Kitchen Renovation: Before and After

Renovating the farmhouse kitchen was the most rewarding and challenging aspect of the remodel. Our kitchen really is the heart of our home. It was important to me to focus on functionality. While these pictures are much more appropriate here on a blog about my small farm, and not the pages of a home design magazine, I am very pleased with the results.

Before:

After:

I hoped to use the existing cabinets after scrubbing, painting, and adding new hardware. However, once we got into them they were just so gross I couldn’t bring myself not to start over. We pulled out all the bottom cabinets and left the original upper cabinets, but removed the doors. We installed butcher block countertops and a copper farmhouse style sink.  We removed a large pantry cupboard and relocated the refrigerator. I love the look of the mixed metals with the stainless appliances, copper sink, and bronze fixtures and hardware.

I closed off the window opening to the living-room and removed the bar on the other side in the living room. A large corner cabinet extended the countertop to the stove. We added a bank of cabinets to create a peninsula for food prep and bar stool dining.

We installed local, tamarack, variable width flooring throughout the house.

You will notice there is no refrigerator in these before photos. The refrigerator was in the walkway between the living room and the bathroom, on the far side of the bathroom. The layout of the kitchen was just not functional for a family that cooks as much as we do. Having a practical kitchen that works for our lifestyle was my primary focus.

Prior to the renovations, there was no space for a dinner table. We eat three meals a day at the table together. We also utilize the table for school work and working from home. Not having a table just would not work for our family. The washer and dryer hookups were located in this space, broken into two separate areas by a bank of cabinets.  Because the house is so small, it made sense to move what we could, laundry, to the basement.

I picked up the church pew on the local classifieds and it perfectly adds extra seating without taking up much room. I utilize the space under it for storage.

I am very pleased with how the kitchen renovation turned out.