Kitchen Renovation: Before and After
My first before and after post highlighting our home renovation! FINALLY. Talk about a long time coming. I’m starting with the kitchen because it’s the focal point of our home and for sure the most dramatic transformation of any room in the house.
First, a little background on our renovation. We lived in our home for about 8 months before demo started in September of 2016. What was supposed to take 8-12 weeks (LOL) ended up taking 8 months. Really even longer than that because 2.5 years later we’re still fixing things our contractors messed up. It’s sort of never ending, but such is the life of a home owner. I’ll only touch on this briefly here, but we did not have a good experience with our builder or pretty much any of our subcontractors and our life during this renovation was pure hell. I’m still recovering emotionally, and no, I’m not being hyperbolic. However, that’s a post for another day in which I’ll divulge all the advice I have for anyone about to embark on a major renovation of their own (pro-tip #1: hire the right contractor). Despite our unpleasant experience, it’s really true what they say.… all the pain and suffering was worth it in the end. We’re thrilled with the finished product.
Below are some before pictures to give you an idea of where we started. I know before/after pictures can sometimes be hard to decipher, especially when walls are torn down and the space reconfigured, so under each before picture I’ve included a caption describing the changes we made for those interested. If you’re just here for pretty pictures, feel free to skip the captions and keep scrolling!
And here’s the final product! HOW IS THIS THE SAME SPACE?! It’s my house, and it’s still hard for me to believe. The transformation is incredible.
I’m running out of time over here and need to get back to my mom duties, so I’ll just briefly touch on some of the design choices. First and foremost, HUGE shoutout (again) to the Heather Scott Home & Design team who helped us space plan and pick the finishes.
At the beginning of the design process, I sent some notes to Heather and included Kourtney Kardashian’s kitchen as one of my inspiration rooms. Similar to Kourtney’s kitchen, we incorporated the double kitchen island layout, the industrial stainless steel Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, the white quartz countertops, and the dark beams on the ceiling. Heather’s original plan called for a La Cornue range, which I do love, but I wanted a more modern feel + I felt like the Wolf was better resale-wise for our neighborhood.
While our kitchen certainly takes inspiration from Kourtney’s, the final look turned out quite different and much more me. The exterior of our home is a traditional Texas limestone style, so we didn’t want to go too modern. We also made a lot of choices with resale value in the back of our minds in case we decide to move. Overall, I’d describe the style of this kitchen as classic with a modern edge. The classic elements: the white shaker-style cabinets, farmhouse sink, light fixtures, and dark hardwood floors + beams. The modern elements: the backsplash (we ran our countertops up the wall), cabinet pulls, plumbing hardware, and appliances.
Finally, if you want to know specific product details for any of our finishes (plumbing, counters, hardware, lighting, etc.), just ask in the comments and I’ll track down details for you! Our cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Classic Grey.
Putting this post together was such a trip down memory lane for me. We love how our kitchen turned out and spend so much time in the space. It truly is the heart and soul of our home. I hope you love it, too!