I know that those of you who have been around a while, know that I started working on transforming my childhood kitchen back in August of 2020. And I also know that you’ve been waiting (and pestering me )for an update on this kitchen ever since! LOL!

In case you’re new here, I’ll back up a bit. I was offered and opportunity to work with Home Depot last year using a new tile product, but since I didn’t have a space in my home to use I asked my dad if we could use it in his kitchen. I’d been wanting to help him transform his kitchen (in my childhood home) since college, so I thought this time (with the help of a sponsor) would be a no brainer. I say “this time” because the last time this kitchen got a makeover was over 12 years ago, but I had absolutely nothing to do with it!

Back then, we all agreed that it was time to update the kitchen, but thinking back to it now, I kind of miss the nostalgia of it all. When my parents bought the house almost 30 years ago, the kitchen’s cabinets and appliances were all sunny yellow, so my mom decided to work with it and went with a sunflower theme for the space. It ended up being a sunflower explosion, but I commend her for her commitment to the details! LOL!

So, by the time they were ready to update the kitchen, I was a few years out of college, working as a professional interior designer for a healthcare company. This was the first time I could give back to my parents in any way, so creating a design plan was the least I could do! So, I put all of my 4 year education and design experience to use and created a full design plan for them. I’m talking full design board with colors, products and finishes specified. It was classic and timeless and would’ve been fail proof if it was followed properly. But noooooooo!!!! What did they do???

They went with my color selections for the cabinets, which was white, BUT THAT’S IT!!!! I can’t find the actual design plan, but I, vividly, remember every detail! White cabinets with brushed nickel hardware. Subway tile backsplash with gray grout. Wood-look tile flooring in a brown-grey tone that was warm, but still modern. And to finish it off, a warm gray paint color for all of the walls. This would’ve been the perfect update for their kitchen, then (and now), totally transforming it from sunflower yellow cabinets, appliances and linoleum floors! I remember coming home after they let me know that the project was finished and walking in to the kitchen going “WTF? This is not what I sent you guys! What happened?!” The short of it, Mom wanted more color (they never told me that btw) and the contractor guy that they used made all of the rest of the decisions! *insert palm to face emoji

But, here we were, eleven years later. My mom passed away about a year or two after their makeover and outside of my dad bringing in and getting rid of furniture from the space, the kitchen basically froze in time. Here’s what it looked like just last summer.

Yeeeaaaahhhh. So thank the renovation heavens that The Home Depot reached out to me to try QuicTile by Daltile! It was the perfect way to kick off my dad’s reno, because his builder-basic 90’s brown faux stone floors were first on the list of things that had to go and I talk all about the process here. Here’s what the kitchen looked like after the new floors went in.

After the floors went in, Dad decided to go all in on the renovation. All new cabinets, countertops, sink faucet, appliances and something he’d been wanting to do for years, opening up the wall between the kitchen and dining room. So I got to work on the design plan!

I really wanted to give my dad a kitchen that was updated and clean, but also reflective of him: classic, but cool and modern, yet timeless. The first thing was getting rid of that acid green color and maximizing the space with taller, more modern styled cabinets where we could. And of course, no space that I have anything to do with is complete without elements of black!

I worked with Home Depot again on one of their Fall Décor campaigns, so we got to select a lot of the finishing items for the kitchen from the Home Depot site! A lot of those items showed up before the any of the foundation items, like the cabinets, but made us really excited about the direction! It took quite some time to come together: we started with the floors back in August and moved on to the rest of the project in late September. You may recall that I had to go away for special project in late October and didn’t return home until just before Thanksgiving and when I got home, the finishing items, like backsplash, were just starting to happen (I’ll break down the full scope below). But in the end, both my dad and I are really happy with how it all turned out! Here’s what the kitchen looks like now!

Here’s a full break down of everything we did in the space:

Removed all original cabinetry, except around the refrigerator. All original cabinets were custom built to the dimensions of the weird spaces in the kitchen. Around the fridge is one of those weird spaces: it has 2 different depths. Our solution is just getting new doors made to match the new cabinetry and replace the hardware.

Replaced all flooring in kitchen, powder room and mudroom

Opened wall between kitchen and dining room and create bar top

Replaced cooktop and wall oven with slide in stove

Removed bulkhead above sink

Installed all new cabinetry, butcher block countertops (oiled) and black cabinet hardware

Installed new backsplash

Incorporated island for additional storage and counter space

Scraped/Replaced popcorn ceiling

Centered pendant light above breakfast nook

Replaced all lighting, switches and outlets

Added all new décor

It’s done, but not quite complete. I’m going to be adding some shoe storage and a key drop zone next to the new coffee bar/pantry area and I’d love to one day add a built-in banquet seat under the windows to really up the comfort factor in the space.

I’m so proud of how this space is shaping up and am even more proud that my dad loves it too! Stay tuned though, because coming soon, we’re moving on to the dining room, living room and den! And I still need to show you guys the finished powder room too!

SOURCES:

Wall Color: Behr Smoky White in eggshell

Daltile QuicTile Horizon Marble Lappato Flooring (see blog post here)

White Shaker Cabinets

Cabinet Hardware

Butcher Block Countertops

Extra Deep Stainless Steel Double Sink

Faucet with Pull-Down Sprayer

Backsplash Tile (gifted by Flooring Solutions of Memphis)

Butcher Block Island

Bistro Table

Dining Chairs