Add a little lipstick

A 10 Day Update

After & Before

After almost 200 people voted on our kitchen color, we embarked on a kitchen update to transform the kitchen at our new house to a colorful, luxurious environment. When we purchased this house, the kitchen was the only part I was unsure about. I like a large kitchen and I wanted to expand the small kitchen (which was once a butler's pantry) into another part of the house. Before spending the estimated $40,000 to move the kitchen, we decided to spend a modest $5,000 to make the current functional kitchen a beautiful space in which we might could live with and enjoy. 

When we started the update, we had simple shaker cabinets with porcelain knobs, laminate countertops, track lighting, a bead board backsplash, and basic white appliances.

Budget Breakdown:

  • $1,100 Paint Cabinets
  • $2,000 Granite Countertops + Under-mount Sink
  • $650 Kohler Karbon Faucet
  • $600 Thibaut Janta Bazaar Wallpaper (5 Rolls)
  • $90 Backsplash Material (subway tile, grout, mastic)
  • $122 Hexagon Glass Cabinet Hardware
  • $450 Wallpaper Installation
  • $360 LED Recessed Light Installation 
  • $350 Subway Tile Backsplash Installation

Total Cost: $5,722

The Process:

  1. The decision to hire a painter to paint the cabinets was easy when I talked to my cabinet maker who'd previously built several kitchens for me. He started by taking the doors and then hand painting the cabinet frames.
  2. I initially wanted Carrera Marble for the countertop, but it was cost prohibitive. I picked a slab of granite that had a similar white appearance. It took one week for the countertops to be fabricated and installed.
  3. The track lighting came down, and replaced with four recessed lights.
  4. After the doors were installed, the backsplash went in. We chose cost effective subway tile from Home Depot. The same person who patched the drywall was able to install the backsplash as well. While the backsplash went in, the plumber added the garbage disposal and kitchen sink.
  5. I added the cabinet hardware myself after vigorously cleaning the dusty space.
  6. The final step was to hang the wallpaper! 

The final step was replacing the vegetable wallpaper with Thibaut's Janta Bazaar in Charcoal.

“Keeping the existing white appliances and painting the original cabinets helped keep us near the budget!”
— Luke

Although it's still small, the new kitchen is quite beautiful!

Jeb Arpkitchen, update, kohler, karbon, hemlock, benjamin moore, thibaut, janta bazaar, house of antique hardware, granite, rome, georgia2 Comments