The Big (Little) Kitchen Reveal!!!

Well, this has been FUN, hasn’t it?  Taking our little rental kitchen from what it was to what it is really had me going…for six whole weeks.  I’ve never gotten an entire room finished in six weeks!  It’s kind of a big deal.  And you know what else is kind of a big deal?

OUR KITCHEN!

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Remember the wood cabinets and awesome striped wallpaper?IMG_6824
They are so April of 2018.IMG_8940
Then there was the boring ceiling fan and that awkward bifold door.IMG_6823
One was gussied up and one was gone with the wind.  Oh, and let’s not forget about the pot rack.  There was no cabinet space to store our pans but they met an empty wall and the rest is history.IMG_8938pixPssst, I didn’t *actually* paint the dishwasher our landlord so graciously installed for us before we moved in.  But I did want it to blend in more.  I’ll fill you in on all the juicy details later!

We absolutely love having an extra wide gas range but it didn’t look so hot up against all that brown.IMG_6825
We turned up the temp on this side of the room though and now, look out!  *Tsss*IMG_8941pix
I’ll have a few posts coming up here in the next few weeks detailing a lot of the DIY projects you haven’t seen yet but until then, let’s peek around a little bit more, shall we?

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As you might’ve noticed, I’ve been having a hard time figuring out which side of our reversible rug I like better in this room.  Right now, it’s 80% for the blue geo and 20% for the striped.  If you’ve been around long, you might remember when I made that rug and that those stripes were once a citron-yellow color.  Well, after many washes, the citron faded to a pale yellow and no offense to that shade o’ yellow, but it’s not my fave.IMG_7468 So, I brought it outside and free-handed some black stripes using black spray paint right over the yellow and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.  It might get painted over again.  Like, really painted over.  This rug* is throwing off some good inspiration vibes.  :)

I literally finished the wallpaper behind the stove and our new spice shelves two nights ago.  After I ran out of wallpaper thanks to a shorted roll, my plan was to just hang something else fun up there and call it done…for now.  But then Target decided to put my wallpaper on sale this week* and so I walked…ahem…ran and grabbed some more.

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The spice shelves cost us about $13 and they got our spices off the top of our microwave so, they’re awesome.IMG_8966pix
Here’s our view into the dining room…the dining room that is now begging to be painted with something that doesn’t resemble my morning cream with coffee.IMG_8943pix
You can read all about the pot rack we hung here.IMG_8937PS, I stole that big planter + snake plant from our bedroom and I think it looks perfecto in here.  It might have to stay…

I’m not that kind of person who is always prepared.  If I was, I might’ve went to the grocery store a few days ago to stock up on apples or lemons or something besides my kids’ wooden fruits to toss in that antique bowl over there.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯IMG_8951pix
Shhhh, don’t tell.  At least we had bananas!  ;)

Are the green cabinets a surprise?IMG_8936pix
I read an article last week that they’re kind of the “new thing” and I gave myself a pat on the back for being “with it”.  Ha!  They’re still growing on Anthony (though you can bet I sent him that article as fast as my fingers could text).  My favorite color is green and his is…not.  Plus, and I forgot about this when choosing colors, he has a hunter green accent wall in his office so that color doesn’t take him to a fun, cool place.  It takes him to…his office.  I have to admit though, after the first couple of coats were on, I was really nervous.  Things were looking way too green and not the muted-dark-green-with-the-faintest-hint-of-blue I was going for.  IMG_7461Maybe it’s hard to tell on a screen but let me tell you, I was scared for our cabinets, my track record for picking pretty good paint colors, and my interior design reputation in the mind of my better half.  Phew though.  Things turned out just fine.  Never judge a paint color until it’s opaque and dry.  ☝️

Before I landed on dark green, I also toyed with a muted, mint green, a blue that matched the geo side of the rug, and a medium gray.  And when I say “toyed” with, I mean it took me at least a month to decide.  I had kitchen plans running through my head before we moved in.  The mint green would’ve matched our beloved sectional too much which is in the next room over so that was out…sadly though, because it was my favorite option.  The blue and gray both looked pretty in my head but, with the faux wood countertop, I was afraid they would look too modern farmhouse and that’s just not really my style.  I needed bolder and so dark green I went.  The color is Rock Garden by Sherwin Williams (Coriander & Olive at Lowe’s…I much preferred that name since it was going in our kitchen  ).

