Builder Grade Kitchen Makeover: White Kitchen Cabinets, White Counter Tops, Blue Tile Back Splash
I did not embark on our summer builder grade kitchen renovation with Ace Hardware with the idea of gaining the admiration … and adulation … of my 14-year–old daughter. But somewhere along the line, she took note of the amount of work I single handily handled to get it done. And she’s impressed. So I thought I’d share some trade secrets about how to impress your very own teenage daughters (and/or sons):
Step 1: Get her (or him) hooked on HGTV. Fixer Upper and Beach Flip are recommended must-watches, but in all honestly we watch it all. Property Brothers. Check. Love It Or List It. Check. House Hunters (in all it’s variations). Check. Whatever marathon of shows is on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Check. HGTV is our go to channel when nothing else is on. Which is often.
Step 2: Decide your semi-DIY kitchen remodel from five years ago no longer matches the vibe in the rest of your home. I blame you Scott McGillivray and your Income Property series on HGTV. You made that dark-wood-crisp-white-counter-top-modern-aesthetic look so very good. Only thing, the rest of our home not modern. Never has been. I may have been swayed by his good looks …
{click here for more on my previous kitchen remodel}
Step 3: Realize your kitchen remodel would not be complete without adding height to your upper cabinets. Spend two months Google searching and studying any and all tutorials on how to add height to your upper cabinets.
Step 4: Spend another month pondering how you’ll deal with these odd angles and cuts. (It was much easier than I thought, no power tools required).
Step 5: Stop searching and studying and pondering and just do it (full tutorial coming soon). Just be sure to consult your teenage daughters (and/or sons) about how much height you should add (I went with a 6″ board and 3″ crown for a total of 9″).
Step 6: After you’ve prepped & primed the cabinet doors and drawers … and before pulling out the paint sprayer you won from a friend’s blog sweepstakes … consult your daughters (and/or sons) on what color white to paint those doors and drawers. Because not all whites are created equal. Some skew blue. Some skew pink. Some skew warm.
Together we chose a warmer white. Clark+Kensington in Chalk White.
Step 7: Between coats of door and drawer paint (tutorial on how I painted the cabinets coming soon), consult with your daughters (and/or sons) on a new color for the walls.
We went with Clark + Kensington Paint and Primer in One Premium Interior Flat Enamel in Stolen Moments (1036). It’s a nice blue-gray that complements the glass mosaic tile back splash.
Step 8: Add some rugs and accessories, step back, and realize that your formerly cave-like kitchen is now so much lighter and brighter …
Step 9: Don’t rest on your laurels. Keep a few things up your sleeve. Starting with the world’s largest and heaviest clock that I need to figure out how to hang on drywall.
There’s also a fourth wall that, right now, is wasted space. It’s going to get a chalkboard treatment. And base cabinets with a butcher block top. And open shelves …
guaranteed to impress my 14-year-old-daughter. 🙂
Ace Hardware would like to help you impress your very own teenage children by giving away a $100 gift card. Enter here:
Good luck!
🙂
Kitchen Project Posts:
How To Add Height to Kitchen Cabinets
How To Paint Builder Grade Cabinets
Kitchen Makeover (Previous Version)
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Something’s Gotta Give-Inspired Family Room
Today’s post was written as part of my role as an Ace Hardware Blogger. I was compensated by Ace for this post and for the products used, but all opinions about the products used, tips on how to impress a teenage daughter, and about Ace Hardware are my own.
Oh I love this. It looks similar to our kitchen before and after, but you have a much bigger space to work with. I like that you brought the backsplash tile up so high next to the window. http://www.peonyandgrahams.com/2015/08/a-tiny-kitchen-remodel-before-after.html
it’s gorgeous and your backsplash really stands out now!
Love it! So much brighter, and love the knobs you used!
Thanks! And I’ll be posting soon about the glass knobs. I’m loving them! 🙂
HOLY SMACKS!!!! YOU DID IT!!!!!! I love your knobs…and the tile…and the paint…and the fact that you impressed your 14 year old. Will you come help me with my house?! xx
Love, love LOVE it! It was beautiful with the dark cabinets, but the white is just amazing!
