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Before + After Makeovers, Kitchen, Project Gallery, The Mod House Project 26

Our DIY Kitchen – Before & After

By Sabrina @pinklilnotebook · On March 2, 2017

Hello! Today’s the day I finally share my kitchen makeover! It’s been a long time in the making (2 years to be exact) and what a huge transformation its been.  This kitchen remodel contains a lot of DIY projects, an updated colour palette and a new use of our space.

Since our kitchen is small, we decided to do everything ourselves. This is the first time we actually gutted a kitchen and started from scratch (see more here and here).

To save on the budget, we installed big box store cabinets from IKEA and paired it with professional grade materials like our Blanco sink and faucet, our marble backsplash and quartz countertops.

As you may recall, the doorway between the dining room and kitchen was enlarged to achieve an open concept main floor, the fridge was relocated and the kitchen island was reconfigured.

We did purchase our cabinets during the IKEA Kitchen Event. Although I love getting money back, we did experience a lot of out of stock pieces which meant we had to wait before starting anything.

We used base cabinets to create the kitchen island which also doubles as the home to our sink and dishwasher. At the time, it was nearly impossible to find any instructions on how to create a free standing IKEA kitchen island, which is why I put together this post here. Let’s just say, it’s definitely not a beginner’s project!

We were able to assemble the cabinets in one night and it took us another two nights to install everything in place. I will admit, if we had a bigger kitchen to deal with, I probably would have hired someone to deal with the nitty gritty. There’s a lot of boxes.

The breakfast nook which was the last project completed in the kitchen has to be my favourite.  The Dagfinn Modern Trellis wallpaper and built-in bench make this space finally feel like a cozy home. We’ve really been enjoying family gatherings around this table!

The floating shelves are a great solution to add more storage to our kitchen. It’s also a fun way to display my favourite items which I can easily change up from time to time.

There are probably a few minor tweaks I’ll do along the way such as finding new bar stools and maybe painting the inside of the glass cabinets (just don’t tell Mike that!) but for now it works. If I missed anything or you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments 🙂

*Click through these links to see more about our kitchen plans, kitchen sink, creating an IKEA island, how to disguise a kitchen soffit, a kitchen recap, about our wallpaper, DIY built-in bench, DIY upholstered bench seat and about our kitchen chairs.  

**Want to see more of the adjoining room? Check out our dining/living room makeover and family room makeover.

Kitchen:

Kitchen Cabinets: IKEA LIDINGO
DIY Soffit Disguise Tutorial: Blog Post
Kitchen Island Tutorial: Blog Post
Sink, Faucet & Soap Dispenser: Blanco
Kitchen Hardware: IKEA
Countertops: White Quartz
Fridge & Stove: Frigidaire
Dishwasher: GE
Hood Vent: IKEA
Backsplash: Marble Subway Tile 2″ x 4″
Pendant Lighting: IKEA

Breakfast Nook:

Wallpaper: Dagfinn Grey Modern Trellis (Brewster Home Fashions)
Floating Shelves: IKEA LACK Wall Shelf
Table: Crate & Barrel
Chairs: Wayfair
Window Built-in Tutorial: Part 1 & Part 2
Bench Fabric: Sunbrella (Tailored Indigo)

breakfast nookBrewster WallcoveringsDIYhouse remodelingIKEA kitchenkitchen before and afterKitchen renovationpink little notebookThe Mod House ProjectWayfair Canada
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Sabrina

Sabrina is the design enthusiast behind the blog, Pink Little Notebook, where she explores her creativity through home décor, thrift store finds, DIY projects and her ever growing love to paint everything in sight! She is indeed a storyteller of style and has an extensive mixture of artistic skills and abilities which include everything from make-up art, graphic designing, painting, drawing, and even self-taught photography, just to name a few. Through her blog Sabrina combines everything she has learned over the years and hopes to inspire others along the way!

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26 Comments

  • Janice says: March 2, 2017 at 12:21 pm

    Lovely! You’ve gone from beige to bright.

    Reply
  • Gabriela says: March 3, 2017 at 9:04 am

    Hi Sabrina,

    Wow! This kitchen is so amazing. What a wonderful job you both did. Love the way you used colours and made the most of space. Congrats!

    Reply
  • Belle says: March 3, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    This is such a great DIY project! Your kitchen turned out amazing!!! You did a great job!

    Belle | http://www.OneAwesomeMomma.com

    Reply
  • Bev says: March 3, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    I absolutely love your kitchen. The lighter colors made it so much more airy and so much light. Amazing how different the before and after look. I am definitely pinning this for inspiration for when we start updating our kitchen.

    Reply
  • Joscelyn says: March 4, 2017 at 1:36 pm

    Wow, what a dramatic difference! LOVE the new space! So bright and actually looks much bigger! I want your countertops so badly!! Great job!

    Reply
  • by breharne says: March 4, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    The dark wood floor looks fantastic, very contemporary!

    Reply
  • Kasia says: March 7, 2017 at 3:14 am

    Stunning! I love it!

    Reply
  • Kylie says: March 7, 2017 at 10:55 am

    We are looking at ordering our kitchen this week during the IKEA kitchen sale. I have had the plans on the kitchen planner since December. Your island/entire kitchen is super similar to our dimensions – even down to the bench near the window! Definitely sending this over to my husband to look at!

