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    Home » Home Decorating » Room Makeovers

    Published: Feb 20, 2015 · Modified: Nov 13, 2022 by Rachel

    Kitchen Makeover Reveal

    This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure.
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    Our Traditional Style Kitchen Remodel with Wood Cabinets and Gray island.

    Today is the BIG DAY! We only have 1 project left to go – adding French doors – but I’d say that it’s ready for a big ‘ol reveal. When we moved into this house I knew that this kitchen would be a major project I wanted to tackle. I can’t even believe the difference! The journey has been so worth it.

    In case you missed it or would like more information, here are the articles to the rest of the kitchen renovation series:

    • Kitchen Renovation Plan and Before Pictures
    • Extending the Island and Adding a Breakfast Bar
    • Building A Kitchen Island
    • 5 tips for Replacing your Counter Tops

    So are you ready to see the transformation??

    Kitchen renovation before with cherry cabinets and brown floors.

    First, let’s visit the BEFORE KITCHEN of doom. Dark and a little outdated at this point. This picture is from when we moved in, but it is the only one, I have that shows the full kitchen.

    Traditional Kitchen Decorating and Remodel. This grey kitchen includes white granite, dark cabinets, marble backsplash, and a two level island.

    And this is what it looks like today!

    Modern Traditional Kitchen with Wood Cabinets and gray island, light marble countertops, pendant lights, and luxury vinyl floor.

    The finished breakfast bar with extension. We added on to the original island to make it more functional as this is this the main eating area for our family of 3. You can see how we built a DIY kitchen island ourselves. We also added these new bar stools and waterproofed the fabric to prevent spills.

    Modern Traditional Kitchen with Wood Cabinets and gray island, light marble countertops, pendant lights, luxury vinyl floor, stainless still appliances, and copper accents.

    Per hubby’s request, the cabinets have not changed. That was one of my compromises. However, in return, I got to do the accessorizing. The new, better fitting fridge is awesome! Even with the darker cabinets, the kitchen makeover makes this room much lighter and airy in feeling. Love It! The grey really brought out the richness of the cabinetry that was missing in the yellow/beige outdated scheme.

    Dark wood cabinets in modern traditional kitchen makeover with light marble countertops, and light tile backsplash.

    I will totally take credit for that back splash, though! It’s a tumbled marble tile ….and it’s gorgeous! So many people wanted me to add decorative tiles or color or sparkle to it. But I dug my heels in about keeping it white and plain. And, dang it, I feel vindicated looking at that picture.

    Remember how we rewired and hid the outlets under the cabinets? So.Much.Better.

    Copper canisters in modern traditional kitchen makeover on marble counter. Basket tray centerpiece on kitchen island with white bowls, copper mugs, and potted white flowers.

    Hubby and I did all the tile job ourselves and much of it was hand laid because the sheets did not fit together properly or were in awkward spaces.

    Kitchen window view by light neutral backsplash, white wall, and white free-floating shelves with potted plant, framed picture, and set of cookbooks.

    Although it’s hard to say which part of the kitchen makeover is my favorite, but the open shelves are definitely up there. I had to add at least a little bit of color and sunshine. I store my cookbooks, the family heirloom plant, and a few cute accessories on them.

    DIY menu chalkboard in kitchen with rustic turquoise frame

    Of course, every kitchen needs a good area for the coffee setup. Above is my menu chalkboard. The Tile Shop has been so generous to us in finding a last bit of tile to cover that back wall. They called every store in the US to find enough for our project and pulled it together from 4 different stores. I actually intend to put a corkboard there, but we want the tile behind it in case we ever change our minds.

    Coffee bar nook by double oven in kitchen. Dark wood cabinets stocked with white coffee mugs above coffee machine, canisters, spoons, and bowl of sweetener.

