SG Style

a design & lifestyle blog by Shavonda Gardner

Official Kitchen Before and After (unofficially)

Hi Everyone!

Happy Tuesday! Today is a very special day for me.  First, its the first time AHFOC has been featured by a fellow blogger.  The beautiful Ms. Kristin of Bliss at Home is featuring me in her Great Reads series.  I’m so honored and super psyched about it.  Thank you, Kristin.  If you are joining me today for the first time from Bliss at Home, id like to say WELCOME!!  I hope you stay a while and come back again soon.

Second, I’m so excited to finally be revealing the official before and after of our kitchen makeover. I added in “unofficially” because there are still a  few more things we have to do before I’m content with calling this space completely done. Ive received some questions and comments about the space recently so I wanted to dedicate a post to sharing the details of the makeover, so, tada:

We began our kitchen revamp over a year ago, guys. Yep, that’s right! It took us a whole year to get to the point where we are today. And though I would have LOVED to have completed this project in much, much, MUCH less time than it actually took, Ive gotta keep it real with you guys.

Design details and decisions don’t happen quickly in this house. Naomi and I are complete opposites when it comes to our vision of pretty much everything, so the process required A LOT of compromise with a side of patience. In addition, we both work full time and we restricted ourselves to a very strict budget. We didn’t have a ton of availability to tackle things all at once so we focused on things in phases, which meant sometimes months would go by without any progress. We solicited various sources for things and tried our hardest to take advantage of sales and coupons when at all possible, which meant patience was key. Take our back splash tile, for instance. We didn’t actually purchase it until months after we first found it and that was almost a year after the cabinets had been painted!

In the end this is a space we are both just so proud of.  Our new kitchen is very much a reflection of both of us. We were able to do everything ourselves and came in under $700!  The motto for this project was “work with what cha got”, so we only made cosmetic changes to the space and used the existing floor plan and appliances. We just love it and I hope you enjoy it as well.

This is what the space looked like on the day we walked through the house for the very first time, prior to us even putting in an offer!

The style just wasn’t us at all.  It felt like the same kitchen I would see in every other house in our neighborhood. I’m happy to say that today we have a kitchen that is very much us:

 
 
 
 
 
Simple changes like painting our cabinets (you can read about that fiasco here, here, and here), creating some open shelving, adding hardware (found at Ikea), replacing the faucet, and adding a back splash makes the kitchen look and feel completely different! 
 
We still have to replace the flooring and tackle the dining area within the space, but the changes we’ve made so far definitely make it my favorite room in the house!  I just hope it doesn’t take us another year to get that part done. Eh, who am I kidding!
 
Until next time…


XoXo-Shavonda

Linking up here, and here

***After I published this post it dawned on me that some of you might want color details, DUH SHAVONDA.  Pardon my rudeness.  The colors are Glidden Rich Navy on the walls, Ben Moore Simply White (Aura) on upper cabinets, and Ben Moore Anchor Gray (Advance) on the lower cabinets and island.****

Posted By: · In: interiors

About Shavonda Gardner

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Comments

  1. Keia G says

    Hi Shavonda!

    I saw your beautiful, beautiful kitchen while glancing through the February issue of the Better Homes and Gardens magazine earlier today, and I couldn’t get to the internet fast enough to check your blog! I knew the rest of your home would be just as beautiful, and what I’ve seen doesn’t disappoint. I hope to purchase a home with my fiance’ in the next year or so, and I know where to come for inspiration!

    justkeia.blogspot.com

  2. Lyn says

    Just found you through Better Homes and Gardens and noticed you were a local blogger. Love, love, love the kitchen. That’s the next big redo in my house. I saw those backsplash tiles at Costco and thought about getting them for the future redo and even went back and looked at them again and decided they looked too “bathroomy”. Apparently I was wrong and now wish I had bought them. Oh well, you can just come over to my house and do my kitchen for me!!!

  4. Dawn says

    Hi Shavonda,
    I found your blog via Better Homes and Gardens! I love your kitchen makeover and I’m inspired reading how you were able to do it all yourself! It really looks beautiful.

  5. Laurie says

    Hi Shavonda..
    Your kitchen is amazing and very similar to mine. I have the exact same backsplash with white cabinets and was looking for the perfect color for my bottom cabinets. I could not believe it when I saw your kitchen. Perfection! What is the color of your bottom cabinets? I am anxiously awaiting to hear so I can get started on mine!

  6. Shavonda says

    Hi Melissa! Thank you so much! You should def go for it! I’m all about the color baby!!!! So glad you stopped by:)

  7. Melissa Judson says

    I am absolutely in love with your kitchen! And totally inspired to use a similar colour scheme in our next kitchen (we’re just in the process of moving.) GREAT JOB!

  11. K says

    So beautiful! Can I ask where you bought the tile for your backsplash? We are building right now, and I’ve been looking for a horizontal tile backsplash with these hues! Your kitchen is beautiful!!
    Thanks!