The pendant light above the sink and the ceiling fan shade are both DIYs and rang in under $10 for BOTH.IMG_8954pix

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And that brings me to our budget breakdown.
wall primer:  free
wall paint:  $12
cabinet primer:  free
cabinet paint:  $35
bamboo shade:  $17 (secondhand)
pendant light:  $8
ceiling fan shade:  $1.50
spice shelves:  $13
pot rack:  $10
small plants:  $0 (backyard clippings)
wallpaper:  $39 (but I have 3/4 of a roll left which I’m trying to sell so the price could be closer to $20)
cabinet hardware:  $25
rug:  $0 (old DIY)
GRAND TOTAL:  $157.50
Almost eight whole dollars over the $150 budget I set for myself (which drives me nuts), but hopefully I’ll sell that extra wallpaper and bring that number down under my budget.  *fingers crossed* 
*Note:  with paint and spray paint, I calculate my cost based on how much paint we used.  For example, we paid $27 for a new can of paint for the kitchen walls but we only used maybe 1/3 of the can on the kitchen walls.  So, I figure we used about $19 of paint.  We will also use that same can in other rooms of the house so the cost of the paint will differ in each room but will add up to that $27 we paid.  Make sense?

While it’s great that this little room here is now finito, it now sticks out like a sore thumb…which might be the reason why I usually don’t finish one room at a time but hop from room to room.  If I flutter from here to there, all the room are half-done at the same time so they all are cohesive.  Aaaand maybe that’s just me throwing out excuses but either way, you gotta admit there’s some logic there, right?

Either way, we really like our little sore thumb kitchen and now it’s on to the next space which is…well, I dunno yet.

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I guess you (and I) will have to wait and see! 

Until then, hop on over to the One Room Challenge website to see more final reveals.  I don’t know about you, but I’m in it for the before and afters.  It’s fun watching people go in the middle, but being able to see what they started with and then ended with in one post is so gratifying.  There are so many talented people over there who have worked so hard to put together beautiful rooms and the whole website is leaking with with hoards of inspiration.  Glean away, my friends! 

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That’s it for me folks!  I hope you’re leaving with proof that, when you have a budget you’ve gotta stick to and that budget likes to do the limbo, you can still make beautiful things.  That’s my whole drive for writing this little blog here.  If I can get you started and show you what you can do with that change you’ve got in your pocket, then it’s mission accomplished.  I’m not in it to show you what I can do but what YOU can do!  Your home houses lots of things you love, most importantly, your people, and it should instill feelings of peace, harmony (50% of the time when you have kids), and happiness.  Go forth and make it that way! 

<3 

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*affiliate links are included in this post

160 dollar kitchen

39 comments

  1. Looks so great, Sheena! So fresh and bright. I LOVE the cabinet color with that hardware!

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    1. Thanks Lisa! That's exactly what I was going for! Running far from the striped dungeon it was!

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  2. I LOVE it. I just sent the link to my parents cause my mom wants white/green cabinets but my dad isn't sold.
    Plus those original cabinets- I think my grandma had them. LOVE them

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    1. Haha! It must be a guy thing! So funny! One thing we lucked out on was these original cabinets. They had some serious potential and they're so solid! I love that maybe your grandma had them! They knew what was up back then! :)

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  3. Wow Sheena, what a huge difference!!! You are so talented!

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    1. Thank you Jenny! Kitchens...fireplaces...there isn't much paint can't fix, am I right? ;)

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  4. love the colors! it looks beautiful! we have the same cabinets and painted ours as well! ours were originally paired with mustard yellow formica countertop AND backsplash..... yikes!

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    1. Yipe! Mustard yellow?! And they loved it so much they wanted it as a backsplash too? Haha! I popped over to your home tour and you did amazing work in your kitchen! It's beautiful Cassie!

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  5. It looks so good! I LOVE the green. Tried to convince my husband to let us do green *anywhere* in our house and he's still not convinced. :) Someday!

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  6. You totally showed me what I can do with a preschooler a toddler and an infant at home and a very similar before kitchen! I have been contemplating doing something with paint and a very limited budget for months, and this is convincing me to just go for it. and I can show my husband your pictures and cost breakdown so he will get on board. It looks great you did an amazing job thank you so much for sharing it with us

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    1. You have no idea how much your comment means to me! This is why I blog! Thank YOU for your sweet, sweet words! Go for that kitchen!!!!

