Home Makeover: Modernizing an 80's Oak Kitchen on a Tiny Budget

Modernizing an 80's Oak Kitchen on a Tiny Budget

Previously, this kitchen (originally installed in 1988) was too monochromatic. The color of the cabinets and the floors was too similar and the small island was lost in sea of golden oak. The awful drop ceiling fluorescent light was extremely dated and the lack of cabinet hardware only emphasized the arched paneled doors which didn't feel very modern..

I stained the center island dark brown, and painted the cabinets a warm cream color (Manchester Tan by Benjamin Moore) I added hardware to the cabinets and removed the old fluorescent lights which I replaced with 2 pendants and some LED cans. I tiled the backsplash with pencil tile to accentuate the generic granite countertops. I also updated the kitchen faucet and removed a few cabinet doors to break up the monotony of the cabinet doors.

The entire transformation (including the new Bosch appliance suite) came in under $3500. I did all the work myself, including the electrical, plumbing and tiling. The transformation took a little less than 3 weeks.

For more information about this project (including more photos and detailed tutorials) please visit: http://www.thekimsixfix.com/2012/08/kitchen-reveal-80s-to-awesome.html#

See the full makeover on my blog.. The photos are no longer available here!

http://www.thekimsixfix.com/2012/08/kitchen-reveal-80s-to-awesome.html#