Among the things that have kept me busy this summer, a kitchen renovation right here in Birmingham has been a fun project that I’ve enjoyed working on. I was referred to a home owner who had listed his house for sale earlier this year and the constant feedback on the showings was that the kitchen was hopelessly outdated. Here’s where I came into the picture. The client asked me to come and give him some cost effective ideas that would help get his house sold, since he has been transferred to Georgia and needs to get it sold fairly quickly.
I took a look around his mid-1980’s brick home to see what all needed to be done. We definitely decided to lighten up all the paint throughout and the unfortunate wallpaper that was installed over 10 years ago had to go. The unfortunate part was that it covered the kitchen, dining room, and most of the bathrooms. We concentrated most of the efforts in the downstairs areas. You can see the MLS pics here. The house is really a beautiful traditional brick home that just needed some updating to bring it into the 21st century.
Foyer with green paint. Not a bad color, but neutrals show off a home to its best advantage, most of the time. The dining room really need to lose the wallpaper and light fixture too. My main concern in the foyer and dining room was just to lighten it up with a pretty neutral paint. The kitchen was the biggest challenge that we had. This area had dark stained woodwork, linoleum floors, and again the wallpaper border that just screamed “help me”. This is the breakfast area. With the dark moldings, it really closed the room in.
The cabinet stain wasn’t very appealing either. It just looked country and not in a good way.
Also, note the fluorescent light fixture box that so many of us have dealt with. The first thing I told him was that the cabinets really needed to be painted. He was all ears and listened to my advice. He commissioned me to go out and pick out paint, tile for the floor, cabinet paint, granite for the countertops, and hardware for the cabinets, as well as updated fixtures for the kitchen and dining room. You know I had some fun with that!
My goal was to keep it neutral and pretty, so that someone could see themselves living here. I tried not to go super trendy, but picked out some basic colors and finishes that I think will last for many years for the next family who lives in this house. He hired a contractor to do the work, with supervision from me along the way and I’m absolutely thrilled with how it came out.
The homeowner is too!
Here’s the new kitchen, with all new everything! New cabinet paint, molding and trim paint, wall paint, porcelain floor tile, granite countertops, sink, faucet, cabinet hardware, and light fixtures. I think you’ll agree with me that it’s a WOW now. I chose a Bisque subway tile for the backsplash and it looks great with the cabinet color of Creamy by Sherwin Williams. I worked off the color strip of Sherwin Williams Rice Grain for the wall paint, with Rice Grain going in the kitchen and diningroom and the lighter shade, Nacre, going in the den, which I didn’t get pics of, since it wasn’t put back together yet. We may have used the next darker color, Ramie in one room, but it seems that the painters got a few colors mixed up, so I totally think most of what you see is Rice Grain. The granite is the same one I chose for my house, Napoli. It’s a wonderful neutral granite. As is the faucet, Moen Annabelle from Lowes. I advised him to get a deep stainless steel undermount sink. Clean and fresh, it looks like a whole new kitchen and it is a whole new kitchen! Lovely brushed stainless steel faucet works nicely with the double stainless undermount sink. The tile is a sturdy porcelain with mottled brown/tan and complements the granite nicely. With the lighter cabinets, it works fine to go darker on the floor.It’s a beautiful porcelain tile. I don’t know the name of it right off hand. We got it from a local tile shop.
Since the existing hinges on his cabinets were already antique brass and they are not hidden, I decided the best way to update them would be to add antique brass knobs and pulls, so I ordered these off Ebay for him. I think they are just beautiful. With complimentary bin pulls for the drawers, it totally gives this kitchen a fresh new look without starting over with the hinges. There is still a little bit of touching up under the countertops to be done and you can see that not all the doors had the knobs attached when I took these pics. For the new overhead light, I opted for this antique brass rail lighting system with halogen lights, very similar to the one I put in my own kitchen. The homeowner almost didn’t get this one, but in the end I talked him into it. He just couldn’t see my vision until after it was installed and the lights were in place. Then he got it and loved it! This is a great way to get rid of that fluorescent box without getting can lights installed. His old fixture came down cleanly and this one looks great up there. And those halogens put out a lot of nice clean light.
Here’s a link to my own kitchen track light rail system that I put up last year (also found at Lowes). I cannot speak highly enough about these. They put out some nice white halogen light.
The kitchen was instantly brighter when we turned them on. You can see the wall color here, which is Rice Grain by Sherwin Williams. The breakfast nook got a new fixture too, this one from Lowes. Reminds me of the Restoration Hardware fixture, but a lot less $$. You can see in the background all the newly painted woodwork in white. What a huge difference that is too. I didn’t have my wide angle lens with me that day, so I didn’t get a pic of the whole area overall, but I think you get the picture.
Take note in the background above, the laundry doors and all the kitchen trim was painted white like the rest of the house. This really made a huge difference too.
The dining room also got a new fixture, this one from Home Depot. I tried to stay moderately priced on the things I picked out, since he was trying to do all of this on a budget. The downstairs powder room also got rid of the wallpaper and new porcelain tile installed, as well as the new paint color. The foyer too, as well as the study off the foyer got new paint too. With the fresh new paint, this house looks like a millions bucks. The color is not accurate here, but it’s the same as the kitchen paint.
