Our Little house on the Royal.
Sometimes when you aren't elbow deep in a project, you have a look around and realize, you have a even bigger (more expensive) project that you need to start. This is what happened to me one summer day, when I realized that I hadn't done a thing to the old house that my husband and I bought with the intention of fixing up. Just a tiny 3 bedroom bungalow, nearly 40 years old and painted just one color. Well kept, but dated and it needed some TLC.
Of course life has a way of getting in the way doesn't it? But here we are 6 years later and finally we have two major rooms completed.
Lets start with the Kitchen (**Please note that this reno project took 2 years start to finish. We had just $700 saved and needed to figure out how to get what we needed and stay within our budget. After all we still had 5 other rooms and a basement to do.)
Here's how the kitchen looked the day we moved in:
Like I said, well maintained however it is a couple decades outdated.
Our first job was that wallpaper! Sorry folks no pictures of that, all hands on deck. We had the wall over the sink - which also extends into the dining room (you cannot see it in this photo) as well as the connecting wall behind the stove, and the wall you see behind the fridge, to do and no one to spare to take pictures.
So now to start work on the newly painted & wallpaper-less kitchen:
We started with the paint and backsplash.
In this picture you can see the wall that connects at the counter, to the dining room. The dining room wall is painted Benjamin Moore's "Blackberry Wine" and the kitchen color is "Woodland Hills Green", and we made sure it was Semi gloss due to its washability. This picture doesn't do these colors justice, it's a very nice combination. This is the the palette we had as our inspiration: the top green and the bottom purple are roughly the two colors we paired.
Tip: We spent a lot of time on Benjamin Moore's web page & color gallery choosing the right colors
Next up is the backsplash:
What a difference already. You can also see in the photo above, the old hardware and how the vinyl is peeling off the MDF cupboards. Since we are going for the modern country kitchen look, we wanted a simple style to mimic "old country" but modern enough to be pleasing. Another reason this project took so long was due to the budget. Once we decided on a product we liked we waited, sometimes months for it to go on sale to keep the cost at a minimum. It wasn't easy but it sure did make a difference in the end.
Here is our backsplash:
So with the back splash done, we are moving onto the hardware. Now I know what you're thinking; why change the hardware now if you are just going to revamp those cupboards? Well remember this reno took almost 2 years due to budget and time, so frankly I just didn't want to live with those faux gold and white pulls any longer :)
Again we used simple stuff here, hammered metal is the look we wanted. (The inspiration for these came from my mother's old garden gate :)
Next up, that white linoleum floor and appliances.
Now I know you are probably saying "oh that's all just fine Karrie, but what the heck did you do on a budget?" With six mouths to feed I fully understand budgets and cash flow issues. That being said, I am a self proclaimed and diehard bargain hunter!
With the appliances needing replaced and no way to afford new at full price, I turned to Kijiji & the Facebook yard sale sites. On these sites we were able to buy the stove, dishwasher and fridge (all of which were 1 year or younger) without breaking the bank.
Okay, so back to the renos. Due to that budget we were just talking about, I started on the DIY hunt for flooring ideas as well, and I found hundreds! From penny floors to paper bag floors, and all types in between. But since I had my heart set on a modern day farmhouse kitchen, the right floor had to be wooden AND affordable. So we caught a sale at Kents and bought plain, kiln dried shelving boards for our floor. The boards, stain, black screws and poly altogether cost a whopping $127.86! (the underlay was left over from a previous project) Well within my budget.
Would you just look at that grain!
We decided on 1x8x6 pine boards, knowing that they are soft enough that over time they would become scratched, dinged and worn to perfection. Also the wider boards give a more vintage feel.
Once laid, they then needed to be treated. We decided to darken things up a bit since there was so much white in this room. We chose Minwax Provincial as our stain. This has become a favorite of mine when it is paired with light co lors.
We chose to rag it on instead of using a stain stick, I wanted to have more control over the stain. When you do this, keep in mind the smell. The oil stain and the Polyurethane are extremely potent, so be sure to open up the windows and get the air moving ~ we used fans to help dry the floor and move the air.
Here is the final result. In my opinion they are breathtaking. We used Minwax Fast-Drying Flooring Polyurethane in a semi-gloss, for our sealant.
Once the floor was finished (which took 72 hours start to finish) It was all about those cupboards! They needed an update!
Now again we are sticking to a budget, so we decided to take the existing vinyl off the cupboard doors. Peeling off that vinyl coating on the Multi Density Fiberboard (MDF) was a bit tricky but easy enough. Wanting a true and bright white we chose Behr Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel. Because this is water based we also needed a primer, so that the MDF didn't suck it all up and possibly warp or chip. We chose to use a Zinsser primer sealer & stain killer since those gaps in the vinyl collected grease and finger smudges from months of unprotected use.
The priming and painting took another 72 hours to allow the correct drying times. Using a brush for the recessed part of the door, and a tiny roller for the rest, to avoid lines in the paint. All that's left now is to add the hardware and rehang the doors.
Now that the floor and cupboards are in, it's time for the details.
Stove; bought on Kijiji for $50. Just 8 months old with a burnt out element in the oven. Replaced at Home Depot for $35. So grand total of $85 for a new stove.
Stove Art $3.00 dollar-store finds
A new utensil holder $1.25 dollar-store find!
We also updated our light to LED lighting. Another long term cost saver
To finish off the style we were looking for, we added a little burlap and galvanized steel star for the window. If you have noticed the rod holding the burlap, it's a simple tree branch that was blown down in a storm. We stripped it of bark and left in the sun & weather for a few weeks to age it, and installed like any regular curtain rod would be. This may seem like a strange thing to do but for the sake of style, it's perfect. ( you will also see in this picture the dishwasher. This was found on Kijiji and only 6 months old. It was free to us because it was damaged, however my husband knew he could fix this minor detail and we now have a brand new appliance that works beautifully)
A few of my favorite things on the window ledge; suncatchers and ornamental grass stalk :)
And better lighting over the sink, again LED daylight bulbs for energy efficiency.
We added an over the range microwave to upgrade our 10 year old mammoth counter microwave. Which resulted in raising the cupboards a few inches. As an energy star appliance it too will help us keep the energy consumption low.
NOTE: This was an addition made later in the year and purchased outside the budget allotted for this project. (Merry Christmas to Mommy!)
So after it's all said and done, here is the big reveal: (You'll notice the missing microwave here because that was added later and this page was updated.)
Our fridge which you can see a bit of, was a priced for $200 on Kijiji. This picture was taken at night, the LED lighting really is very bright! I hope you found this renovation inspiring, and helpful. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, just click on the ABOUT link on the home page. Happy renos!
Comments