The House Next Door Kitchen Updates

When Mike and I first took on this remodel, we knew we didn’t like the kitchen. It was a very small outdated galley kitchen. Once we started demolition, we realized all the work we were going to do wasn’t going to be worth it if we didn’t give the house an amazing kitchen. The house had two huge living spaces, one of which was an add-on to the property years prior, and it was the perfect size for a kitchen. Next thing we knew, our plan for the kitchen went from updating it in it’s current space to completely moving it to a different part of the house and doubling its size. What used to be the family room would now be the kitchen. See our kitchen design below.

The couple we bought the house from was trying to fix it up to sell and had already bought a washer and dryer, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a dishwasher. Those are the big boxes in the middle of the room in the pictures! The kitchen appliances they bought were white, and we prefer stainless steel, so we ended up selling those but we did use the washer and dryer.

To turn the family room into the kitchen, we first started by tearing off the wood paneling and the dry wall. We also removed the faux wood beams, and the popcorn ceiling. Next, we replaced the old doors with new french doors.

In order for our new kitchen design to work, we needed to move the windows in the room. We closed in two windows on the back wall and moved the other two windows in the room just a few feet. While we tore off most of the beams, one of them was actually structural, so we tore the wrap off and rewrapped it with beautiful cedar that I stained dark. We also built a walk-in pantry.

Mike and I love lighting, so we made sure to install recessed lights, pendant lights over the island, and in-cabinet lighting. Lastly, our cabinet manufacturer didn’t offer a custom cabinet to go over the range to hide our range hood in, so we built one and installed it.

Here are pictures from the day we bought it, progress along the way, and the final product!