One well known fact is that redoing a kitchen brings one of the the biggest bangs for the buck. I think I would have to totally agree with that. Most kitchen renovations I see on TV are done for $25,000 or more. Well, prepare to be amazed at what you can DIY for less than $3,000. My old kitchen in Georgia was built in 1985 and had all the original appliances, as well as the Euro-style cabinets that I just insisted on having when the house was originally built. The house building was overseen by my preacher dad, who also happened to know a thing or two about building. This was the first house (and only house) I lived in when I was a single girl in my late 20’s. It was an exciting time, to get my own house for the very first time and I lived in this house for 20 years, from single to married. But, back to those oh-so-trendy Euro cabinets. Why I fell in love with them, I’ll never know…but, I did…and the kitchen looked like this.
Aren’t they just the most stylish things you’ve ever seen? I had to have that wallpaper too, somewhere around 1994 or so. Wallpaper was still a desirable thing back then. I’ve about changed my mind on all things wallpaper these days, but I still like a pretty paper in a certain spot. So, I was married to someone else during that time and my ex and I decided to update this awful kitchen to something more up to date and exciting in 2002. Those painted and glazed cabinets were just coming into vogue in the showrooms and my first exposure was at the Home Depot Expo in Atlanta, a great place to get inspiration. Since I was keeping the almond appliances, I decided to paint them a close match to that and then do a glaze on top. My ex was also quite handy with the tools and built new doors from scratch, as well as added LOTS of wood moldings and extra bling to the space & this was done with his expertise. You won’t recognize it now…..
New beadboard doors, hardware, granite tile countertops, tumbled marble backsplash, sink & faucet and WOWIE, what a kitchen now. It was a dream kitchen to me and took a long 6 weeks of hard work to complete, working every day on it. You can see the island that was built for this space, which is now residing in my laundryroom. It was too pretty to leave behind.
Another view BEFORE
And AFTER
That 3 paned window you see was actually cut from the top of an old door and added in for a pretty new detail. Lots of molding and corbels made up this redo. That rectangular piece above the sink was a lightweight resin piece that I painted & glazed to match the cabinets and then just hung up on nails.
Same thing for those 2 pieces above the cubby, they are plaster pieces. The cubby used to have those two small doors on it and those were taken off to make this cute little display space. Those square pieces were free standing pieces mounted with liquid nails for security. You can see from the befores and afters that plywood boxes were added to take the cabinets up to the ceiling in 2 places with crown molding added. This really added some needed architectural interest in this otherwise bland kitchen. He was very handy with the tools and did an outstanding job. I have no doubt that this was one reason the house sold when it did. She fell in love with this kitchen!
Lots of beadboard and extra rope and other molding was added. Made a world of difference.
I used a Ben Moore color called Vellum as the base color, then added Ralph Lauren Teastain glaze to them, wiping most off with a wet rag. Glazing is really not hard, just takes a little time, but is a very forgiving process. Seeded (looks like old) glass was added to the doors.
I loved murals, but didn’t want to pay for one, so I took a cue from Donna at The Decorated House blog (she’s SO creative and gave us all many tips on faux painting over the years that I’ve known her online) and printed these fruits that I found online off on paper and decoupaged them directly to the tumbled stone. No one ever knew that they weren’t handpainted. 
This is granite tiles with an edging installed. I won’t even go into how hard this was to do, but I’ve heard there are improvements out there now on granite edgings. Using granite tiles really saves a LOT of money over slab. Of course, I’d love to have slab now, but would consider doing granite tiles again in my current house. This color was called Giallo Espirito and was a great color. Couldn’t even see crumbs when it was dirty. I’ve just heard about a new granite tile product with built-in bullnose edging that is as easy to install as regular tile. Go here to read about Benissimo granite tile systems. One of my online friends, Kat in Washington, just did this in her kitchen if you want to take a look at her DIY project. It really is beautiful.
I loved these fleur de lis knobs that I special ordered from HD Expo, as well as the bin pulls. I added these cute little feet from a bed post project that was laying around the house…they really aren’t feet, but I made them work. I might have to add some feet to my current cabinets too, since I’ve seen them out there lately in other kitchens and still love them.
Closeup of the glazing and knobs. Painting and glazing cabinets is really not a hard project, just takes some time and effort. I primed the base of the cabinets well for the first step, put on 2 coats of the creamy paint, then after all was dry, went back with the glaze and added that. Brush on the glaze with a paintbrush & keep a damp rag handy to wipe most of it off. The glaze helps keep it wet longer so you can work with it.
Sink was a Kohler sink and very nice in an off-white shade. I started a trend with this Price Pfister Marielle faucet at the time and lots of my decorating buddies went out and bought the same one. It now comes in oil-rubbed bronze and when I do a little redo in my current kitchen, I’ll probably get the same one in bronze. I loved that faucet!
A few fleur de lis tiles were added along the black/cream border for a lot of detail.