What a great transformation! I have dark cabinets and this is a great visual to see the white.
oops – for ACE definitely paint, maybe some cabinet knobs too
I would get paint and yet more paint.
Beautiful make-over kitchen by the way. You done a wonderful job
Paint is such a miracle decorating tool when in the hands of the right person. YOU did it right and it looks so gorgeous! Congratulations on impressing your daughter!! xo
You impressed your 14 yo—Score! Outstanding make over!
Love your make-over and that’s what I want to do to my kitchen.
It looks amazing! More impressive however, is being able to impress a teenager with anything that a parent does, lol. Great job!
Paint and misc parts.
I would use it to buy wood for a project and some paint for my kitchen.
Wow! Amazed by our how different the kitchen looks with new paint color on cabinets. It’s something I’ve been contemplating doing, and therefore am looking forward to your post/tutorial on how you painted the cabinets, and comments on that brand of paint.
It looks beautiful. So bright and cheerful and pretty. Love your back splash it really pops against the white cabinets.
Kris
Love the transformation, and adding the height is definitely worth the trouble it must have been. I’m inspired. Thank you.
Glad you decided to impress your teenager! The kitchen looks beautiful! Very warm & inviting!!!
Love the white and the blue together! Great job!!!
It looks great! Your 14 yo should be impressed…you earned it!
Wow Linda Can I borrow your kitchen? Your kitchen is so awesome, I’m drooling with envy. You did such an incredible job of snazzying it up. Amazing what coat of white paint does lightening up your whole kitchen and that blue to coincide with your gorgeous tile back splash, oh my heavens, you are talented girl, love that moulding on top of cabinets. Lots of hard work but oh so worth it. Watch out you’ll have people calling you to do their kitchens, including me. Bravo Linda. Happy weekend
Forgot to ask you where you got those awesome rugs? love look and color of course.
Don’t know if you ever get Country Living but there is great article in Sept issue about Ball jars.
I have noticed that decorating in Country living is not as country any more. Is leaning more to quieting country look for more what is liked now.
Just thought I”d let you know about ball jar article. Happy weekend\
HOw is your son doing at college?
There are so many things that need done in my house, but I would probably finish my half-finished laundry room. Thanks for the give-away and your kitchen looks great!
It’s really looking great Linda. I wish I had an empty wall where I could add some more storage! I’m a little disappointed though, because I interpreted your “adding height to the cabinets” as adding an extra row of cabinets above the one you have.already. My mistake! I’m glad you kept the glass tile. It’s just so pretty. And it’s always good when you can impress the daughter.
You did a great job on your cabinets! I don’t have a 14 yr. old to impress…but I sure do need some paint! 😉
Beautiful! Amazing makeover!
Debbie
It looks amazing, my friend! You totally rocked it!
Thanks so much Suzy! Not quite your amazing new kitchen, but this will have to do for now! 🙂
Beautiful job! Love the colors.!
Great job on your lighter, brighter kitchen! Not only did you impress your 14 year old daughter but your 54 year old reader.
Congrats!
Love the look! Can you tell me where you got the clock?
Thank you! I found it on Amazon.com. It’s the 36″ Howard Miller Fulton Street Clock.
looks beautiful! really fresh & crisp!!!
i would use a gift card to buy paint & new hardware for my kitchen cabinets…they are original to the house, and it was built in 1986, so it is time for an update!
I would buy a rocking chair for my porch.
We need to paint all the main hallways in our house plus oiur master bedroom and bath need renovating badly!
I love the new kitchen, even though I still like the dark cabinets. I would use the gift card to buy a cordless nail gun. my arms are too old for the old hammer and nails.
I do like white kitchens!!! Beautiful job Linda!
I love your kitchen and appreciate all your hard work and attention to detail, especially after having just finished refinishing my wood cabinets.Blue and white is a favorite and timeless combination.
