A Budget-Friendly Turquoise Kitchen Makeover

Stick a fork in it, our budget-friendly kitchen makeover is done and it's time for the big reveal!  What better day to show off the turquoise kitchen I've been dreaming about since last summer (actually, since August 2012) than on my 30th birthday?  I wish I had added "awesome turquoise kitchen" to my 30 before 30 list because a whole bunch of things didn't get done while I was making magic happen in here.

(Bear with me while I update this post with new, better, more true to life photos taken with my new DSLR camera...Since originally sharing this post, I've added some art and reorganized a bit - I'm never "done" with a space.  Here's a sneak peek at how it looks today, but read on for more before and after photos, plus budget breakdown, of my dream turquoise kitchen).

Do you remember what the kitchen looked like before?  Here's a side-by-side comparison because I think you need to see this affordable kitchen makeover to believe it:

This affordable kitchen makeover, as smitten as I am with it, is temporary-ish.  Down the road we'd like to gut the kitchen and do all new cabinetry, flooring, counters, tile - the works, but it might take us years to save up the cash so we decided it would be wise to spend a little bit now to make it look and function better for us while we squirrel away some dough and figure out what we want from the space.   Here's a summary of how we transformed this 1990s oak kitchen on a budget (with links to previous posts included throughout, and also listed at the end - along with our complete budget breakdown and sources).

The upper cabinets were removed because they were so small and offered surprisingly little storage space.  We primed and painted the remaining kitchen cabinets a turquoise that is nearly identical to my Pyrex butterprint collection.  With the upper cabinets and tile gone, the walls needed a little TLC so we installed a few new pieces of drywall and used paneling for an insanely affordable backsplash.  I painted the paneling a slightly creamier white than the rest of the house.  I waffled about painting it the same as the rest of the space because it would make the paneling blend in even more, but I worried that the cream flooring and off-white stained counters would read really yellow against a bright white.

To replace the awkward cabinets we ripped down, Hubby and I built a simple open pantry from plywood, which we primed and painted to match the walls (using a semi-gloss finish).  Windsor Plywood sells laminated wood shelving which is the perfect width, so we grabbed four of those, which I primed and painted to match the walls and pantry (also in semi-gloss).



Even though I painted out the knots, some of the texture of the wood grain remains, which is what I had hoped I would achieve - I didn't want them to look like melamine, but I wanted them white and bright.  Because the shelves are constructed from small pieces of wood laminated together (like our counters), they likely won't cup or warp like a solid piece of wood could.

Hubby used wood glue and pegs to join two pieces together to make the longer, top two shelves.  You remember our bracket debate?  On the studs or where they looked good?  I lost and we originally put the brackets on the studs.  We were so focused on our respective concerns for the placement of the brackets, we goofed up the shelf height!  We realized (thanks to readers!) that our wood shelves violated Ontario building code by being too close to the stove - oops!   For the second attempt at a configuration I wanted the brackets centred on the stove but when we removed one row they left massive holes from the giant screws required.  We filled them with wood filler, but they didn't look perfect so we left the other brackets where they were.  It was my Mom's idea, actually, not to centre the brackets on the stove because, as luck would have it, both sections of shelf on either side of the stove are now exactly the same size.  In the end, half of the brackets are on studs, and the other half are held with giant anchors.  Floating shelves might have been a simpler solution, but we thought this would be easier - ha!  (Plus Hubby was adamant that he wanted these brackets, which hold 500 lbs each.  I think he's telling me to go buy more Pyrex . . . ).

A glass vase with turquoise KitchenAid utensils and a row of three of my framed enamel landscapes from Hungary offset the asymmetry.  Kinda.  It's one thing that still bugs me a little, but I think I can live with it! 

To make the floating shelves look more intentional, we installed them so they lined up with the shelves of the DIY pantry we made.  We also lined them up so one shelf runs right over the top of the fridge, so the fridge looks less "out there," and more built-in, for a similar feel to cabinetry.  I added tons of handy storage with twelve 2 gallon glass Montana canisters for storing our dry goods.

Happily, the DIY solid maple counters Hubby built still look amazing - as does the stainless steel sink and faucet we installed awhile ago.  That's the genius of working at a snail's pace: by the time the reveal is ready, I've had a chance to put everything though the wringer.  I love finally seeing everything finally come together in this kitchen makeover! 

I've been trying to be relaxed about the wood counters and just use them, but I do take certain precautions.  After wiping them down or after an especially splashy dish-washing session, I wipe off any water with a dry tea towel.  I used trivets for hot things and coasters for beverages - although rogue drinking glasses haven't left any rings.  I have this thing about the rubber feet on the bottom of the knife block and blender, though:  I'm worried they will stain, so I bought a little cream-coloured cutting board to set them on. 

I stashed my orange kettle because I'm just really loving this icy palette of cream, white, and shades of turquoise.  I've got some mint and blue in there for variety (and now some colorful new art).  My Mom gave me her vintage glass Pyrex kettle, which doubles as a tea pot.  I like that it doesn't draw add to the busyness here.