The home owner was very pleased with how everything turned out and loved the finished product. Now, if he will just get a quick sale! If anyone here in Birmingham is interested in the Meadow Brook area, I can put you in touch with him.
Hope you enjoyed seeing how an outdated 1980’s house can be transformed with a few well thought out decisions! This was my first consultation job with a kitchen and I hope it won’t be the last. I had a lot of fun with it and the homeowner could not be happier.
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The winner of the E-Mealz meal planning giveaway is #49, Jan, no blog, but I have emailed her!
Barbara says
It sure is lovely, so bright and cheery now, I know you are a happy camper now, hugs my friend…
Terri says
I am so impressed. Any one trying to sell in this market could sure use your magic wand.
Traci says
Great job, Rhoda! I love the changes you made. I am sure it will sell quickly!
Thanks for sharing the pics!
Iowamom says
GORGEOUS!!! I would love for you to come to Iowa and help me. 🙂 My youngest is going to kindergarten in just a few weeks and so now with all of my kids in school I’ve got some projects to tackle! The first on my list is paint my icky oak cabinets.
Sharon~Serendipity says
I’m really loving that rice grain color….I may have to use that in my sewing room makeover! I need to find my SW deck and take a look at it IRL.
What a great transformation you engineered there, Rhoda! Kudos to you on making all the right choices to update that space. I’m sure he’ll sell quickly now! (DANG that DR wallpaper and color were SCARY, eh? LOL)
Gayle says
What a nice job. ‘Really give the kitchen a whole new updated look.
Kathy :) says
I bet he has no problem now selling it Rhoda…..nice job !!!
Kathy 🙂
Kristin says
WOW!! What a fabulous transformation, everything is gorgeous with your special touches! Great job!
Take care
Kristin
Marilyn Holeman says
Rhoda, What a lovely job you did! We have three INSET fluorescent light fixtures in our galley kitchen. Can those be replaced by the rail system in a similar manner? You do a great job in your blog. Thanks for your help and inspiration!
Rhoda says
Marilyn, I just don’t think you’d have the same effect if your fixtures are inset, but you could take them down & see what you’re dealing with. Not sure it would work at all the same though.
sandy says
Gosh Rhoda you are so talented! I painted our cabinets white seven years ago and they are starting to show some wear. Any ideas on how I could update without painting them all? And I think you should go on Design Star on HGTV also. You have more talent in your little finger than all of those people currently on the show!
Sherry @ No Minimalist Here says
Rhoda, You made some great choices in the kitchen and it looks wonderful. I hope his real estate agent puts pictures of the new kitchen in the MLS now. It really turned out great!
Hugs, Sherry
Cindy S says
Rhoda,
What a great transformation, it is really lovely now. Paint is so awesome and a few new fixtures, makes such a huge difference! Love it!
Cindy
myra @ my blessed life says
Rhoda! How wonderful! Looks great! 🙂
I love kitchen and bath design and renovation! It’s probably my favorite part of design work. I love picking out all the pieces and making them work together like a beautiful puzzle! 🙂
Roeshel says
It’s gorgeous, Rhoda! Great tips and I wish I could talk my hubby into that track lighting but he’s dead set on can lights (that have been sitting here for about a year waiting to go in). Great inspiration, and there’s hope for my 80s kitchen yet (which is worse 80s that this kitchen ‘before’). Our (temporary) remodel will be a smaller budget but it’s still great to see your tips and a beautiful transformation!
Pat says
Awesome transformation! Great selection of colors, much easier
to live with than the darker colors of the past. You’re right about a
remodeling budget expanding over the set $$$ amount. One change
seems to precede the desire to change something else. We remodeled
our former home and ended up several thousands over budget. Didn’t
help that the contractors decided to leave before completing the job.
Good services are hard to find, so buyer beware! Super results, Rhoda!
Nelly says
Any idea where/how much the pulls were? I can’t find them very inexpensive anywhere…
Annie says
I also painted my blond oak cabinets SW creamy. Where did you get your bisque subway tiles?
Denise says
I loved looking at your photos… your designs/colors are beautiful. I googled “Rice Grain” and found your blog. I’m considering using this color in my master bath. Can you tell me if this color looks good with greens and blues? Specifically, apple green and turquoise? I have some beautiful new towels and decor items in these colors and am trying to find a warm, neutral background so that these colors can pop. Your opinion on this would be helpful.
Blessings,
Denise
Rhoda says
HI, Denise, Rice Grain is a very nice neutral with not a lot of undertones, so I think you would be fine using it with your greens & blues. I’d suggest getting a quart and trying it out in your space.
Melissa says
Wow- what a difference! I have recently painted my cabinets white and gotten new giallo ornamental granite which looks similar to the granite in this kitchen. Could you tell me what the brand subway tile is and where I could get it? I think it would be perfect in my kitchen. Thank you so much. Awesome job!
Rhoda says
HI, Melissa, I helped on that redo about 5 years ago and I don’t remember the brand of tile that was used. So sorry! There are many places now to get subway tile, so check Home Depot and Lowes too.