The Updates We’ve Made to Our Kitchen

The last two phots are the kitchen before- they are pictures from the listing.

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I’m really excited for today’s post! The last few weeks (maybe more?) Kurt and I have been working really hard on making some small, but impactful updates to our kitchen area! And they have made such a difference.

To be honest, I’ve never really been crazy about our kitchen. It’s not the worst thing, but it is not something I would pick out myself. We have tossed around the idea of painting the cabinets. But after doing more research on it, I’m still really hesitant on it. So I don’t think that is a project we are going to tackle. One day, probably many, many years down the line we plan to completely re-do the kitchen and make it exactly what we want. It will be a while before we do that. I think it would be the last thing on our list that we would do. We want to update all of our bathrooms, put in a new patio outside and lots of smaller projects along the way before we tackle the kitchen.

So in the meantime, we wanted our kitchen to feel more ‘us’ and something that we could live with in the meantime. When we first moved in, I was too overwhelmed at what to even do with the space. So I bought a rug and accessorized with items I already owned. And then it was consumed by pump parts, baby bottles, sippy cups-all things baby! Now I feel like I finally have my kitchen back and it was time to make it more ours.

I will say after living here for almost two years, this kitchen does have some nice redeeming qualities. I like that the cabinets go to the ceiling. There is a nice, pull out spice rack that makes everything really easy to store. There is a lot of storage. I like that there are more drawers than cabinets, although they are a little deep. We have a really nice cabinet that has a special drawer for our knives. So it isn’t all bad!

These small changes have made a big impact and I have to say, I really love how it all turned out! I love walking in there now and seeing everything. We did some small changes, but they fit better with the house and our personal style. So today, I wanted to share my real life kitchen. I don’t have the white cabinets, marble countertops of my dreams and I think a lot of people are on the same boat. I have a real kitchen! It was really hard to find inspiration photos for our space because once you start googling or looking on Pinterest, all the new and updated kitchens pop up. So I had to go with my gut on this one and go with what I like. Here is what we have done to our kitchen!

The Updates We’ve Made to Our Kitchen

We updated all of the light bulbs. And wow, that made a huge difference. We went with these light bulbs in the daylight color because we don’t have a lot of natural light in this space. We have a small window and that’s it. So we wanted this space to feel lighter and brighter. I was a little nervous the first night we had installed these light bulbs because they are really bright. But we got used to them and I would definitely use them again. Also, why are light bulbs so expensive?! We have a lot of lights so maybe it’s just our kitchen. But it was a small fortune!

Paint the basement landing. For whatever reason when we first had our home painted, I didn’t have the little landing down to our basement painted. I didn’t think it would bother me that much. But it did! And it was so gross. So Kurt and I tackled this project together. He prepped the walls for me and I painted in here! I’m really proud of the work we did because I think it turned out so good. The walls are Benjamin Moore Gray Mist which is what our kitchen and most of our house is. We added a new trash can, which I know is kind of silly. But I really love this trash can. It is nice and big and a lot can fit in it before it gets full. And it’s really affordable compared to others ones. I added a rug, a small cart for odds and ends and hung this basket on the wall for extra storage. Oh, and I hung these adorable pictures on the wall. My mom got us these for Christmas and when we finished the space I thought they would be perfect in there…and I was right!
We updated the hardware which made the most impact! The hardware we had previously wasn’t the worst, but it was really modern looking and I wanted something a little more timeless and classic. I was a little perplexed at what finish to go with. So I went to Home Depot one day and bought the cheapest knobs I could find just to test out new finishes. I added them to a cabinet and lived with them for a few days until I decided on polished nickel. Which is actually what I thought I would like in the first place! I made sure to measure the existing holes we had because I didn’t want to have to re-drill any and just started searching for some new handles and knobs. I ended up going with this knob and these drawer pulls. And I’m really happy with them. I should note that our hinges on the cabinets are still chrome, which was the original finish of our hardware. It doesn’t bother me that they are different because our hinges aren’t exposed. And I don’t think anyone would even really notice this unless I pointed it out. It’s not really worth the money or headache for us to replace the hinges, at least in my opinion!
I switched up our rug. I’ve never really been crazy about the rug I had originally bought for the space. I was sick of looking and was like oh I can live with this one. But I knew once we decided to update the kitchen, we needed a new rug. I was having a hard time finding anything I really loved, so one night I played rug tetris and literally moved all the rugs I own around my home trying them in this space haha. I wanted to see different colors, sizes, shapes, etc. This rug was originally in my entryway and it is one of my favorite rugs (more pics in this blog post). And I thought it would be too small in the kitchen, but once I laid it down- it was perfect! It really lightened up the space and made the kitchen feel more timeless. It was perfect!

