Kitchen Refresh | Lake House Renovation

"Discover Kitchen Renovation Ideas to Transform Your Lake House Kitchen"

I have been so excited about this kitchen refresh, mainly because this lake house kitchen looked a hot mess. It was so outdated, and even though I have big plans for a full gut Reno; I decided to do a quick refresh to make things looks a little better I the meantime.

Materiels

• Backsplash Tile - Chloe Tile
• Hardware Pulls
• Hardware Knobs
• Behr Premium Plus Paint: Hi-Gloss Color: Patio Stone
• Behr Premium Plus Paint: Hi-Gloss Color: Potting Soil
• Behr Marquee Paint: Matte Color: Swiss Coffee
• Kitchen Light
• Andersen Windows - 100 Series
• Cafe Appliances
• Kitchen Sink
• Kitchen Faucet

Tools Used

• Paint Sprayer
• Oscillating Tool
• Trowel
• Paint Brush

The Before

Looking at these before photos, you can probably imagine why I was so anxious to get this kitchen refresh done. This kitchen was so outdated and needed some love. I can't even believe the house was built in 98' because it's giving 70's. But the worst the before, the more room for improvement.

I knew the wallpaper would be my most tedious task; but luckily with a few small changes, I knew we could turn this kitchen around in no time. The plan is to update the paint, add new appliances, change the backsplash and hardware and paint the cabinets. It may sound like a lot, but it's a lot less than a traditional Reno and just what we need to give this space a refresh.

I hadn't planned on the windows getting changed, but I got a lucky surprise when I got new windows installed and that definitely added to the feel of the new space, so we will touch on that a bit as well.

Now that's enough of the before; lets get into how we transformed this space.

Painting the Walls

I say it all the time but paint really has the ability to transform a space drastically and it's usually not that expensive. If you are looking for a quick way to really change a space on a budget; start with paint.

With painting the kitchen walls a crisp white, that made the space feel a lot more open and much brighter. This change alone did wonders for the kitchen. I decided to go ahead and switch out that older light above the sink and it was the perfect little light for the space.

Painting Cabinets

Next up was painting the cabinets. Now, I know hat you're thinking; no prep work? Because I know I will be doing a full kitchen remodel soon, I didn't worry about doing all of the prep work I normally would have done since I will be getting rid of these cabinets soon, however this paint really held up well even without the prep.

I decided to pain the island in Behr Premium Plus Paint: Hi-Gloss in the color potting soil, and I must say, this was definitely the better color of the two, than I painted the other existing cabinets in Behr Premium Plus Paint: Hi-Gloss in the color patio stone. These colors are very similar but I loved that potting soil had a brighter green tone. Either way, both colors were amazing.

For most of the cabinets, we removed the hardware and doors and used a roller to paint the main cabinets and then used a paint sprayer to spray the doors. You can either use a brush or sprayer but a sprayer will give you a smoother finish.

Without the regular prep, we were able to fully cover the cabinets with three separate coats of paint. Once the paint was all dry we added the hardware knobs and hardware Pulls to finish the cabinets out.

Window Installation

Now the surprise part of this Kitchen refresh was the window installation. I knew that I was getting knew windows but they came early and I am so glad they did because this really was the icing on the cake to this kitchen refresh.

For more information on my window installation, be sure to check out my post on how to choose the perfect windows for your home.

Installing Appliances and Hardware

Next up, was the appliances install and I am so happy to have some amazing friends over at Cafe Appliances who were kind enough to send me over a new set of appliances. This is my second time having cafe appliances and I am definitely a fan. They just have that sleek look that can turn any kitchen into a designer kitchen.

Here is the exact list of the appliances I recieved:

• Café™ ENERGY STAR® 27.8 Cu. Ft. Smart 4-Door French-Door Refrigerator in Matte Black - Moderne Brass Handles
• Café™ Dishwasher Drawer in Matte Black - Moderne Brass Handles
• Café™ Professional Series 30" Smart Built-In Convection Double Wall Oven in Matte Black - Moderne Brass Handles
• Café™ 30" Touch-Control Electric Cooktop

 I opted to go for their new brass hardware knobs because I knew it would match my hardware perfectly. If you already have cafe appliances, you can order another color hardware to switch things up if you'd like.

Kohler also sent me a matching kitchen faucet and kitchen sink that went perfectly with the appliances.

I didn't really want to spend money on new countertops since I was planning on ripping most of this out in the future, so we were able to rip the old sink out and put this new one in without damaging the countertops.

Backsplash

With everything else complete, the last major step was installing the backsplash. We ripped out the old backsplash and replaced the drywall in the spots that were unsalvageable and then started installing the new backsplash.

I had this tile leftover from another project and new it would be the perfect tile for this refresh.

I used this Backsplash Tile - Chloe Tile in my bathroom but in the color black and absolutely loved it, so I knew it would be a good fit in here and I was right. Eventually with the big Reno, I plan on bringing the tile all the way up the wall; but for now we just took it up to the window.

Once the tile was installed, we grouted it with Frost by Mapei and she was complete.

The Final Reveal

Now here it is; the finished kitchen. This refresh came out better than I ever could have imagined and I feel so much better about using my kitchen now that it feels a little more like me.

I feel like I can take my time with the bigger Reno now because the kitchen doesn't remind me of the 70s anymore.

Even though I did have some pricey additions, I'm hoping this refresh shows you that it doesn't take much to bring your kitchen to life. Remember, a little bit of paint can go a long way!

The Kohler sink and faucet were a really nice addition to the refresh as well and I am so glad Cafe Appliances finally pulled the plug and released a brass finish line!

As always, thanks for reading guys! XOXO Ashley