it’s before & after day! this is increasingly one of my favorite days on d*s. i’m always so inspired by what you all send over. to start us off, here is lexie‘s beautiful kitchen remodel. new paint, butcherblock countertops, and a backsplash completed the look and now the kitchen feels fresh and modern. great work, lexie! read more about the project here.
[have a before & after you’d like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images (low res, please).]
CLICK HERE for victoria’s mid-century bench makeover after the jump!
up next is victoria‘s fun telephone table/bench makeover. new paint and fabric give this mid-century beauty a modern facelift. click here to see more of victoria’s furniture rehab furniture projects…
cute kitchen!
that’s my favourite before and after room makeover yet! and the bench is really sweet too.
oh yeah that’s alot better, I bet you will want cook more now.
What a dramatic before and after for that ktichen! It’s fantastic! Great work!
That new kitchen looks amazing! I’m definitely heading over to her blog to see what other projects she has tackled.
i love all of the fresh white walls and cabinetry! White really is a nice and refreshing color to repaint wood with!
Raising the cabinet over the sink was probably one of the best ideas. The kitchen looks completely different, great job!
I love that she kept those appliances!
The kitchen is amazing but I LOVE the bench – so groovy and clever!
the scalloped hood vent is just so terribly cute. it’s amazing what paint can do — it really freshens things up in a heartbeat!
Before and after days are one of my favorites too!
Beautiful makeover!
So often Kitchen makeovers featured on DS tend to be full renovations, I love seeing what a little paint and new countertops can do. Love it.
Wow, what a change! It’s amazing what colour can do!
AHHHHH Ive been look everywhere for a bench like that! lucky.
I was going to say exactly what Emily said. While I enjoy seeing all the makeovers, I truely appreciate seeing a spectacular kitchen redo where it’s not a total gut rehab. I love that she works with what she has and it still looks great!
I’m also a sucker for those older looking appliances like the oven in the wall.
wow! love how it still has a retro touch but it is clean and modern!
I third the sentiments of Emily & Gillian. Love a redo that looks great and is affordable for the general population. Love the tongue and groove (?) back wall and the color choices work great!
I love that they kept the old oven too. Not everything has to be ripped out.
I love the kitchen makeover. I want to put in butcher block counters for mine too like that kitchen has.
I love the phone table/bench make over :) The kitchen looks amazing as well. Great Job!
Love the kitchen reno and that is was a freshen up, not a total gut. Can anyone comment on the practicality of having butcher’s block counters near the sink? Also, what is the paint color of the cabinets? Thanks!
Is it me or does the before kitchen look like the Draper’s? Great job, BTW!
kate
butcher blocks need to be treated (many, including ikea counters, can come or be treated before installation) to prevent staining.
if you want to prevent any major nicks and dings (though i love the way that looks) you can talk to the manufacturer about a thicker coating on top that will prevent knife marks, etc.
grace
Noooo! That was a complete, untouched vintage kitchen!!
It absolutely could have been freshened up without ruining the orginal character.
Where are my Mad Men fans? This was a classic Betty Draper kitchen!
Both are great! That little bench is so cute!
love the new kitchen … so bright & cheerful & i want one too!
i love the original appliances, especially the scalloped range hood, but i hate they removed the vintage countertop!
Amazing what a little paint can do!
WOW that kitchen looks great!!! What an improvement! I cannot imagine trying to cook in that much dark wood…wow…talk about oppressive. The “after” is so light, airy, and charming, but still has vintage charm! What a contrast!
Wonderful job on the kitchen. I love that you left the original range hood.
As for those vintage countertops…we have them and they are so hard to clean around the metal edging. The linoleum floats up at all of the seams, the caulking gets funky. Charming as the original countertops are, I can’t wait until we can replace our own with butcher block. Well done!
wow!!!! what an amazing transformation!!!!!
so much light, color and optimism!!!
love it!
