A White Kitchen With Black Counters & Open Shelves

When Totty and Dave sent us their latest room makeover we had to share the goods. After all, everyone enjoyed their remarkable bathroom overhaul so much that we knew their kitchen would be a hit too. Here is their letter:

Dave and I have another Reader Redesign for ya. Our kitchen has been undergoing a facelift for the past six months. What began as a plain “let us move the cabinets around a bit” turned into a full blown kitchen renovation. We relocated all of the upper cabinets, built floating shelves, got new cabinet doors and hardware, new appliances, tiled the backsplash, and discovered hardwood floors hiding under ugly orange tile! Shew- I think I covered it all! But the best part is that several of the key items we already had on hand and did not have to go out and buy! For example, the blacksplash was created with leftover tile and grout from our bathroom renovation (which you showcased back in November). We also reused all of the cabinet boxes and simply got new doors and hardware! Plus we did all the work ourselves (minus sanding and refinishing the floors). That truly helped to keep our little renovation under budget! I still cannot believe it is the same kitchen. For the whole scoop and photos check out www.bootsandtotty.com. – Totty and Dave

Here is their kitchen before the redo:

And here is their remarkable kitchen masterpiece as it looks today:

Oh and here is a swift source list from Totty and Dave:

• Cabinet doors and hardware are from Ikea
• New fridge & stove were picked up from Sears “Scratch & Dent” at majorly reduced prices
• Tile and grout for backsplash were leftover from our big bathroom reno
• The hardwood floors were sanded & refinished by Mr. Sanders (thanks for the recommendation- we enjoyed him!)

Did not they do a fantastic job? We enjoy that they reused, repurposed and salvaged as much as they could (like using leftover bathroom tile for the backsplash, refinishing their existing floors, reusing their cabinet boxes and simply getting new doors and hardware for a totally new look). Gotta enjoy a reno that is straightforward on the wallet and good for the planet. Plus we cannot believe that they did so much work themselves (except for calling in the same guy who refinished our wood floors– enjoy him). This reader redesign truly shows that a little creativity, some smart repurposing, and a little elbow grease truly can go a long way. But now let us play the what is-your-go-to-part game. We are torn between the vivid and sleek horizontal door hardware to those excellent floating shelves below their high-hung “new” cabinets.