MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER REVEAL Wow! I can’t believe we are at the final week of the One Room Challenge Reveal Week! 
This modern kitchen makeover reveal has been a long time in the making. Lauryn’s grad party (being held here at our house) is less than 1 week away. I may have had a few panic moments over the last few months, wondering if I could really make this happen. Visions of people walking on a half-finished kitchen floor with projects all around them lit a fire under me many mornings and bolted me out of bed to get an early start. And here we are! All the hard work (and early mornings) paid off! But before we look at what is, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at what was first….
Affiliate Links included in this post
REMOVING THE PENINSULA
This kitchen has always felt very crowded with our large family of 7 and then add in extended family on Sundays and we were constantly running into each other. Trying to find space for the large spread of food when entertaining was always an issue too. I’ve wanted that peninsula that jets out GONE for quite some time now! But always knew that would be a major project that I just didn’t know if I had the skills to tackle by myself or not. When my neighbor, Paul, offered to help me, I was ecstatic! And so began, step one of this modern kitchen makeover: removing the peninsula. 
MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER: COUNTERTOPS
Of course, part of removing the peninsula would require all new countertops. I really didn’t want to splurge in this area. I knew I could finish my current countertops and make them look like I spent a fortune. But would it be possible to attach a new countertop to our old countertop without seeing a seam? Yep! I found out, it’s possible! With some Bondo and a cheap countertop from Home Depot, I was able to merge the countertops together and you would never know how hideous they looked next to each other before….
And here they are Bondo’d together and finished with this faux marble countertop paint from Giani. I did this same technique in my bathroom a few years ago and it’s held up great! Here’s a full tutorial on how I did it! A very easy and affordable way to update your old countertops without spending a fortune! Can you believe the picture below is the same countertop as the picture above? I’m still in awe over it!
I went back and forth on whether to update my sink or not (and even got offered a collaboration with a company), but in the end I opted to keep my current black porcelain sink and just switch out my faucet. I love my new stainless steel semi-professional kitchen faucet from Lulani. It’s a perfect fit with the new countertops! RECEIVE 10% OFF ANY LULANI KITCHEN AND BATH PRODUCT WITH MY DISCOUNT CODE. (Partnership with Lulani)
MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER: CABINETRY
Over the course of our 14 years living in our home, I’ve redone the kitchen probably 4-5 times. Every time I tried to love the cabinets by painting them a new color. And every time, I loved the new color for a little while and then didn’t anymore. I knew it was more than just the paint color that I wanted to change in this modern kitchen makeover….
I’ve always loved the look of shaker cabinet doors and decided now was the time to change these up. But again, I didn’t want to spend a fortune. So, I perused Pinterest and tried to talk myself into making my own, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
Knowing I was on a time crunch (Lauryn’s grad party and the One Room Challenge) I didn’t want to add that to my plate. So I started searching for the right shaker doors/drawers and came upon The Cabinet Door Store.
I loved that I could bore my own hinge holes and paint them myself; which in turn, allowed me to choose whatever color I wanted. Both of these options save money! And the best part, their prices were very reasonable!
In the end, I was able to do a partnership with The Cabinet Door Store, which was so much fun. I was especially impressed by their customer service and willingness to help every time I had a question. Which was a few times when making my holes for the hinges. (This tool was super helpful in making the hinge holes).
I love the look of the new drawer fronts and doors. They were exactly the look I was going for. Amazing how this simple change, updates an entire area!
New cabinet doors calls for new cabinet hardware and these Champagne Bronze Pulls and Champagne Bronze Knobs from Amerock were the perfect addition. I love their contemporary design and the warmth they add to the space. Perfect for my modern kitchen makeover….
Another big decision I went back and forth on was whether to replace our upper cabinets with open shelving or keep them. In the end, I decided to keep them.
I feared getting rid of them would just add more stress to my life, knowing that my kids would not have the same vigor for keeping them neatly organized as I would. Maybe someday, but today is not that day.
So, instead, I decided to take our cabinets all the way to the ceiling. I added faux boxes where open shelving was above the cabinets before….
And trimmed them out with 1x’s.
I love the depth it gives to the kitchen. It really updated the cabinet space too. Another easy upgrade that made the cabinetry look like I spent a fortune….
Another update that was affordable and easy to do was removing our microwave from above the stove and getting it out of sight. But where to put it?
Adding a coffee bar to my newly remodeled pantry opened up the perfect spot for a new microwave. I love how clean it makes the oven space look…. From this…
To this…
PANTRY
Still on the hunt for a glass door to show off the new pretty-to-look-at pantry…. From this….
To this….
Cereal canisters make any pantry look so much better. And the best part–the kids are eating the entire box of cereal again. Not sure about you, but we would get to the last 1/3 of the box and the kids would all have it in their mind that, it’s stale and no longer edible.
With these canisters, this no longer happens. So, not only do they look so much more organized, but we have less waste too. Win-Win!!
These canisters from Amazon are a great deal!  Perfect for any modern kitchen makeover! (Amazon Affiliate Products Linked)….
MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER: BUILT-INS
The built-ins above the refrigerator, kinda happened by accident. When ordering all of my cabinet doors, I neglected to order the ones for above the fridge.
Yet another thing I went back and forth on, and in the end decided to build these built-ins. I’ve been loving the look of pole-wrap and wanting to use it somewhere. This was the perfect place to try it out….
(WANT TO DIY THESE POTTERY BOWLS? HERE’S HOW I DID IT!)
CENTER ISLAND
This banquette was the perfect addition to our kitchen nook area, for the longest time. I built this window seating, six or seven years ago and we absolutely loved it, along with this super easy table I built. (Simply added an old barn door to a sawhorse and painted/stained them–and boom! You have a table!)….
As cool as it was, this look just didn’t fit the vibe of the new kitchen. So, it had to go. Demo day was a lot of fun working along side my youngest son….
I had big plans for this space. Getting rid of the bar peninsula, also meant losing a LOT of counter space. My vision for the nook area was to build a rather large center island. And so, I did!
I love the design and look of it! An absolutely perfect feature. This center island more than doubled my original countertop space from the peninsula.
Want to Build This Island?? Here are the plans!!!
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And that accent wall in the backdrop. I am in love with this whole entire space….
MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER: ACCESSORIES
For right now these bar stools are working. But I’m anxiously awaiting the new ones coming from Home Chic Home. (Partnership with Home Chic Home)
And what about those lights above the center island!? Aren’t they beautiful? I found them at Vevano and they are exactly the look I was going for! Love the natural, wood tone, Scandi feel they give…..(Partnership with Vevano)
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MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER: SLIDING DOORS
Of course adding the center island and painting it black (is there really any other paint color? 🙂 ) also meant painting these sliding doors.
I contemplated taking them down completely because I felt like they were lending themselves to more of a farmhouse ambience. Not the look I was going for in this modern kitchen makeover…
But simply adding two 1×6 boards to each door changed the entire feel of them…. Here’s the full tutorial on how I built them!
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MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER: SITTING AREA
Taking out that big banquette seating area freed up a lot of space….
Perfect spot for a sitting area! I love these Lambs Wool chairs I found on Amazon. They are as soft as they look! And so very comfortable! (Amazon Affiliate Products Linked)…
This beautiful Loloi Rug from Premium Home Source is the perfect accent to ground the space and add texture…. (Partnership with Premium Home Source)
So comfy for your feet, I had to grab two of them. Adding a runner in front of the sink and countertops breaks up all of the wood and adds a touch of softness, along with some muted color tones, to the room….
Ultimately, I would like to purchase the Thor Appliance Package from Premium Home Source. They have an amazing deal on a new range, refrigerator and dishwasher (along with other options). But that is also for another day. Someday a designer range is in my future though. Haha!
MODERN KITCHEN MAKEOVER: FLOORING
Ok, I’m finally getting to the elephant in the room…..the flooring! I saved the best for last! The original flooring of our kitchen was a cherry tone, skinny plank, hardwood floor…..
A few years ago, I decided to paint it white….
It actually held up pretty well, in spite of it being white floors. But by the time flooring install day came, these floors were nothing but an eyesore. I was so happy to start laying the flooring. Every luxury vinyl plank I snapped into place was pure beauty….
I chose Palka Signature LVP from Flooret and am so impressed by the quality of this flooring. Super easy to install, these planks are thick.
Where most vinyl flooring is 10-20 mil, Flooret LVP is 40 mil. What does that even mean, you ask? A lot! The higher the mil the thicker the plank, which equals better durability.
With five kids and three dogs, these floors should hold up very well for many years to come. AND they’re water resistant, making them great for kitchens and baths!
Flooret offers large samples (great for really getting a feel for how a design is going to look in your space) and smaller samples….and with my discount code you’ll receive 33% off each sample….(Partnership with Flooret)
We’ve lived here for almost 15 years and I have loved every style change our kitchen has gone through. Each one holds its own set of memories.
I’m so excited to make new memories in our newly remodeled (right down to the layout) modern kitchen makeover! I know it’s going to be perfect for our growing family, as we welcome in-laws and grandbabies into our home.
This has been such a fun project! I have loved the entire process of this modern kitchen makeover. However, there were many challenges and frustrations along the way too.
BUT, stepping back and taking it all in now, all of that blood (literally), sweat AND tears were all worth it!
Here’s to my third round of the One Room Challenge! Thank you for pushing me beyond my limits. Cheers!
MISSED THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO WEEK 8 HERE THEY ARE!
Until next week, Happy Building, Friend!! Don’t forget to join my VIP List below for many more great tutorials.
SOURCES: (Affiliate Links Included)
COUNTER STOOLS (USE CODE NICOLE10 FOR 10% OFF)
TOOL USED TO DRILL HINGE HOLES
TOOL USED TO INSTALL CABINET HARDWARE
PHOTO CREDIT: CALLIE BROOKE IMAGES (All of the finished photos of the kitchen are Callie’s beautiful handiwork…she is an amazing photographer)