    • Shavonda says

      Hi there! Sure. We got our tile from Costco. I’m not sure where you love, but it’s pretty much the same as Sams Club. I have more detailed shots of it in my backsplash installation posts. Thanks so much for stopping by.

  12. Mel@JunkinJunky says

    A-mazing transformation! The tile blends the two shades of blue in your cabinets perfectly.

    I’ve had a look around too and I love your home and your style. Happily following you now so I don’t miss a thing.

    Mel in Toronto

  13. Holly says

    Came here from Better After…Girl, you are amazing! Absolutely gorgeous. Now going in to check out more of your blog.

    • Shavonda says

      Hi Janina! Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m so happy I could inspire you to tackle your project! I’d love to see pics when it’s all done. If you need any advice during the process don’t hesitate to shoot me an email:)

  15. Anonymous says

    I love your kitchen. I have thought about doing the darker lower cabinets with white above but was unsure about it…..not any more. They look fabulous! The tile work ties everything together. It may have taken a while to complete it but it sure looks like it was worth the wait. Enjoy!

    • Shavonda says

      Hi there. Thanks so much for stopping by. Yes, I am enjoying the new space more and more everyday. It’s such a happy and fun place to be! I say you should go for it! You won’t regret it.

    • Shavonda says

      Hi Jeana! Thank you so much. I don’t think I can let you have it, but you’re more than welcome to come over for dinner anytime;)

  17. Shavonda says

    Hi Gaby! Thank you! I’m just really glad the colors all meshed well together. The outcome is exactly what we were hoping for! Thanks so much for stopping by

  22. Gypsy Heart says

    Kristin sent me over too! 🙂 Your kitchen is just amazing ~ what a great talent you have. Can’t wait to see more!

    I’m a new follower too. Stop by and say hi when you can!

    Pat

  23. ingrid@nowathomemom says

    WOW! your kitchen looks different, beautiful transformation Shavonda! I just discovered your blog today after reading Kristin’s (Bliss at home) post! glad I did! 🙂 the backsplash is beautiful, looking forward to reading your upcoming posts! Ingrid

  24. Belinda says

    I agree with Brandi! You SHOULD link up to the link parties. I love everything you do. Your style is both beautiful and unique… just like you. 😉

  25. Brandi says

    My girl, seriously you deserve a round of applause. Your kitchen looks amazing. I love how well the neon bar stools look in there. You did a fantastic job. You should really consider linking this post up to some link parties to get your blog out there. Are you on Hometalk?

  26. Shavonda says

    Dear sweet Katrina! Remember when I first posted about how I really wanted to paint the cabinets white, but Naomi was freaked it would end up looking like a country kitchen. Man, it took many many boxing sessions to get her to trust me on this one. I’m so glad she did. We both love it and I never would have imagined she’d agree upon the two tone look. Double win! Thanks for being a source of encouragement throughout this whole process.

    • Shavonda says

      Hi Amanda! Thank you so much! Following you and mountain man’s kitchen remodel in your previous house was one of the things that inspired me to try my hand at it. So thank you!

  29. Julia Konya says

    Hey, this is seriously amazing! I mean I have seen pictures of your kitchen before but see the before pictures makes this even better. Great transformation!!!

    • Shavonda says

      Yuliah!!! Hi there. Thank you. I can’t wait to see your kitchen transformation. I bet it’s going to be amazing, too. I’m just so happy my vision translated well in real life, you know!

    • Shavonda says

      Hi Sammy! Thank you so much. I’m so glad you like it:) The barstools are probably my fav thing in the kitchen right now!

  31. Jayne says

    This kitchen makeover is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen, your choice of colors is perfection, I love it! What is the blue on the walls?
    Fantastic job!

    • Shavonda says

      Hi Jayne! Thanks so much for stopping by and thank you for the compliment. The color on our walls is Glidden’s Rich Navy.

    • Sally Cronkright says

      I agree Jayne! I love your colors and am now inspired to redo our kitchen. I didn’t think we could afford it but I’m fired up now! Can’t wait to see what else you post. Nice job Shavonda!

    • Shavonda says

      Hi Sally. Thank you so much. When I first started researching into kitchen remodels the costs were so incredibly expensive I thought there was no way I could possibly make it a reality. But you really would be surprised at how huge of an impact a fresh color on your cabinets will do. Less than $100 can make your space look like a million bucks. I really hope you are encouraged to go for it!

  32. Kristin Cadwallader says

    I love it! I totally understand the waiting and patience part. We started our kitchen last summer and have it half done. We are hoping to finish the rest by September/October. I love your paint choices on the cabinets :)xo Kristin

    • Shavonda says

      Thank you so much again, Kristin. Yeah it’s hard to remember the virtue when all around you you see folks start and finish projects within a couple weeks. But I just try to remember slow and steady….

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