The “Just Isn’t Me” $500 Kitchen Makeover

Renovation by: Kristyn
Location: Pittsburgh

There was nothing WRONG with the kitchen when I purchased my first home except that it wasn’t me. It didn’t fit the 1920s Tudor Revival style of the house or my preferred bright, colorful, organic modern look.

Although I don’t love bead board, there was no reason to replace the clean and sturdy cabinets. So I embraced it, adding more to the side and back of the island that separates kitchen from dining room.

To visually raise and lighten the lower cabinets, I added feet. I also added long table legs under where the counter top overhangs the cabinets in the dining room. The ceiling, walls and upper cabinets got several coats of white paint to lighten the room and the lower cabinets are grey to ground the dark, manufactured stone counter top.

I replaced ornate twisted metal knobs with simple, modern handles in two different styles and included an extra one for the faux drawer under the sink. I lucked out and found new recessed LED lighting at our local thrift store at a fraction of what they would have otherwise cost. Finally, the dishwasher got wrapped in stainless steel contact paper to lighten it up, bring it up-to-date, and make it match the other appliances.

All of this was done on a budget of only $500 and I couldn’t be happier with the results. The room feels larger, brighter, and more cheerful, and I’m pretty sure that the food tastes better.

Thanks, Kristyn!

Re-edited from a post originally published 1.17.15-NT

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