New House: Kitchen Transformation

Well, we've finally moved into our new home, and boy, are we both exhausted! I've decided we will never move again, and we will just continue updating and adding-on to our existing house. I'm so happy everything is starting to fall into place, and soon I'll be able to relax and get back to the normal life. I've learned some very important things during this move/renovation process and have decided to share it in hopes that others will learn from our experience. First and foremost, make sure to find good, reliable help. This sounds like a no-brainer, but even a good recommendation doesn't guarantee someone is a good worker. Rob and I weren't able to do the interior painting ourselves because Rob had an emergency appendectomy and couldn't lift anything for two weeks. He's feeling much better now, but kinda a downer on the whole reno/move in general. We decided to push the move back a week and called in reinforcements, anyone from hired help to friends and family. The painter turned out to be not-so-great, but we had such a good turn out of friends and family that most of the boxes had been moved to the new house before the professional movers picked up the heavy furniture. We also managed to clean and fix everything, which is saying alot considering the condition of the house (several friends inquired if our house was a foreclosure lol) So, if you're considering a move in your future definitely expect delays as they will happen! Don't stress or fret because usually there is nothing you can do to help move things along any faster. We managed to move everything in on Friday and by Saturday evening the majority of the house was unpacked. Crazy, I know! This is why it's imperative to have reliable help, as well as being prepared for the lengthy unpacking stage (unless you are like Rob and me, and we got it done in a week). We probably overdid it this weekend, and are paying for it this work week for sure! I'm trying to remember to take breaks and enjoy my new home, but Rob and I both are do-ers and there are tons of things to do!!! I promise to have some before and after photos of our home soon, but I'd like to get it picture ready and box-free before I start to share. Here's a sneak peak for stopping by though :)

The first photo below is the original kitchen when we bought the house. We didn't like the cabinet color that was paired with the gorgeous quartz counter tops and stainless steel appliances, so we decided to use a Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation kit.

Original Kitchen

Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations: Espresso shade. We bought two kits, but only ended up needing one kit for the size of our kitchen.



We also decided to mount our new microwave over the stove in order to leave more counter space open. We added new hardware to the cabinets, hidden hinges and a gorgeous new Moen pull-down faucet. We had the paint tinted to an Espresso shade and through a quite lengthy time-consuming, nerve-racking process, we ended up with the following results...

I think we did an AWESOME job turning this into an updated, modern and snazzy kitchen. The counter tops compliment the new cabinet shade beautifully, and the kit was only $70 at Home Depot. If you are patient you too can have an amazing cabinet transformation (boy, do I have NO patience, so I literally have anger, sweat and tears in this project). The work was definitely worth the finished project, though it might be awhile before I tackle the bathroom vanities :P

Stay tuned for more house updates/reno projects!! You won't believe what we did to the back porch...