Angela’s DIY French Country Kitchen Makeover
If you loved Angela’s laundry room, you’re going to adore her kitchen!
I’ve mentioned to you before that Angela and Kevin are huge diyer’s. They have proven to me that they are fearless and will tackle things that would send me scurrying away.
Here’s their kitchen before they made any changes.
Oak cabinets, wallpaper, teal laminate counters, white vinyl flooring with teal flowers…you get the picture. All these elements were in place when they purchased the house.
Although this photo is a bit washed out, take a look at the after!
They kept the original cabinets since they are structurally sound. Crown molding was added to the top of the cabinets and then everything was primed, painted and glazed.
The cabinets were first painted with a creamy white, semi-gloss paint. To glaze them, Angela mixed chocolate brown paint with glaze {one part paint to three parts glaze}. The glaze was brushed on, then wiped off using an old cloth. Angela then used a horsehair brush to swipe over everything to give it a weathered French country look.
Prior to painting, Angela added appliques in a couple of areas. One was on the faux drawer fronts under the sink. To better show the detail, Angela didn’t wipe as much of the glaze off in those areas.
One of the challenges they had to deal with was to somehow get a light above the kitchen sink. The problem was that there wasn’t a place to put one because of the open concept of the their family room/kitchen area. I think their solution is ingenious!
Kevin built a box out of builder grade pine, added crown molding that matches the rest of the kitchen, then proceeded to prime, paint and glaze the whole thing. How did a light fixture get there, you ask? They drilled through the bottom of a cabinet and ran the wiring around the inside of the cabinets and up into the box.
During the process, Kevin added lights below the cabinets too. The wires are hidden by the apron moulding that they added below the cabinets prior to painting.
They only need to press the one round button you see to turn the under cabinet lighting on in the entire kitchen. If I remember correctly, this button also allows them to dim the lighting.
The wiring for the light above the sink and the under cabinet lights is invisible until you open the cabinet where Kevin neatly tucked all of the wires.
They added the pretty tumbled marble backsplash themselves too.
More cabinets and the stove are located to the left of the sink. Thinking ahead, they ran the backsplash all the way down behind the stove’s control panel and top part of the stove in anticipation of a new stove they plan to purchase in the future.
Rope lighting was added along the top of the cabinets to highlight the architectural details. They were able to accomplish this by drilling a hole through the top of the cabinets to access the power where the microwave is plugged in.
The free standing island received the same paint treatment as the cabinets. A new granite top was added to it when the granite was added to the rest of the kitchen.
A new kitchen table and chairs is in the corner opposite from the sink. I love that the woods don’t match. It keeps the area from looking too matchy matchy. Angela made a wise choice when she purchased stools with round backs so that they mimic the shape of the round table.
The new flooring is gorgeous. I about fell over when Angela told me that it is peel and stick linoleum. Even standing right on top of it, I couldn’t believe it. It looks so much like real hardwood that I had to reach down and feel the floor.
I sure do hope you enjoyed touring Angela and Kevin’s awesome kitchen! It just goes to show what can be done with a little ingenuity and sweat equity.
They surely did a beautiful job on this kitchen.
Every detail is perfect.
thanks for sharing it with us.
Beautiful job. They are one talented couple! xo
It is beautiful! This was so inspiring! Thanks for sharing.
WOW. Wonderful job Angela (and Kevin)! Love the decorative crown and cabinet molding and especially the pendant shelf! I would love to do these type “projects”. Unfortunately My engineer has no decorating imagination or patience for projects….so no handy man at my house! ….but he’s still a keeper : ). Thanks Suzy for sharing!
They’ve done some amazing things! The kitchen is gorgeous, & the laundry room is wonderful.
CAS
What a great job with the transformation! It really looks lovely.
P.S. I’m your newest follower, btw:-)
Amazing before and after. The kitchen turned out beautiful.
Dee
Beautiful Kitchens. Love the decorative crown and the touches.
Suzy…thank you so much for featuring their kitchen…I loved their laundry room and their kitchen is fantastic. What a great job they did…a wonderful transformation..Very talented!!
Wow, amazing transformation. Well done them. Thanks for sharing, liz
Excellent renovation. They did a fabulousjob. Didn’t leave out a single detail. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks everyone! I so enjoyed Suzy coming and visiting, while doing this blog! Kevin really didn’t know what he was getting into when he married me! 🙂 But he’s really starting to enjoy the projects now, hate that we’re almost done with the remodel though…what to do next? 🙂
This is an amazing transformation! I love every inch! I really love the decorative crown molding and accents on the drawers! Thanks for sharing such great ideas! I’m now following on Linky Follower and GFC. I look forward to more inspiring posts!
Beautiful! Love the transformation!
What a marvelous kitchen renovation, and I thought what they did to disguise the dishwasher was so clever!
wow what a transformation, love it!
Gorgeous kitchen makeover!!
A beautiful job….I am in the processing now of re-modeling a kitchen…
wow…stress!
Have a Blessed day.
I saw your post on Tip Me Tuesday.
Wow…..amazing kitchen!
Great job!
bex
http://kawaiikrafts.blogspot.com/