When we decided to move last year, we knew we wanted just a few things.
- To be in a very specific neighborhood;
- At least double our square footage; and
- A big yard/pool.
After a few homes didn’t work out we were starting to give up and thought maybe it just wasn’t meant to be
…. and just like that
One of my best friends got wind of a house about to go to market in the neighborhood and I swiped it up before my husband even got a chance to see it (true story). Some people buy shoes behind their husbands backs…. and some people put contracts on houses… I’m still married, by the way!
This house had all of the things… the yard, the pool, the huge floor plan…. BUT… it had these “awful” butchers block countertops that almost had me walking away during inspection because I couldn’t get past them. The house had concrete floors, no upper cabinets, white walls everywhere… Imagine minimalist, but on an extreme level.
Then I realized… this house was a BLANK CANVAS. I could do whatever I wanted to it without having to spend additional money ripping things out. I could add things little by little over the next few months (years) and make it exactly what I wanted it to be.
So I started researching…. realized that butchers block was actually a higher end type of counter with a modern/minimalist vibe that I could actually eventually fall in love with…. and I did.
My home style changed… I was no long in love with that country farmhouse style that I thought was how you were supposed to decorate your home because HGTV told you you should…. I became this modern, minimalist, white and light, west elm lovin with a tad of mid century type of girl and I knew that I wanted to keep those counters.
We started with adding upper cabinets… the house was so bare without cabinets, but also… I’m still trying to figure out how a family of four lived here previously without them, but then again they literally had 4 plates, 4 forks, 4 knives….. We went with just a corner cabinet and knew we wanted to have floating shelves on the opposite side. It was plenty of space and we are so happy with the results!
Next, we swapped out all of the hardware…. the previous owners had multicolored drawer pulls which I’ll never understand, but they were so organized they had a color coding system. I knew it needed to go! Hardware is so expensive, I was shocked when I started shopping big box stores and ended up going with a matte black pull from AMAZON! I specifically got pulls that would be drilled on the backside of the door in case I wanted to swap them out or change my style in the future… (I might be the most indecisive person in town!).
These floating shelves are what dreams are made of and the installation of these were probably the easiest thing we’ve ever installed in the history of home installations….. I found a seller on Etsy who made custom shelves because the size we wanted was 50inches long and they were nowhere to found! I had quoted someone local who priced me at $800 …. I about died, so when I found these for $149 each, I was THRILLED and so was my wallet!
Our final step to the kitchen upgrade was the backslash tile, Kohler black sink, and shiplap….we went with an Italian ceramic geometric white tile with a “gray linen” grout. I wanted very thin grout line and am SO happy we went with light gray instead of white. It gave the small dimension I was looking for without being too busy. I danced around whether I would go to the ceiling with the tile, but ultimately pulled the trigger at the last minute and I am in love…. If you’re local, check out Island Tile Supply on Venice Island. The team in there was so helpful with helping me stick to budget, but also understanding my style. It was really a breeze to order through them even during corona times when appointments at all stores were awkward and things have been out of stock.
All in all, this project was a breeze…. we ended up adding some shiplap to our bar for some added dimension and painted it with a Valspar semi gloss white. I did this because jeans were rubbing off on our wall prior and the matte paint was basically permenant and wiping it clean wasn’t working. I’m pretty happy with it for both reasons now— It added a nice look, but also is a breeze to clean up!
Now for the best part….. we were able to do this entire upgrade for under $2500. For all materials, labor, and supplies… When you do half the work yourself and order from small businesses, you definitely save some dough! I’m so happy we stuck within budget because its allowed us to move on to the next project quicker!
Tell me what you think about the transformation!
xo
Ashley