    Kitchen Decor Sources and Details

    Paint Colors: Valspar Asiago | Trim/Moulding- Valspar Pale Bloom

    Hard Surfaces: Countertops- Bianco Romano but I have also seen it called Andino White (with mitered edge island on island) | 15 inch deep Double Undermount Sink | Tall Kitchen Faucet (similar) | Liberty 3-inch drawer pulls (3″ satin nickle) | Flooring: Shaw Floors Galleria Aker’s Mill | Cabinet Color: Unknown but looks like a brown cherry- solid wood | Backsplash: Tumbled Marble with ⅛-inch white grout

    Lighting:  Island Pendant Lights (Chrome Finish)

    Furniture: Bar Stools | Step Stool 

    Walls/Art/Windows: Cordless Shades (White) | Chalkboard Menu | White Shelves (similar)

    Kitchen Accessories (link on photo):

    If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below! Be sure to check out the other parts of this series at the top of this post!

    Weekend DIY project. A pegboard organizer in the craft room above the desk workspace.

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    More Room Reveals

    • Modern Classic Guest Bathroom Transformation with white and navy color scheme. Subway tile, dual vanity, brass hardware.
      Modern Classic Guest Bathroom Makeover Reveal
    • Traditional tartan christmas table decorations with napkins, place settings, and crystal goblets.
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    • Large grey kitchen island with breakfast bar in traditional trim and two tone different color from the cabinets.
      Kitchen Island Makeover: Adding Trim
    • Neutral living room design with cream mantle, glass table, and green accents colors.
      5 Ways to Start a Room Makeover
    « DIY Map Art for the Wall
    Easy Easter Bunny Pouch Craft »

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    1. Ellen R says

      February 17, 2021 at 10:43 am

      5 stars
      Dear Rachel,
      I love what you did with the kitchen. I have the same cabinets in my new apartment and do not want to remove them, but the kitchen is very dark. Your idea to add the light backsplash and countertops is exactly what I want to do! It’s great to see a finished product to make my mind up. You did a beautiful job.
      Ellen

      Reply
    2. Caitlin says

      April 29, 2018 at 4:54 pm

      5 stars
      What did you end up doing the floor as?

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        April 29, 2018 at 7:40 pm

        Hi Caitlin! We are finally putting the very finishing touches on our kitchen (albeit 3 years later, lol). Here is a post I installed lvt flooring.

        Reply
    3. Lyndy says

      September 01, 2017 at 7:27 pm

      5 stars
      Where did you find your backsplash? I love the look of it and the mosaic like design.

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        September 03, 2017 at 1:00 am

        It is a tumbled marble stone that we purchased from The Tile Shop.

        Reply
    4. Shally says

      July 29, 2016 at 6:25 pm

      5 stars
      Beautiful!!! I love the stone brick work on the breakfast bar. The whole kitchen looks so much lighter. Again, it’s beautiful!

      Reply
    5. Lisa says

      June 30, 2016 at 4:57 pm

      5 stars
      What are you countertops? I’m getting ready to redo our kitchen, but my husband wants to keep our wood cabinets too. I’m trying to implement the grey and keep the wooden cabinets similar to your design!

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        June 30, 2016 at 5:27 pm

        We put in a granite called Blanco Gabrielle. We went through a contractor from Lowes. Interestingly, they told us that they sold it cheaper through Lowes than you could buy it off the shelf because of their contract setup. I wanted a solid surface or quartz but my husband liked the granite better since it hides bread crumbs and spills better. Also, the granite was much cheaper. His logic won out.

        Reply
        • Lisa says

          July 01, 2016 at 6:25 am

          5 stars
          Thanks! It looks great!

    6. Mary says

      February 11, 2016 at 11:37 pm

      5 stars
      LOVE LOVE LOVE- in the midst of upgrade similar to this. My cabinets are same and floor are similar to terra cotta tile. I don’t exactly like but my husband says the cabinet color and tile stays and I can change whatever else. Walls were BM concord ivory. I recently painted hint of grey/cremeBM white dove but now it seems almost stark. Formica counters are being changed and I love your counters and marble back splash together along with paint color- doesn’t not seem stark at all. Do you recall you paint wall paint color and trim color?