We stopped and started working on this kitchen so many times, and I lived without a functional space for so long, so it feels really, really good to have completed our budget-friendly kitchen makeover.  It's better than I could have ever imagined and I just wish you could see it in real life, where it is brighter, less grainy (!), and more aqua (it looks denim blue in some pictures).  The glassware sparkles and the wood counters gleam.

It's a cheery kitchen and when you're actually in it, it's not so AQUA - it feels mellower.  It's a joy to cook and bake in here and it has such a great vibe when we entertain.  Guests sit on the stools, chatting with me while I bustle, and they stare at the shelves, all glassy-eyed.  Everyone who we have invited over has immediately felt at home, which is such a great feeling!  It's perfect for our little lakeside home because it has a relaxed, happy, cottage feel. 

Here are all of the posts related to our budget-friendly kitchen makeover:
Turquoise kitchen inspiration
Painting the cabinet doors with a paint sprayer
Painting the cabinet boxes and installing hardware
Building the solid maple counters
A little bit on wood movement
Staining the counters with a sprayer
Installing the sink and faucet
Choosing paneling as a backsplash
Installing paneling (and now, trimming it as well)
The great bracket debate
Building a DIY pantry, and working around some weirdness
Reveling in the mess 
Enjoying our new kitchen stools 
UPDATE: My thoughts on open shelves, six months later 

Here is the budget breakdown for this affordable kitchen renovation:
Maple lumber for counters = $611
Counter stain and clear finish = $40
Sink = $200
Faucet = FREE
4 Laminated Wood Shelves = $80
13 Metal Brackets = $102
6 Sheets of Paneling = $108
Paneling Trim & Screws = $112
Window Trim and Baseboard = $30
Electrical Box Extenders = $42
Ikea Light = $30
2 Plywood Sheets for Pantry = $90
Knobs = $24
Floor Vent = $13
Edge Tape = $10
Primer for Cabinets = FREE
Paint for Cabinets = FREE
Paint for Walls, Pantry, and Shelves = FREE
Modernica Stools = A lot (they don't count, they're technically in the dining room ;)
Pantry Canisters = FREE
 
Grand total = $1492!!  I'm pretty excited that we made such a significant change in this kitchen with less than 1500 bucks.  I'd need to add a bit more if I had paid out of pocket for items like paint and our fancy faucet.  Conversely, I think buying prefab wood counters from Ikea might be cheaper than our DIY walnut counters, but I'm totally in love with the decadently thick slabs of solid maple we've got going on - they make the kitchen.  I'm not counting kitchen accessories, like my Pyrex collection, linens, glassware, etc., because most of these accessories I've collected over time.  Hopefully our ancient appliances can hang on until the next kitchen reno!  Oh, and if you see a math error (of I've forgotten something), please let me know.  

Sources:
Cabinet primer (Zinsser Bulls Eye 1,2,3 Primer) c/o Canadian Tire
Cabinet paint (Premier Interior Latex Semi-Gloss, in CIL's Niagara Mist), c/o Canadian Tire
Panel paint (White on White, Eggshell), c.o CIL
Pantry paint (White on White, Semi-Gloss), c/o CIL
Paneling (B Grade Dover), purchased from Windsor Plywood
Trim, laminated shelves, metal brackets, purchased from Windsor Plywood
Faucet (the Lita), c/o Pfister
Sink (Atlantis Commercial Grade Pro Series), Purchased at Costco
2 Gallon Glass Montana canisters, c/o Canadian Tire
Cabinet hardware, Purchased from Lee Valley
Glass light fixture, Purchased from Ikea
Stools, Purchased from Modernica
Birdie foaming soap pump, c/o Umbra
Skinny Robin Egg blue can, c/o Umbra 

Whew!  Shall we ogle this budget-friendly, bright turquoise kitchen once more before I get on with my birthday festivities?  Yes, we shall.  The before, one last time:

And my turquoise, retro-inspired kitchen now:

Happy Birthday Mom (Some Virtual Gifts)

I am still a little blue my Mom has left.  I keep thinking she's just down the road, at the patisserie, buying a slice of cake (or four) and she'll walk through the door any minute.  She was my rock: cheering me up when I felt useless, making me laugh when I felt stressed, and dreaming up future projects when I felt crafty. 

Today is her birthday.  Other than copious amounts of pre-birthday cake, and slipping a card into her suitcase when she wasn't looking, I didn't have a gift or anything ready - not that my Mom is really into gifts.  But I'd love to have been able to give her something really awesome, to also say thanks for giving up three months to come to Hungary with me, like maybe . . .

1.  Some art, painted with love.

Mom is in the process of renovating/re-decorating her home and, in a movie-perfect-world, it would have been so exciting to whip up a perfect abstract painting (she likes moodier art than me), and hang it in place overnight for a birthday morning surprise!  Hmmmm, maybe for next year?  Okay, shhhh, don't tell her about this idea.

