Wednesday, October 6, 2010

My Kitchen Makeover

Here is my kitchen makeover revealed. Its nothing too exciting and it's taken a while to get done but with pretty much $0 budget and doing it all by myself, I'm pretty happy with the changes.

I'll just quickly run you through what's been done:
  • First up; removed the: curtains, cork board, the two little round tiles which were stuck to the splash back tiles as well as a really granny looking tile as well.
  • Replaced the brown plastic handles with stainless steal ones
  • Put in a dishwasher
  • Painted over the wood panelling
  • Bought two white bar stools to go under the bench
  • Plastered, sanded, plastered, sanded then painted the cork boards in the left over blue paint we have which ended up matching quite nicely with the ugly lino floor tiles
  • Made a new blind for the window
  • Bought and sprayed white a cute little birdy hook to be a tea towel holder (there was no place to hang tea towels when we moved in)!
  • Painted my wooden branch in a light brown to match the blind
I think that's it... I still want to find a new clock for the wall to replace the one we've got and there are a few little things like that which I will do later but it's taken me quite a while to get it as far as it is with other projects on the go.

So here are my before and after pics (before photos taken at house inspection) after pics taken this morning (you'll see the high chair, formula tin and other bits and bobs as I wanted you to see it as we live, not over styled just to look good for the photos).

before
When I took that cork board off the wall it left a big square on the wall where it had been - not a great look.

after
Replaced by my funny chalkboard which says 'Both of us can't look good at the same time, it's me or the house'
I want to replace that little shelf that the phone sits on and put about 4 matching little shelves above it to display things on. I just have to figure out how to build and attach it.

before
I put our microwave into the cupboard above the fridge as the spot where the previous owners had it took up too much bench space.

after

before

after

after
Our dishwasher.
I lived for nearly a year without a dishwasher (the hardest year of my life :) just joking. But we didn't think there was any space to put one in, especially since our bench tops are narrower than normal. But we had our builder make a little 'box' for it to sit in under the breakfast bar which isn't ideal but better than handwashing.

before
Ugly curtains for the 70s and drying rack hanging from the wall!!?!?!

after
My new blind I posted about a few weeks ago. And you can see the little birdies on the branch hook which was a cast iron colour when I bought it for $5 at Recollections.

before
There are the weird tiles above the stove and next to the toaster.

after
The new kitchen knobs made a world of difference.

before

after
The 'M' on the door which I painted the same blue stands for 'Minky' our cat as the laundry is his 'bedroom' :)
And that's the clock I want to replace (Glen wont want to hear that because he loves that clock).

before

after

So there you have it my kitchen makeover.
I hope you enjoyed this little look into my home, and on some exciting news... my bro and sister in law just exchanged contracts on a house a few suburbs up from us. So I'll be helping my sister in law with her big plans for the place!!!! YAY!

Have a great day,





26 comments:

  1. Yeah, just a 'little' makeover there Janette...are you kidding! It looks sooo much better, and the fact that you did it all yourself on a tiny budget makes it even more impressive! Can't go past the power of paint - it can totally transform a space, and your kitchen is a prime example. Fantastic job, you should be thrilled with the results! K xx

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  2. Great job Janette, the blue looks so much lighter and fresher than all that wood and cork!
    Love that blind.
    Well done!

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  3. Janette!! This is an AWESOME Kitchen makeover!! Your kitchen looks so much bigger and certainly brighter now after all of your hard work! I love the new door handles you have on your cupboards and your blind looks gorgeous(I LOVE that fabric) and I love the painted bead boards! You have done such a fabulous job on your kitchen Janette, it looks sensational! Enjoy helping your sister in law with her new house plans, she is very lucky to have such a clever YOU to help!! Huge hugs lovely ~ Txx

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  4. That is very impressive Janette! I can't believe how much lighter & brighter it looks with the panelling painted and even the new cupboard handles make a huge difference. The blind looks perfect too. Love it all! Great reno all round with such a tiny budget!! Christine x

