the gray around the window.
  • Sheryl Monaspa Sheryl Monaspa on Jul 12, 2023

    What a lovely reno! Do you mind if I share this process with this interior design channel? Welcome to join too.


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  • Sally Gillies Sally Gillies on Jan 18, 2016
    What a beautiful result from all your hard work! Love all the cabinets and the gorgeous countertop. This was a job obviously done with love! Thanks for sharing.
  • RichandTammy Whiteside RichandTammy Whiteside on Jan 18, 2017
    I'm seriously jealous of anybody organized enough to have clear glass doors in their kitchen! Looks awesome and kudos to you and your spouse for being your own general contractor! You saved a ton of money by doing that.
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