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  7. Oh Sheena, it came out fabulous! Once again, you worked wonders for so little money. You rock!

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    1. Thank you Lisa!! I like challenges! Haha! :)

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  8. so beautiful! did you paint the hinges? we have the exact same cabinets, already painted white thankfully. the hinges stick out like a sore thumb though and leave me option-less when it comes to changing hardware. please tell me you painted them. and that it's easy.

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    1. Hey! I did paint the hinges! It wasn't hard at all. I wrote about it here http://www.beaninloveblog.com/2018/04/one-room-challengeweek-3.html However, a few of them, since they're old, were broken and I didn't notice until after we had reinstalled them. They're broken in a way that they're scratching paint off when they open. There are only a few doing that but still, it's kind of a bummer. I could buy new white hinges but it doesn't bother me enough yet. :) Try and paint yours! It'd be worth it to have them blend in!

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  9. This looks amazing and I love the green. Great choice.

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  10. What a perfect example of how small, but extremely smart!, decisions can totally transform a space. I love all of the choices that you made to not only brighten up the room, but inject it with tons of personality.

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  11. What a remarkable transformation on a tiny budget - I'm so impressed by your creativity.

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  12. Wow! I have been looking forward to the reveal and am not disappointed. I love the green cabinet color. I am contemplating a similar color for my bathroom walls and this makes me like it even more. You always do a great job describing, photographing, and executing. Really nice work with minimal cost!

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    1. Thanks Taylor! I love that your thinking about green in your bathroom! That sounds amazing! :D

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  13. It looks like a whole new kitchen! I'm glad you went for the green, it was a bold move and it definitely paid off.

    I'm sure your husband will come around, mine is always like, "are you sure?" then a month later he's bragging about how he just saw our decor somewhere on the internet....

    - Kim | www.design-confetti.com

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    1. Haha! That is awesome. I bet you're right. ;)

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  14. Wow. What is this.? It's so beautiful kitchen

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  15. I have these same cabinets and have been wanting to paint them but not sure about the colors. I would love to do white on top but not sure of the color at the bottom since our countertops are a blackish speckled color. Any suggestions of colors to look at for the bottom? Thanks for doing this. Now I can convince my husband it won't cost us an arm and a leg!

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    1. Hi Melissa! Go for it! I think something muted would look great with darker countertops. My friend painted hers a muted green and they looked amazing! You can see them in this post - https://www.beaninloveblog.com/2014/09/aye-aye-captain.html I think a muted blue that is slightly gray would look good too. Or, if you want to go bold, you could just paint them black or something like a dark gray. :)

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  16. How did you make the ceiling fan shade?

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    1. I didn't make this one. :) I bought it at a local discount store but it's one that has a large washer connected to the spider things at the top (can't think of the technical term at the moment) and I just slipped that washer over the threaded part of the light bulb and screwed the light bulb in. We use LED's light bulbs so the base is plastic and the washer just sits right on it. Hope that helps!! It's my favorite way to make a ceiling fan look better! :D

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  17. I may have missed it, but did you ever do a post about how you got that dishwasher to match the cabinets?

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    1. Yep! You can copy and paste this link - https://www.beaninloveblog.com/2018/05/the-elephant-dishwasher.html

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  18. I have the same cabinets. I thought it would be difficult to paint them because of the groove decoration. I assumed that would just fill with paint. Did you have any problem with it? Did you sand the cabinets or just prime over the stain?

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    1. I don't remember having a problem with it! I do remember using a brush first to get into the grooves and then rolling the paint on though, just to make sure the paint was fully in the grooves. The finish on these cabinets was so worn that we didn't feel like we needed to sand them. Had they been glossy at all, we would have. We just gave them a really good cleaning, primed, then painted.

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  19. Hey Sheena. I was wondering if you remember the name of the color you used on the cabinets. Oddly enough, I had a few different colors picked out and my husband liked yours the best!

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    1. Hey! Yes, it's Rock Garden by Sherwin-Williams but at Lowe's it's called Coriander & Olive, also by SW...not sure why the name difference but it's the same color.

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