Via Eclectic Revisited

2.  An embroidered change purse, hand-sewn with love.

My Mom had planned to make an embroidered change purse while she was here, but there were some bumps in the road.  I'm terrible, because I (with love) made fun of her grand ambitions relentlessly.  I was able to do some of my embroidery (an update soon), but not all of it - yet.  It would have been such a sweet idea to surprise her with a change purse I secretly DIY'd, but that would have required a lot of sneaking around.  A time machine.  Possibly some bathroom embroidery, because the apartment is smallish and offers few private spaces.  Oh, and I would have needed to have made peace with sewing.  In truth, she probably would have just preferred I stop teasing her about the change purse that never materialized!

Shape Moth

3.  Highfalutin European cake, baked with love.

Our pre-birthday cakes were not baked by moi.  One year, though, I'd love to try my hand at whipping up a cake as good as what we had here.  I am worried what practicing this art will do to my waistline, though.

There's a Newf in my Soup

4.  Floor to ceiling windows, wished for with love.

This is, technically, a virtual gift list so let's go big!  I think my Mom would be totally happy without the change purse and cake (although, she really likes cakes) if I could give her a space with windows like this.

Curbly

5.  A dream bathroom, designed with love.

Along with the windows, I can only imagine my Mom's ear to ear grin with a bathroom (her next makeover project) like this one.  Of course, this particular room would take up at least a third of the square footage of my Mom's whole house.  This list got grand, fast.  I need to win the lottery . . . 

One Week Bath

Happily, though, I know just loving spending time with her is gift enough.  Most Moms just want their kids to love them and enjoy their company, right?  That hardly seems like a fair gift, though, because I think we're both lucky to get along so famously.

Read more »

Happy Birthday To Me + 30 Before 30

This was me on my birthday last year, with my little cousin Camilla.

Today is my 28th birthday!  Hubby turns 30 next month, and his quiet sobbing has made me realize time will really fly in the two years before I turn 30.  I love a good list, and I'm kind of obsessed with reading other people's life goals.  I feel a mix of smugness (hey, I've already done that, so yay me) and inferiority (crap, I never even thought to try something that cool, I'm so lame) when I read them.  So I thought I'd make one!

Sitting down and picking 30 things was hard.  I have a list of at least 100 things I want to do in the next two years.  So I knocked off many (but not all) of the DIY themed projects and focused more on life . .  .

Here's my 30 before 30 (in a random sort of order):

1. Do research abroad UPDATE: yup, yup, yup
2. Finish my PhD! UPDATE: YES, feels so good to cross this one off!
3. Take a pottery class NOPE
4. Create a video tour of the house NOPE
5. Sell the townhouse, without a realtor UPDATE: Well, we sold the house . . .
6. Buy a house on Lake Superior UPDATE: We did it!!
7. Start renovating a new house, and build a better blog for chronicling the process UPDATE: Yes to the renovating, No to the better blog (it's coming)
8. Become really adept at time management & spend less time on the internet UPDATE: slow internet has helped me accomplish this!
9. Create a life list NOPE
10. Return to Europe for a vacation with the Hubs UPDATE: this counts!
11. Get published in an academic journal UPDATE: YES! It's going to be published this fall!!
12. Make a darn yarn wreath already UPDATE: this was so fun, why did I delay?
13. Become stronger (inside & out) UPDATE: I'm way less fit (although I'm working on it now that the snow has finally melted).  I've gotten to a point that I don't give a shit what people think so that counts!
14. Buy a child in need a smile UPDATE: I decided instead to donate to women's shelters, food banks and the Salvation Army (in cash and in kind) throughout the year
15. Have another project featured in a magazine (see my first feature here) UPDATE: see it here!
16. Start an Etsy shop UPDATE: I have opened an Etsy shop!
17. Finish the home scrapbook I started & put photos in photo albums (I'm so behind!) NOPE
18. Start biking UPDATE: we dusted off the bikes and took them for a spin!
19. Build a play workshop for my little cousin, Jack (the play kitchen for his sis was so fun) AWWW, NOPE
20. Try stenciling UPDATE: see here & here
21. Be a better feminist UPDATE: I'm working on it everyday
22. Do something with the backyard (anything but dirt piles) UPDATE: In the townhouse we were forced to improve the backyard right before we moved so this was begrudgingly checked off
23. Improve my Hungarian UPDATE: Yup, being in Hungary for four months helped!
24. Paint a piece of furniture turquoise UPDATE: done and done, but I want to do it again!
25. Start a new hobby (that doesn't involve renovating) with Hubby UPDATE: Success!
26. Get a teaching position at a University (need to do step 2, first) NOPE
27. Build a small wardrobe with only stuff I love, that fits - no more crap! NOPE - I've worn nothing but yoga pants since December.
    
28. Try to like avocados (seems like an adult thing to like) Haha, NOPE
29. Learn to use my camera fully NOPE
30. Start volunteering again (it's been a few years since I sat on a Board of Directors for a not-for-profit, but I did volunteer as a coordinator in 2011 - it's just hard to find an organization that is the right fit) UPDATE: I'll be getting involved in my community this summer. 

Hmmm.  Seems a bit daunting.  Maybe I better get cracking on the avocados and yarn wreath . . . because I don't think the lake front house will materialize soon.



P.S. Even though it's my birthday today, I have a gift for you!  Click here for a chance to win a custom designed stencil.

Read more »