Prepare to be impressed. When Lindsay shared photos of her kitchen makeover, the transformation was almost unbelievable. Here’s the note she sent:
Okay, okay. I’ve read your requests to submit more before-and-afters! I was a little nervous to send mine because I didn’t think it would compare to the incredible jobs you two have shown. Still, I’m very proud of our low-budget kitchen makeover and wanted to share. This is our first home and we’d never done anything remotely “handy” before. We learned a lot along the way (I had no idea what 1/4-round was!), and if we could do it again we’d change a few things. Overall, though, we’re really happy. Like your first kitchen re-do, this should tide us over until we can tackle bigger updates. 🙂
We removed the linoleum and installed new 20″ tiles across the entire first floor, replaced the refrigerator and microwave (the stove is next on our list), primed and painted the cabinets a glossy white, and swapped the old cabinet hardware for modern pulls. We’re very pleased with the budget-friendly result. Costs were roughly $50 for primer and paint, $60 for hardware, $50 for new hinges, $14 for laminate flooring used as a durable, wipeable shelf liner, plus about two weekends of work. Hope you enjoy our first-home makeover. — Lindsay
Here’s the plain, builder-grade before:
And here’s the fresh, updated after — thanks to paint, new hardware, upgraded appliances, and a few thoughtful accessories (those green glasses and the rotating spice rack are lovely):
Thanks to Lindsay for sharing this beautiful, budget-conscious kitchen makeover. If you’ve been hesitating to send your before-and-after photos, consider this your nudge — we love seeing transformations and celebrating them here.
Stick around for an upcoming step-by-step tutorial on painting cabinets. If you can paint a wall, you can paint your cabinets — tutorial coming soon.