I added a kitchen cart to our blank wall. We have this random space where you are probably suppose to add a small kitchen table. But we would never use it as our dining room table is just on the other side so it seemed silly to add another one! So we decided to use this space to add a small kitchen cart. It is so nice to have one less thing on our kitchen counters (I moved our coffee machine to this cart) and to also have some extra counter space and storage. I really love how it warms up the space a little bit too! I did add the same knobs that are on the cabinets to this cart as I thought it would tie things in a little nicer.
And last, but not least, I added a few new accessories. I added this Williams Sonoma hand soap and lotion set (my favorite scent for hand soap!), added this dish so I can toss my rings in it when I am cooking, a new spoon rest to match my paper towel holder. And I added this tray to organize my olive oil, butter and salt/pepper grinders.

What We Still Plan to Do in Our Kitchen

There are still a few things I plan to add to the space- here is what I have planed.

Add a backsplash! This is the biggest thing we want to do. And I think Kurt and I might tackle this on our own. How hard can it be, right?! haha. This project probably won’t happen until next year at the rate we are going, but it gives me some time to figure out what I want. I want something simple as the countertops are already a little busy so maybe just plain white or off-white subway tile?!
Re-tile the basement steps. As you can see from the pictures the tile down to the basement is really old and gross looking. So it badly needs to be updated. For now, I added a rug so I can try and hide it haha. But it’s on the list to do!
Paint the built in cabinet island. I have no idea what to call this thing. And I know it is kind of weird. It goes thru the wall and can be accessed from the kitchen and also the dining room. I hated this thing at first and thought it was so weird. Which it is still really weird! But I do love how the glass helps to open the kitchen up and I love the extra storage. Anyway, I hate how the bottom cabinet is dark wood. It is ugly and gross and really beaten up. And it is too close in color to our floors. I really wish they would have just made it all the same color. So I want to have this painted. I might be adventurous and go with a navy or sage green color. But someone also suggested to paint it white which is usually my go to color! And I really like that idea because it would brighten things up even more. This is a project I would hire out for. I’ve looked into painting cabinets and it is a processsss!
Add more accessories. I just recently purchased this faux topiary plant. It was out of stock and just came back so I ordered it immediately! I think it will look really cute and I don’t have to worry about killing it. Maybe add a fun butter dish like this one or this one. And I want to eventually update my salt and pepper grinder. We have been married for almost nine years, so I have gotten my monies worth out of these ones haha. Plus, I can’t resist white stuff, I just can’t! Add some cute dish towels. I haven’t decided on any, but I do really love these. I also want to update all my utensils to all white. I just think it will look so much better! And eventually update my utensil holder. I love this one.
Add artwork. I want to add something to the big wall above the kitchen cart. Maybe a set or three of these hydrangeas or a big plate wall? I haven’t committed to anything yet! Art is always hard for me to decide on, so I am going to wait until I find something that just feels right!
Organize spice drawer. I really love that we even have a spice drawer. But it is really unorganized, so I am going to put everything in the same containers and label them all so it’s easier to find when I’m in a rush. I plan to order this set.
Update kitchen faucet. This is something we will do a little down the road, but I want a new faucet. It drives me crazy that it is off center so I might also look into having a hole drilled so it can go in the correct place. But after talking to my dad about that, it might be more complicated than it looks- like always haha! This is kind of what I have in mind though.

Hope this gave you some ideas on how to update your kitchen. Your real life kitchen! Not just the white and marble ones you see all over the internet 🙂