Well, as my dad always said, a coat of paint will cover up a multitude of sins!
thanks for all the kind comments!
kate: the kitchen cabinet color is benjamin moore october mist. so far the butcherblock has held up nicely. i treat it about once a month so there is some maintenance involved.
It’s amazing how many dingy kitchens there are across the world. I can’t bear them, fortunately my kitchen has been renovated and looks like the ‘after’ in this do-over.
I have the same floor in my kitchen! We have been planning to replace the counters with butcher block as well,Ikea here I come!
I too like that she kept the hood over the oven. In the new kitchen it looks charming, instead of outdated.
I love the kitchen transformation. Particularly the subtle color on the cabinets!
The kitchen is brighter and fresher looking now. Really looks cute.
I love little reno’s like this. It doesn’t take much money to make something sad into something happy. Nice work.
Wow, now that is what a kitchen should look like. The before made being in the kitchen gloomy. The new kitchen looks like a light and cheery place. It is just like being at my sister’s house.
Love the kitchen makeover! This is my favorite kind of post, you can really see how she worked with what she had and incorporated a few new elements to come up with a really timeless space.
The kitchen looks just great! Keep Rob out of there and it will look good longer.
I am fortunate to have Lexie as one of my good friends. I love what she has done to the kitchen and the rest of the house. Not only do I get to sit in the kitchen and chat over a glass of wine, she make me yummy things in it too:)
strangely i kinda like the before and wish that you could have kept some aspects of the wood still there.
i love befores and afters they are so inspiring!!
I didn’t think the before was spot on, but i think that it looked way better than the after for sure. I think if the cupboards were just stained darker and the wall was painted neither a neutral nor dark color. Plus there are just so many colors available that white for a wall, even a brick wall, is just about wrong.
Sometimes it’s nice to just refurbish an old piece of furniture rather than completely overhaul it…..
“white for a wall is just about wrong”
really? it might be if you light bright colors, but it seems odd to me to suggest that someone picking a white wall is “wrong”.
grace
I love this kitchen makeover! You managed to upgrade it while keeping its original charm! I adore that yellow framed chalkboard and have been trying to find a frame just like it to make a chalkboard for my kitchen….was this something you bought or made? Help!
Wow, I think the white wall is SO right here. What a gorgeous kitchen reno!
love that framed blackboard!
I love this kitchen redo. Especially how that gorgeous hood now pops against all the light colors.
I adore how she kept the scalloped edge in the original colour – it looks so great against the sage. Beautiful before & after!
Outstanding redo Lexie!! I can’t wait to see more work from you! Love the yellow chalkboard.
Trish: the chalkboard was a converted mirror i found at old time pottery. i spray painted the frame and painted the mirror with chalkboark paint. easy!
That kitchen makes me want a new one so badly because mine is a bit small especially for all the baking i’m doing for my cookie business!
love the range hood!
Oh I love Victoria’s bench!!! That gal does some amazing transformations! Check out her blog!
Amazing job it went from looking like a dingy cottage to a bright warm kitchen, definitely feeling the love there. I also love the scalloped hood, and love that you kept the flooring. Your colour choices are spot on, this is truly what a makeover is; using what you have and making the things that blended in ~ shine!
could some one please paste Lexie’s site I can’t seem to connect.
hi lisa – the link is working on my end, but it is: http://www.designandthecity.net/2009/12/my-cottage-kitchen-update.html
-amya
I love your gorgeous kitchen makeover! It is so bright and pretty now! I don’t think the flooring detracts, but if you want an easy fix my mom painted hers with normal latex gloss paint and it looks fab in charcoal grey. She has to repaint about every 3 years. Thanks for sharing! :)
I would love to see a brighter flooring, but this transformation is already great enough!
I have to say- i love the old wooden cabinets with the hardware. But then again maybe they just remind me of my grandmother’s house? The after is amazing and lovely though.
I agree. the old kitchen was much cooler and retro.
That’s incredible! It looks like a completely new and bigger space!