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  5. Your kitchen transformation is wonderful Janette!! Everything you've changed has made such a huge difference. You have lots of cupboard space. I like the new handles, the bird hook and your little memo board cracked me up :) Painting over the panelling has made such a difference and really brightened the kitchen up and I like your idea of four little display shelves (check out the floating shelves at Ikea or Howard's Storage World perhaps). One of my favourite things of all is your new blind which finishes off the room so well. I love our dishwasher too and sometimes wonder how we managed without one :) Such a nice luxury, especially when you have a baby. I actually like 'Glen's' little clock :) But I understand you wanting something new and fresh as I'm on the hunt for one at the moment for our kitchen too. Your brother and sister-in-law are very lucky to have you to help them with their new place. Hope you're having a lovely week - big hugs to you and Will xx

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  6. Well done, Janette! That's made a huge difference and really brightened the space up. I was wondering whether you might want to use some floating Ikea Lack shelves in that area where you want shelves. Have you seen them? Check the width to see if they'd fit. We have some and they look so sleek as you don't have any unsightly brackets underneath - it's a clever design. Just a thought. Have a fabulous day! J x

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  7. Looks great Janette! I did a bit of a kitchen makeover in July / August (which i also blogged about!)- it is amazing the big difference a little bit of change can do. I think we had the same handles as well (which i also changed for some more stylish metal ones. Maybe for you shelves you could get some floating shelves from ikea?
    Congrats and enjoy your new kitchen!

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  8. It's amazing how some little changes make such a huuuuge difference! Although I'm sure it took a lot of work rather than a "little."

    How strange is that cork on the walls? I think you've done a marvelous job!

    ~ Clare x

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  9. Looks great! I love Minky's room, haha!

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  10. looks great j and i love all the storage you have.........i love that you've done this yourself, and you have done such a wonderful job
    have a great afternoon lisa xox

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  11. Great job Janette! The blue paint, blind and door fittings make such a difference and tie it all together. Love the 'M' idea..Even the small changes, like placement of the microwave etc have a huge impact. You should be very proud of yourself.
    Rebecca x

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  12. I'm so impressed that you did this all yourself and with a toddler! I think I have the smallest kitchen in the southern hemisphere and it certainly needs an update...you've inspired me to get started. I have a lot less cupboards than you and no small people...shouldn't be a problem! I really like all your touches...the lovely blind, the new handles, the M for Minky...well done you!

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  13. You've done a great job. I just love seeing these mini-makovers that make such a diference. Mostly all we see out there in the magazines are those massive $30k renos that are totally unrealistic! I love your dishwasher - I can't wait to get one of those :)
    Thanks for letting us into your home Janette
    xx

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  14. It looks great - so much fresher and brighter than before. I particularly like the window area with the new blinds and the bird hook for hanging the tea towels (I have a thing for pretty hooks!)

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  15. It looks Awesome!! well done Janette it's made such a huge difference..The blind make- over and the door handles has made the biggest difference LOvE it:) xx

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  16. I think you've done a super job! Made such a difference! Nicolex

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  17. What a big difference! It looks wonderful. You've done very well. Kellie xx

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  18. fantastic job....your did a beautiful job on that blind and i love the little wooden M for your cat. todays house photos are perfect...love the one that looks like it is from a story book!

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  19. Wow! What an amazing difference. Looks sooooo much better.

    Thanks for sharing your kitchen.

    Pam x

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  20. Great job Janette! Sometimes it's the little things that make the most difference :) I have 2 lack shelves in my garage, they are a walnut colour - 1.2m. You are more than welcome to them if you would like them. I know you're not too far away xx

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  21. Loving the white Janette, I think you've done a great job of working with what you've got and not going crazy the money.

    I really like the blue and white theme you have going on, very clean and fresh! :-)
    xx

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  22. You are fabulous Janette. AMAZING job! Love the curtains mostest.

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  23. That is amazing, well done. You have such a difficult kitchen to work with and you've made the most incredible difference! Very, very clever..Rachaelxx

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  24. Janette you have done a fantastico job on your kitchen reno! I am really loving the white and blue, it looks so calm & soooo you! You must be so proud of yourself.... lick ya later illy the cuddly xo

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  25. That's a fab make-over Janette. It's an amazing difference and so fresh, clean and bright now. Particularly like the use of white, and the way you've painted the VJ's white, and blue below. Cute M for Minky. Beautiful blind. LOVE the dishwasher. We've been in our current reno for 12 mths and no dishwasher. It sucks! For lack of a better description. :)

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Thanks! I love reading your comments! Jxx