Sigh….I did love that kitchen, but it was time to move on to Birmingham and we are very happy in our current home, me and hubby. My current kitchen is pretty with white cabinets and a tumbled tile countertop and backsplash, but I would love to do a little update in there too. I may end up adding some rope molding along the top of my crown molding & painting to match the cabinets. And, I’d love to do a dark granite countertop one day, along with a Silgranite sink (granite composite) and that beautiful oil-rubbed bronze faucet. I don’t want to do a total renovation, just a couple of things.
I know many of us are looking to update kitchens, old and new, so hopefully you got some inspiration from this oldie but goodie of mine. I did love that kitchen!
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UNBELIEVABLE!!! It doesn’t even look like the same kitchen. You did a FANTASTIC job as well as the ex. Love all the detailing.
An AMAZING redo!!!! Kitchen and banner! : )
~~Liz~~
I remember that kitchen…it was an inspiration for mine. cherry
Hi Rhoda 🙂
Gorgeous transformation! For under $3000 too?! Amazing! I loved the little feet you added to the cabinets 🙂
So when do we get to see your kitchen now?? 😉
hugs,
rue
Wow, I would miss that kitchen. Did you get visitation rights after the move?! Gorgeous!
WOW!! What can I say that hasn’t already been said?? This looks like the most fantastic, custom-built kitchen out there!!
You are a decorating goddess, Rhoda!!
Linda
Hi Rhoda
That is an amazing kitchen transformation. Sure wish ny husband was handy.
Hugs, Rhondi
Great job Rhoda! Amazing what you can do when you are a little bit handy! It turned out great, big transformation!
🙂
Happy decorating,
Melissa
Rhoda, that is BEAUTIFUL! We are planning a new laundry room, and have some old cabinets from another project that we could use. Having seen your cabinet redo, I am encouraged to think that I might be able to paint them and save a lot of money. Thanks for the inspiration!
xoxo,
Mary
I love the old kitchen the colors , the tile the moldings, would love it now. mishelle
This is absolutely incredible! The kitchen is show-stopping and it is hard to believe how little money was spent! It looks like you spent a fortune!!
My husband and I are house hunting currently and this will inspire me to look at ugly, outdated kitchens with a much better (more positive) perspective.
Thank you so much for sharing these photos and detailing the steps!
Heather 🙂
Rhoda,
I would have been sad to leave your home which had so many memories also. The kitchen make over was simply lovely. I loved how you did the mural… and how good it turned out. The area above the window looked so nice and loved the bunny touches. It looked like a different kitchen for not very much money! It was a great post. Yours always are!
Beth
Well, Rhoda, that was truly a beautiful redo! You and your ex did a wonderful job. I am so impressed you guys did all of that work yourselves. I can’t imagine the mess my husband and I would make of such a projec!! Thank you for sharing. Dana
For some reason, I thought this kitchen looked familiar. Did you post on BHG years ago? Around 1999 or so? I think I definitely remember this kitchen – I bookmarked quite a few pictures for inspiration ideas and I believe this was one of the kitchens, and I think you may have had some bedroom ideas I saved as well.
I’m sure your new kitchen is jsut as lovely, or you will make it that way!
Anon, yes, I was a regular participant on BHG decorating board back during that time, late 90’s. This kitchen wasn’t done until 2002, so you may not have seen it on BHG, since that board really went downhill fast. I’ve been on other boards too, so that may have been where you saw it back then.
Thanks for the compliments!
Rhoda, it is absolutely beautiful! We did our kitchen for $3000 also but it’s not nearly as pretty 🙂 Our $3000 included tearing the old kitchen down to the slab floor and rebuilding walls and ceilings and such though, or maybe mine would be a bit shinier. I love love love this and your cabinets are the best part. We did beaded board cabinets and it’s the best decision ever for a kitchen. Instant charm and classic, I think. You did so great and I had so much fun seeing the transformation.
My favorite re-do projects to see are kitchens. You may remember we re-did ours last summer, and added a keeping room and I am still decorating. Just ordered window treatments last week. It takes awhile for it to all come together but well worth it. After all, the kitchen is the heart of the home.
omg – fabulous! I always hate those euro cabinets – hahah – I can’t believe what you did to this kitchen! it is gorgeous!!!!!!!!
OMG that kitchen is/was beautiful. What a fantastic job and I think I have the same faucet. That is where the similarity ends though, lol.
Janet
Thank you for sharing this. I’m in the middle of a kitchen re-do and have ugly, plain cabinets. I’m adding moulding to the cabinet fronts. I’m also building a kitchen island with a rough hewn oak countertop. Boards are coming from an old fashioned sawmill nearby. I’m doing the entire kitchen, top to bottom and right now, I’m scheduled to come in around $1000-$1500, including laminate hardwood flooring. It’s amazing what moulding and some paint can do. Thanks again for posting. I’m so visual and your pics are helping me to see that all this work will be worth it!