Adding Charm to our Blank State Kitchen

HELLLOOO KITCHEN REFRESH!! Ahh! We are literally SO excited to finally get our kitchen looking (& feeling) finished!!! Woo!  When we first started remodeling #the222trilevel, we pulled everything out…cabinets, appliances, floors…everything!  Then we finished it enough to make it livable and since it was livable, the kitchen remodel fell to the bottom of the to do list!

We had been dreaming of a kitchen space that was full of depth, warmth and charm…something that matched the character of the house! This kitchen refresh made our dreams come true!!  We loved adding charm to our blank slate kitchen!

Here’s a look back at where we first started!  This is what the original kitchen looked like when we purchased this house!

Then we finished it to this phase!  We did a few little projects here and there to make progress, but it still felt so unfinished!

The moodboard is a a whole VIBE!🔥
natural stone herringbone + parquet tile
light wood floating shelves
brass faucet
black butcher block counters
warm grey lower cabinets

LET THE KITCHEN REFRESH BEGIN!!!

First we had to remove #allthethings and prep the space for work!

UP FIRST, STRIPPING!

We stripped the butcher block counters down to prep them for the new stain color! Scraping that gooey stuff off is the most satisfying thing ever!

SANDING THE COUNTERS

Whew, the LONGEST part of this whole project was sanding the counters!  Bret cycled between the hand sander and a belt sander for days!!! 😅 Getting all of the previous finish off of the wood was important!

TAKING IT TO THE DARK SIDE!!😍

Ahh!! We anxiously waited for the moment!!! Staining the butcher block black was EPIC!! We chose a solid stain to really penetrate the wood and create a matte look!! There’s just there perfect amount of woodgrain peeping through!

We carried the butcher block counters back inside to seal them!

SEALING THOSE BABIES!!🤗

We’ve had butcher block in all of our kitchen spaces and using Tung Oil to seal them is by far our FAV.  We’ve had great luck with this tough sealer…no chipping, no staining, no wearing out…We love using Tung Oil to keep the butcher block looking great!

We apply a coat & let it set 12 hours in between the next coat!  And we did 4 coats total!

PAINTING THE CABINET DOORS🙌🏼

We chose Thunderclap by Sherwin Williams in the Valspar Cabinet & Furniture paint from Lowes to paint the cabinet doors and island!! This warm grey is PERFECT!!! It has the dreamiest undertones that pairs perfectly with our white oak floors and Accessible Beige trim work! Painting the darker color on the lower cabinets adds so much depth to the space!  The main floor of our house is a BIG open room, so we love how this dark color visually anchors the kitchen! 😍

PRO TIP: Use plastic cups to prop the doors up!

After the paint was cured on the cabinets, Bret attached the new black pulls to the fronts and hung them all back up!!

Painting the island! A few months ago we installed the vertical shiplap on the island and the bret paint really made that feature pop!!

Time to start reassembling parts if the kitchen in preparation for TILE!!!!

Lots of long nights together! We love living the fixer upper life!

LET THE TILING BEGIN!!!

This. Tile. Is. EVERYTHING!!!! We couldnt believe our eyes when we stumbled upon this stunning tile!  The natural stone/mable look with the herringbone + parquet vibes…It’s PERFECT!

Lots of cutting, tile adhesive, and love went into this tile work! Thanks for being the best Bret!!😘

All tiled and ready for grout! We used a warm grey grout! So gorgeous! 💕

Wipe on the grout…wipe off the grout…back and forth until it’s all finished!

TIME TO HANG THE FLOATING SHELVES!!!!🔥

Light wood floating shelves….*Chef’s Kiss*

All that’s left to do is DECORATE!!!  We piled our collection of goodies in the middle of the kitchen and dove right in!!!

 

THE BIG REVEAL — THE AFTER

We are 100% obsessed with this transformation and catch ourselves staring at just how MAGICAL it looks!!! So rich and inviting!! SO PERFECT! All our kitchen dreams came true!

Here’s to dancing in our new kitchen and making lots of sweet memories in here!

Check out the entire project as a video on Insta!
Here’s a quick link!

 

The Material List:

• Minwax® Wood Finish® Water-Based Solid Color Stain, True Black, 1 Quart
• Minwax Tung Oil Finish – Used this stuff at our old house as well and loved it!
• Fandeli Assorted Grits (80,120,220), sandpaper sheets –
• Valspar Cabinet and Furniture Satin Enamel Interior Paint – The Color we used was SW Thunderclap
• Natural Stone Marble Herringbone Floor and Wall Tile – The exact tile we used is no longer available but this is very simliar!
• MAPEI Ultracolor Plus FA 25-lb Warm Gray All-in-One Sanded Grout – They also sell this pre mixed but if you have the means to mix it yourself it’s about half the cost.
• MAPEI Type 1 Ceramic Tile Mastic – We’ve used this several times it dries slow enough that you have plenty of time to install without it drying out, plus its pretty thick so its not super messy.

• CRAFTSMAN Hand Sander
• CRAFTSMAN Belt Sander

Our Decor:

• Brass Kitchen Faucet with Sprayer – The quality of this faucet it fantastic! Can’t believe it was only 70 bucks!
• Southern Hills Black Cabinet Handles – 5 Pack – the upper cabinet are a 6 inch pull, and the bottoms are 9 inch
• KNIXHULT Pendant lamp, bamboo/handmade – The Pendant lights are from IKEA!
• LACK Wall shelf, white stained oak effect 43 1/4×10 1/4 “ – Floating shelves are also from IKEA
• 18-Piece Kitchen Dinnerware Set