    Reply
  • Rebecca Wrin says: March 7, 2017 at 1:09 pm

    Your kitchen looks fabulous! Great makeover! Stop by when you get a chance.

    Chippy White Cottage Blessings,
    Rebecca

    Reply
  • Laurie says: March 7, 2017 at 7:58 pm

    Stunning! A beautiful transformation! Pinned to share. Thanks for taking the time to stop in and share it with us at Brag About It! This is totally a Brag About It makeover! Have a great week.

    Reply
  • Sandi magle says: March 7, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    Looks wonderful

    Oddly when we worked with the IKEA staffer,—at the store, he was helpful in adding what we needed to finish the island without any problems at all. We had 137 boxes and the rest was fittings. Three trips back and forth to add/subtract our errors/their errors and we are thrilled with our kitchen.

    Ours took longer, but we had some very major construction issues with the house itself, not the cabinets there than they are very heavy—for two old people to wrangle.

    Reply
  • Sandra Garth says: March 9, 2017 at 5:55 pm

    Wow, this is gorgeous! I love the sleek contemporary look and taking pictures in this space must be a joy. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, have a great weekend.

    Reply
  • Chloe Crabtree says: March 10, 2017 at 8:34 am

    WOW! It looks like a kitchen featured in a magazine! What an amazing job you did! I will be anxious to hear how your IKEA cabinets hold up! I have considered them, but have been hesitant! Thanks so much for sharing at Celebrate Your Story!

    Reply
  • Cindy says: March 12, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Your kitchen turned out beautifully!
    Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    Reply
  • Aquila Salta says: June 22, 2017 at 9:48 pm

    This is such an excellent idea Sabrina. Making my own “Our DIY Kitchen – Before & After” has always been a task I kept postponing because of my lack of confidence in doing it on my own. You made me feel assured that I can really do it! Just a quick question, do you have a rough estimate of the cost of this project?

    Reply
  • Jan Myers says: July 13, 2017 at 10:24 pm

    Nice job. But if you live long enough it will be outdated. First thing to go will be wallpaper and it is a bitch DIY. I think for most people with limited resources and abilities especially 10 years down the road or some accidents that change you forever, forget the wallpaper. In all reality you’ll probably go back to warmer colors and have to replace black &
    Stainless steel furniture and black tile flooring. Be careful what you wish for. Been there.

    Reply
  • Sandy says: November 8, 2017 at 12:21 pm

    Sabrina – this is a very nice job. Don’t listen to the haters… Jan . Very inspired by what you’ve done.
    Did you decide to keep the stools? Any thoughts on where to find good ones? I haven’t found a good source yet.
    .

    Reply
    • Sabrina says: November 8, 2017 at 7:09 pm

      Thanks for your kind words Sandy! I did keep the stools. I find the best places to check are HomeSense/Home Goods. You always have to be on the lookout but they have the best styles & prices.

      Reply
  • Sarah Sudhoff says: December 8, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Hi….what color is the sink? I have am trying to decide between the cinder and the metallic gray. My kitchen is white backsplash, white counters, slate with mixed in brown floors.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Sabrina says: December 11, 2017 at 8:57 am

      Hi Sarah, the sink is cinder. You can view more details about my sink in this post: https://pinklittlenotebook.com/thinking-about-the-blanco-silgranit-sink/

      Reply
  • Miriam says: January 23, 2018 at 2:12 pm

    You did a fantastic job!! I love how bright it is now and the appearance of a larger kitchen than you actually have. Thanks for the review on the Blanco sink, we’re building a house and I liked the reviews on the Ikea cabinets and sink. Makes me reaffirm my choices!!

    Reply
    • Sabrina says: January 25, 2018 at 8:19 pm

      Thanks so much Miriam! Glad I was able to provide some insight for you. All the best with your new build!!

      Reply
  • Sam says: March 23, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    Excellent job. The kitchen look like in the magazine. We are in the process of doing the same island style (Thank you for your post) but longer (11.5 feet long x 3 feet wide) and the overhang (sitting area) is about 11.5 inches with Quart counter top.

    Wonder if you use support bracket on your overhang area? Our counter top guy said we need some sort of bracket. We have the 2 sides support wall like yours. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  • Saviesa Home says: June 28, 2019 at 8:54 am

    Hi Sabrina, I really liked your DIY before and after kitchen. It is also my dream to design a kitchen by myself but I never really had the confidence to do it. But after reading this post I got the motivation to have a DIY kitchen.

    Reply
  • Ella Mora says: February 7, 2022 at 12:28 pm

    I love what you did with your kitchen! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I

    Reply
  • L Rose says: March 17, 2024 at 10:27 am

    Great example of the advantages of wallpaper! Although you could have painted the design, the wallpaper gives your kitchen a fresh, outdoorsy air very easily and keeps it from looking bleak and industrial. It’s not so “out there” that it will become dated quickly. I’m wondering about the hood vent on an electric stove? We have to eventually replace our electric cooktop which will necessitate a kitchen re-configure which is why I was interested. I’d like to install one of those hybrid cooktops which has gas an induction, which is why I was wondering. We’ll have to install a hood vent which means moving the stuff in the cabinets above the stove. And yet now I’m hearing they don’t even bother venting gas stoves!

    Reply
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