Transitional Kitchen Renovation After

Guys! Here she is: “Transitional Kitchen Renovation After.” Cue the trumpets! Haha We’ve been at this whole thing for a long, long time. She’s done, she’s beautiful, we are overjoyed – yes, not exaggerating.  Totally over-freaking-joyed. Maybe that sounds dramatic, but listen –  we aren’t people who spend a bunch of money, nor people who regularly do big things like this, and we certainly aren’t people who think that a kitchen renovation is something every person has the means to do. We appreciate this stuff. We work hard, plan harder, and budget our asses off so we can have pretty little things like a new kitchen.

TKRA (acronyms, baby) has been building in my mind since the day we put a bid on this place. As our first house, it’s got lots of great features. However, kitchen isn’t one of them. Cramped, cheap and just pretty enough to not be a total embarrassment, it lacked any of the character we craved or the space we needed to host the kinds of parties we enjoy throwing. Like,the Pumpkin Party sort of party.

I know I already shared a quick post on the kitchen transformation before and after, but I wanted to put together something more detailed with sources for anyone interested. After spending all this time planning and executing the plan, it’s only fair that I dedicate more than one short post to the outcome, no? *pssst! find sources at the end*

Here’s a quick before shot to remind you what the space looked like a few months ago:

Here she is now:

transitional kitchen renovation after: the details

The first decision we made to save money was keeping most of our appliances. We like the all-white look and it didn’t make sense to go with stainless steel just because that’s what’s everyone else does. We did end up getting a new refrigerator found at a scratch and dent place brand new, which was framed as a more custom, built-in look. A counter-depth fridge didn’t appeal to us because we a.) didn’t want to spend the extra money and b.) didn’t want to lose any valuable food storage space. We have a list of favorites in our new kitchen, but the refrigerator is at the top! Especially since our last one was the only size that fit and it was TINY.

Another fun feature we added is a pot filler. Because we weren’t upgrading the stove, it was tricky to find a filler that had a low profile and fit in the smaller space between the stove and microwave within our limited budget. We really lucked out when I found this one, and then when our contractor located it in stock the day of installation, it seemed meant to be!

The island got bigger, adding a pull-out drawer for the trash and recycle bins and a whole new area for our beautiful Calacatta Classique Quartz countertops.  Joe wanted the quartz, but I wasn’t so sure. One of my absolute must-haves was butcher block. I really wanted the dark contrast of dark walnut against all that white. Although I didn’t mind mixing them together, Joe and our contractor seemed hesitant. Now we can all agree that the combination of both is one of the features that MAKES our kitchen.

Our new butcher block also ties in really nicely with the porcelain rustic wood-look flooring.  The tile has a pretty grey wash that goes well with the grey marbling in the countertops. When we finally paint after the holidays, it will be a combination of grey and white to tie everything together.

The last picture above is of the space we gained in the kitchen. Prior to the renovation, the area ended just to the left of the L-shaped cabinets. It’s crazy how much space we gained from moving the wall five feet back! The space came from our laundry area in the garage, and we don’t miss that space out there. The contractor moved the washer, dryer and hot water heater from the old area to a new landing in the garage. With a stackable washer and dryer, we’ve made the new laundry area work much better for us without sacrificing any parking area.  BTW, those rugs are washable and add just enough pattern to the floors so they don’t take away from the texture and print of the tile.

So our backsplash was the last one recommended to us, and I immediately knew it was the one. It’s crisp, adds just enough sparkle and isn’t too busy.

So pretty, right?!?

Are you wondering about the yellow details? A few years back, Joe built a pantry to grant us more space and move our food storage out of the garage – yes, seriously. When we picked the paint out, it appeared as more of a cream color. But when we painted the pantry door, it came out more of a yellow tone. We actually preferred it, and decided to tie that color into the kitchen and living room.

I found those curtains at Target on clearance, and we’ve received a bunch of compliments on them! Totally love how light and bright they are, but also how they tie in the white, yellow and grey tones without seeming too feminine.

We just added three extra can lights to the ceiling in the new space, and now we only need to finish with painting, find a few narrow barstools, accessorize a bit more and add a living window treatment to the bright window in the photo above. I have some ideas for that, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out and share the project with you guys!

BTW, are you wondering what makes this a “transitional kitchen renovation”? Check this link for details on what defines that style. Here’s our mood board, too, if you’re interested.

sources:

1. Contractor & Cabinets: Bratton Construction LLC (602) 763-1415 brattonconstructionLLC@gmail.com
2. Calacatta Classique Quartz (similar)
3. Butcher Block 
4. Backsplash – discontinued (similar)
5. Floor Tile
6. Main Sink Faucet (bar sink faucet repurposed)
7. Rugs (similar)
8. Curtains
9. Pantry Door Paint Color
10. Pot Filler
11. Refrigerator

If you have source questions or if I missed anything, please ask! I am happy to share! And BTW, if you live in the Phoenix area, our contractor rocks 🙂