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        February 12, 2016 at 12:11 am

        Thank you so much for your kind words! I can’t stand my floors but we have to replace the entire main floor at the same time so I’m waiting on the $$$, lol. There is very little trim in our kitchen, but for the rest of the house I used a warm, almost creamy white. I have a very open floor plan so basically I took all of my paint chips together and figured out which white worked best with all of them. The paint color I used in the kitchen is called Asiago and it’s part of the heritage line from Lowe’s. I have used a few Benjamin Moore paint colors for various projects and I would guess that “Light Pewter” is the closest to the Asiago. I haven’t used that particular color so it is more of a guess but you could take a paint sample from lowe’s to them and see side by side. To the human eye, it reads as a white but doesn’t have the starkness that you speak of. I have a lot of natural light in my kitchen so that does help brighten too. I hope that helps and I am always here to answer questions. Good luck with your upgrade and I would love to see it after it is done!

        Reply
        • Angie says

          June 30, 2020 at 6:08 pm

          5 stars
          So is Asiago the color paint that you used to paint the island?

        • Rachel says

          June 30, 2020 at 10:51 pm

          Great question as I did miss that. The walls are Valspar Asiago, but the island is a furniture paint called Fusion Mineral. You can find more information on it hereherehere. We purchased it hereWe purchased it hereWe purchased it here. I love their paint because it is very, very durable and a matte finish but we also used a polyacrylic top coat for even more protection. The paint color is Fusion Mineral’s Lamp White.

    7. ellen puttbach says

      November 14, 2015 at 8:11 pm

      5 stars
      Love the look of the back splash. We have a similar cabinet and counter. Can you tell me the name of the backsplash tile and where you got it from?

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        November 14, 2015 at 8:32 pm

        I adore the backsplash! We purchased it from The Tile Shop.

        Reply
    8. jessica says

      March 04, 2015 at 10:56 am

      5 stars
      This turned out awesome! I honestly love white backsplashes. It lets you pull other colors into the room and make your accessories pop like no buddies business! The island is to die for! I love everything about your kitchen!
      Thanks for linking up Totally Terrific Tuesday. Pinned and shared 😉
      Jess

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        March 04, 2015 at 5:55 pm

        Thanks, Jessica! My original intention was to paint the cabinets a warm grey and although I think it would have been goregous with the white backsplash, I think the darker suits our house better. I can’t wait to rip up those floors now! You are so right about the white backsplash giving more versatility.

        Reply
        • jessica says

          March 05, 2015 at 10:03 am

          5 stars
          Just think of the cabinets as a part of your homes history lol. I love grey though, I painted my bathroom a darker gray color and put in grey marble tiles. It is one of my favorite places hahaha.

    9. Brenna @ Life After Laundry says

      March 02, 2015 at 10:00 am

      5 stars
      I love how your kitchen turned out. We just bought a foreclosure last year and the kitchen is one of the main things on our list. Thank you for the inspiration and for sharing this with the Tips & Tricks Link Party! Pinned!

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        March 04, 2015 at 5:50 pm

        Glad I could inspire someone! And thanks for the Pin! It was a loooong project, not gonna lie. But the results are definitely worth it. I love cooking in there so much more now.

        Reply
    10. Kristen from The road to domestication says

      February 27, 2015 at 6:49 pm

      5 stars
      SO gorgeous!!! I LOVE the color scheme, and those CANISTERS! WOW!!! Thanks for joining us at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again next week! Feel free to bring a friend with you 🙂 Happy Friday! #TGIF

      Reply
    11. Life Breath Present says

      February 25, 2015 at 10:18 am

      5 stars
      This looks great! Your kitchen does have a really open and airy feel to it. I love that you have great light sources in a window and patio door!

      When we moved into our house the kitchen was not pleasing either. I mean, it had great bones and all, but didn’t feel good. We painted our walls yellow, the backsplash a high-gloss deep blue and the cabinets white. The hardware on the cabinets got a silver paint and the island stand is also blue. The floor was one of the biggest projects becoming a dark and medium hardwood laminate floating floor. There are a few more things we want to do, but we’re waiting until we can open windows again in the spring/summer! 🙂

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        February 25, 2015 at 10:30 pm

        Wow! Sounds like you have been busy too. Your decor sounds so interesting and cool. Now I am curious and want to see all the amazing work. We are putting the floor off because we know it will be yet another big project and since we are putting hardwoods throughout, might as well do it then.

        Reply
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