Complete kitchen transformation in 8 weeks - Ready, Set, Go!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | The Reveal

I’ve decided on a whim to participate in the One Room Challenge (ORC) by Better Homes and Gardens because it just so happens that the fall event started on Sept 29th and our kitchen remodel should be completed in 8 weeks, just in time for the ORC final reveal in November.

I’m changing almost EVERYTHING from top to bottom: floors, cabinets, countertops, lighting, color and design. Only the layout and the appliances are not changing.

When we moved in, I was not in love with the dark espresso cabinetry, dark gray floors, gray and blue accent walls, or the granite countertops. Don’t get me wrong, it was a beautiful home – just felt a bit too cold for my preferences.

We immediately repainted the walls from BM Worldly Gray to SW Creamy. That made things better. Then, we lightened the floors by refinishing and removing the dark gray stain to go back to the natural maple color. That made a DRAMATIC difference and I began to appreciate the contrast of the dark with the light.

Now a year into our new home, we are transforming the kitchen once again!

The kitchen will now look completely custom with each area having a specific function and purpose to increase attractiveness, flow and efficiency. I don’t do things just for looks. Every change has a productive reason for being. And I hope the final result will showcase the added functionality in a beautiful way.

Our old kitchen was great and we made the most of what we had. Now, it’s time to transform it from GREAT to GREATER!

So what will be changing?

We’re going for a dual tone kitchen that is timeless yet modern – simple clean lines, airy fresh yet cozy – featuring creamy white and black cabinetry, satin brass and nickel hardware, all enhanced with natural wood elements.

This next section is an overview of what we’ll be doing with inspiration photos so you get a sense of the design. You know me though, I’ll be posting super detailed descriptions of everything in my following posts, so stay tuned. Please subscribe to be the first to know.

Kitchen hood: We’ll be streamlining the hood by removing the curves, wood trim, moldings and plastering it. Simple, elegant. NO FRILLS.

Cabinetry: We’ll be adding appliance garages to hide our toaster, air fryer and other items to maintain a clean and uncluttered countertop.

Countertops: We’ll be upgrading from Granite to Quartz with a full slab backsplash up to the ceiling on the wall with the hood.

Kitchen Island: We’ll be creating a waterfall countertop with our Quartz and going from 1.5″ edge to a thick 2 1/4″ edge

We will also be adding a butcher block countertop to our island that will be slightly lower than the rest of the island which will also sit on custom cabinets. There will be a new prep sink too, making it 2 sinks on the island!

Hardware: Going with our dual tone theme, we’re adding both satin nickel and warm brushed brass and using a variety of styles: knobs, cup pulls and regular pulls

Faucets: We’re getting a WOW factor main kitchen faucet from the Waterstone Faucet company. I never imagined spending that much on a faucet but it’s something I use multiple times every day so well worth the investment.

And a brushed brass prep faucet for the new prep sink.

So stay tuned as I update you every week on our progress! And below are some demo photos so you can see the destruction happening 🙂

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | The Reveal