Budget-Friendly Modern White Kitchen Renovation

Two years ago we finally remodeled our outdated kitchen– on a budget– so it’s probably about time to share about it, right? {wink!} My dream was to have an updated family friendly yet modern kitchen renovation, but with two young kiddos it wasn’t feasible to DIY everything. It also wasn’t feasible to spend the budget-blowing average cost of a kitchen renovation which is around $45,000. But we found a happy medium and hired a trusted contractor and told him our plan to keep the costs under $10K (believe it or not, that included granite countertops and hardwood floors!).
While it may not be my *dream* kitchen, it’s pretty darn close and we ended up with a modernized white kitchen, the renovation side only taking ten days start to finish! From what I hear, that’s very minor in terms of renovation downtime which was a huge plus since I had two toddlers on the run.
Here’s what we started with: green laminate countertops, outdated oak cabinets, and large (hard!) white tiles with dark grout lines. Those tiles were killer when my kids were learning to walk (and fall). OUCH. While tiles also show a multitude of stains and every drop that falls on the floor.
We came up with a plan: paint the cabinets white, replace the countertops with granite, and replace the floors with dark hardwoods. In hindsight I would have changed the color of the granite and gotten hand-scraped style flooring to hide the scratches from my kids, but I still really do love how it turned out.
Here's the "After" – on budget, on time, and on trend (for our family!) I know white kitchens may not be everyone’s ‘thing’, but I always preach to go with what YOU love and what works for you.
That tall area next to our “pantry” is a chalkboard wall which we LOVE. We use it as a calendar, reminder area, menu planner, and doodle area for the kids. Behind it hides a pocket door to the dining room.
My other favorite nook is this open shelving/ kitchen cart area I semi-DIYed. I’ll leave you with this shot and I’ll break it all down in a separate post on how I managed to do it with no husband-ly intervention.
These chairs are also on the to-do list. I’d like to lighten them up and replace the seats with either oilcloth or another durable fabric. I’ll avoid showing a photo of the chair cushions because they look BRU-TAL. It’s as if my kids purposely smeared pudding and peas on them; oh wait, they probably did…
Little meaningful touches make a house a home, so my kitchen decor speaks to our lifestyle and unique things I’ve found along the way.
Don’t mind me, I’m just arranging flowers for the casual dinner party about to arrive. HAHAHAHA! (styling photos can feel silly, but I do love it…)
Let’s talk about this table. I almost, ALMOST compromised and got something similar that I didn’t love nearly as much. I was so close I even flagged down a salesperson at the furniture store. Thankfully I listened to my inner voice that said, “don’t compromise, get what you LOVE and not what you LIKE.” Lo and behold, around the holidays I found this beauty online and ordered it. I’m so totally in love, and it works perfectly for my family!
Hope you enjoyed the tour - come on over to makinglemonadeblog.com for {MANY} more photos!
Carrie MakingLemonade
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Tobias Design LLC Tobias Design LLC on Oct 25, 2014
    Great transformation. The new design looks much more accommodating. Moving your dining table in the center adds the extra space it needed, plus I love that carpet.
  • Debi53 Debi53 on Jun 01, 2015
    You did a lovely job. Love the pop of bright color. I'm actually more impressed with beautiful results on a budget. With enough money, you can transform anything, but it takes creativity & lots of thought to transform economically. Kudos to you!
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