Kitchen Reno #2

Happy Friday, everybody! It was a busy week for me and I wanted to take a moment to share with you another post from my kitchen renovation series. You may remember my previous post, kitchen renovation #1 where we did in our first full remodel on a budget in a historic neighborhood. 

For kitchen renovation #2, I am reflecting on a kitchen that I restored back in 2015. It was part of a complete remodel that we did to a property in Louisville, Kentucky near the University. This was my second full kitchen replacement and I started from a blank canvas continuing to hone my formula for creating a modern and Scandinavian kitchen as I go. 

I do love all white kitchens that feature modern Scandinavian design. For rental properties and resale purposes, it is somewhat safe to use all white. I find the color both clean and appealing. Since these properties are both located in Louisville, where the homes have a history, the updated look incorporates historical aspects in a modern way. Our renters have all embraced the clean and modern look which possesses crisp lines, white cabinets, and light birch (warm) countertops. 

For this kitchen remodel, I kept some things the same as in Kitchen Renovation #1

• white cabinets (*new vs. salvaged)
• butcher block countertops
• hand-scraped engineered wood flooring
• L-shaped kitchen
• open-shelving

Keep reading see how it looks with a tile backsplash and I will share links to all products that I used at the end of this post. 

This time around, I changed up a few things. I used a stainless steel sink instead of a farmhouse ceramic one. This one below from IKEA featured a longer prep station to the left of the basin. 

pI used with light birch countertops again, and this time I cut out a breakfast bar which opens to the living room. To cover the countertops, our carpenter had to glue-up the 24" countertops and combined them to be about 42" deep. 

I used all white appliances instead of stainless steel appliances, including the dishwasher, which was not yet installed. I liked that using all white appliances ending up being slightly more affordable too, while creating a clean polished look. 

We added French doors, where there were none. The doors and the 2 windows provide lots of natural lighting. 

I knew that I wanted to do a custom backsplash like the ones that I had been eyeing on Pinterest. I love the modern timelessness of subway tiles and I hoped to do longer subway tiles for a more interesting look. I have been a fan of Heath Ceramics and their hand-glazed mid-century tiles. Since they can be an investment, we decided to source the overstock tiles from the Heath Factory in Sausalito. My husband took a detour on a business trip and picked them up for me! (The logistics of how we packaged them and got them to Kentucky would be a whole other post;)

These tiles were a mixture of white and ivory and we mixed them up in an improvised way similar to the inspiration photo below. 

As you can see our tile backsplash makes the kitchen look complete too. ​

Here is the product list below (available for download at the end of this post!)

• recessed LED lighting 
• top mount 60/40 stainless steel sink 
• hanging pendant light
• butcher block counter tops
• Whirlpool appliances: white microwave, energy-saver dishwasher, similar white gas stove (on sale), and white refrigerator.   
• subway tile backsplash
• windows for natural light
• custom white all wood cabinets with modern hardware

Overall, I am happy with the simple clean look of this kitchen. The new cabinets, backsplash, and breakfast bar are all unique to this property.  

Personally, I am ready for another Kitchen renovation in the works (and I secretly hope it's my own!;) I would love to apply what I learned from this one and make some changes. While, I would keep some things the same, I might just throw a little bit of color or pattern into the mix! 

I hope this budget kitchen renovation guide helps you to plan your dream kitchen or your next remodel. In the end, both kitchens cost about the same $$$. Would you be interested in seeing a more detailed breakdown of how we allocated funds on this project?  

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the 2 kitchens, or your own projects below!