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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Kitchen Redo

Jill's Cheap Kitchen Renovation
Jill, a reader of MVL, wrote me the other day wanting to share her kitchen renovation.
This is what it looked like before.
Pretty bad....huh?

She did the entire renovation herself for a cost of less than $3,000.
Which included new appliances - LG stove and frig.
She did pay a plumber to install her sink and faucet but she did all the tile work herself.
Those counters are black granite 12x12 tiles butted together using the thinnest of grout lines.
She applied 1/4 inch hardy backer board to the existing countertops and laid the new tile on top of it.
She borrowed a friend's wet saw to make any cuts needed.
The back splash of carrera marble subway tile she bought off the shelf at Lowe's.
I didn't even know Lowe's carried this. 

Jill also added trim to the cabinets and painted them.
This is a complete transformation and makes me want to get busy on my own kitchen.

What do you think, pretty inspirational, isn't it?
I love how she kept a vintage vibe.
Actually, she gave it more of a vintage vibe than it had.
Doesn't it look expensive?

I'm definitely going to check out the tile section at Lowe's very soon.

23 comments:

Debra @ Life in a 320 square foot home said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Debra @ Life in a 320 square foot home said...

I love it! Amazing woman - very inspiring....

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Wow, I agree it looks even more vintage now - love that tile. Bravo just doesn't seem like enough. Standing ovation from me.

Mikalah said...

So pretty!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing transformation! Gorgeous.

-FringeGirl

Lisa ~Suburban Retreat~ said...

W - O - W!!!!!

Tammy@Beatrice Banks said...

Beautiful! Can't believe she did most of the work herself.

Malena said...

Fantabulous!

Olive said...

It does not look like the same space. She saved money by not changing the cabinets or the configuration of the kitchen. Very smart.

Renee said...

Unbelievable! And gorgeous. And...inspiring.

An Urban Cottage said...

Really, really nice. I'd love to see how she treated the edge of the countertop. LOVE the backsplash tile. Love the turquoise as an accent color too. Very impressive job overall!

Victoria said...

That's so beautiful! My dream is to have a kitchen with white cabinetry! The backsplash is very pretty too:)

Visual Vamp said...

Fanfuckingtastic!
I saw these tiles at Lowes a few months ago and knew someone could rock them, and Jill sure did!
The way she did the marble counter top is genius.
xo xo

Brenda Pruitt said...

Gorgeous job! Talented gal.
Brenda

seanymph said...

I love my kitchen but I hate my kitchen. And now Im inspired. I want those counter tops and Ive been back and forth on painting my cabinets .......but this makes me want to do it! Beautiful job!

Ricki Treleaven said...

A+ Jill! Thanks for sharing Jill's kitchen re-do, Nita. The subway tiles are a wonderful transition between the granite and cabinets. Lovely!

~Ricki Jill

Anonymous said...

That's nice! I love the subway tile! I especially like the paint color she chose for above the window. I do love a pretty turquoise!

She's crafty, and she's just my type. said...

does she have a blog? I would love more details! My kitchen is much like her before...

Nita Stacy said...

Jill does not have a blog but I've asked for more details and photos and she said she'd get them to me. So hope to have more soon.

Cindi Myers said...

I agree with all the above comments! Fantastic transformation!
I bought a wet-saw for Xmas and have BIG plans! LOL! This was great inspiration!
Jill needs a BLOG! LOL!

Teresa said...

Yes, it looks fabulous....and to do that on your own...my Hats off to her.
Happy Day

Pam Kessler said...

I also didn't know Lowe's had that type of tile. It turned out gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Wow! This is amazing!!! I am really inspired by this makeover- we will be redoing ours soon!