From Oak-y to "Okey-Dokey" - A Fresh Kitchen Update

My first impression of my client Emily's house was that, in it's day, it was really something special. It seems no expense was spared and  custom woodwork was everywhere. But alas - there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. And what might have been a splurge in the 70's, can look like overkill today. So my recommendation was to scale back some of the wood - eliminating the chair rail molding & painting some of the rest.  The kitchen was a perfect opportunity to update on a budget while breaking up some of the wood. 

Emily's hubby is handy & he enjoys home improvement projects {insert longing sigh here}. They painted the kitchen cabinets themselves using Sherwin Williams "Dover White". Since they did their own painting, the project provided them with a great change for just a little money {about $200 for primer, paint & supplies}. 

This enabled them to put the bulk of the budget toward the new quartz counter-tops. The quartz was a huge improvement from the tired Corian with green trim. {The Corian doesn't look bad in the photo, but trust me - it was hideodeous!} We chose a  simple stone pattern because we wanted to keep the existing backsplash tile. Although the backsplash isn't what we would have chosen, it is neutral & workable. So it was a great place to save money. But the tile pattern is busy enough already, so the simple quartz was the right choice. 

The homeowners never used their wimpy desk {& really who does use these tiny  things for their intended purpose?}. So they contacted the company who made their original cabinets & had a matching component built so that they could make better use of the space. Can you believe the difference?

Want to see other kitchen remodels I've worked on?

Click here for "A Spectacular Kitchen Remodel"

Click here for "From Outdated to Amazing"