I point out in fun that step #2 shows the problem with step #1. Too often HGTV pushes trends and calls expensive kitchen surfaces, which most can’t afford to replace, dated just because a new designer is into a new thing. I do love Fixer Upper – helps me to see the importance of laughter and patience when husband does goofy things – and Rehab Addict because it is not caught up in doing the latest and ruining interior of old house – saves them instead. I’ve even advised people who have become dissatisfies with a perfectly fine kitchen and don’t have DIY skills to stop watching HGTV and see if they don’t start feeling better about their home:)
My personal favorites are This Old House and Ask This Old House.
I love your new kitchen. The colors are so calming and bright! I am in the process of helping my mom update her kitchen so I would use the $100 to buy whatever we neeed to do that. Thanks for the chance!
Love that you impressed your teen! Your kitchen looks like a breath of fresh air! The colors remind me of the beach!
Hell, you impressed your 55-year-old husband. As usual.
Heck I’m impressed too and I haven’t been a teenager since…. well a long time!
Love it! (Seriously…swayed by Scott? I can’t imagine! My mom calls him “that young man with the beautiful teeth from Guelph.’ As if she knows his family or something.) Love all your choices!
I need a new screen door!
To finish putting white stone down around the house 🙂
I would use it towards a new gas grill since ours is definitely on it’s last legs.
OMG. i think it looks fabulous. I am sorry between surgery, being sick and now a son hobbling on crutches I am late to tell you how amazing this looks. I am sure you love being in this space. I am so proud of you as I know this was a lot of work.
What else…..to purchase paint of course!! It’s a never ending cycle.
I would get paint for my master bedroom
We would buy shelves for our garage to get it organized.
I would use it to buy paint
‘OAK’ is not a color!! My cabinets need a real color…Please!!
Thank You, ACE!!
Your kitchen looks fabulous. White cabinets for the win! And your colors all look so good with them. I found your blog via BH&G 100 days of decorating ideas. When I saw the lighted mason jar with red glass pieces, I was excited! This weekend I already started my fall decorating. ( Yes, it’s early, but that’s how I roll. I do the same with Christmas décor! ). I already have orange glass, so I used that. I love it. I crave twinkle and sparkle! But you can be sure I will get the red. Will look good at Christmas also. So now I have a new blog to follow!
Thanks for your fabulous comment! I’ll need to check out that BH&G decorating ideas! And I’m starting fall decorating tomorrow! You know, so I can share on the blog!!! Hope you had a fab weekend … and am so glad you plan to stick around! 🙂 Linda
And of course, I would love to win the gift card for paint or whatever!
I like the way you added height to your kitchen cabinets……..very well done!
Oh, and I would use the gift card for paint! Thank you for having this giveaway!
Great job!
*I would add a thought. Instead of area rugs, consider cushion mats for standing on. I changed out mine because I enjoyed that extra ease while long term standing on tile. Oouf.
Also
Instead of just chalk .. which honestly to me is messy. You can get magnetic chalk paint. Be careful with it tho. I only placed that high as my only grandchild is 8 abd is “too old for such baby things” get that-!! Instead I had a paper tablet with magnet and pen for me and washable magnetic board for her.. +all those cazy colors she enjoys that are washable. Whew.
As to your 9in height extract I was curious do you get more stoage? I added small upper cabinets on top with a bit of tweeking. Took out panels for glass and added lights for items of family heritage and such.
You did an awesome job on your remodel–and awe inspired times with your daughter.. a true Win Win. I’m so happy for you-♡
It looks amazing! Great job, not just teenagers are impressed! I know how hard it was to do (even with a sprayer) because 25 years ago we did the same with 1950s kitchen we had….of course now it is totally different as we remodeled 15 years ago….
Great job!
Nancy
wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
This looks like a designer kitchen now – just gorgeous !!!
xxx
I LOVE your kitchen! Please tell me what kind of countertops you have. Thank you!
Thanks you! The countertops are quartz and Zeus White.
Quartz countertops are in trend nowadays! I appreciate your choice! Thanks for sharing such stuff!