Modern Farmhouse Style: 3 Simple Kitchen Decor Upgrades
April 22, 2017 |
| Hello Lovely Studio |
The "before" kitchen in our Arizona vacation house
needed a renovation.
It felt dated, had no clear identity, and
although functional, lacked quality...so with DIY,
a small budget, and smart choices, we upgraded
the kitchen decor to give it serene modern
farmhouse style and customized it
without any demolition.
While I still have finishing touches to
add on our next visit, I wanted to
share some simple kitchen decor upgrades
that anyone--even non-DIY types--can swing.
Upgrade No. 1
The greens and reds weren't doing our boring
kitchen any favors, and as soon as we
painted the walls, we began to see the potential!
 |
| BEFORE: Functional but that's it, and don't get me started on the painted red faux backsplash. |
It takes some effort and patience, but you
can also transform your kitchen cabinets
with paint as we did.
I handpainted them in a grey-blue
called Classic Silver (Behr).
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| AFTER: Hello Lovely Studio |
Upgrade No. 2
Add vintage touches for modern farmhouse charm.
While I'm just getting started adding vintage touches
to our kitchen, here are a couple of easy DIY suggestions.
Add beadboard trim to a breakfast bar, island,
or peninsula to suggest age and add interest.
See how plain and boring it looked before?
 |
| BEFORE |
Another idea is to install planks horizontally which
gives you sort of a shiplap effect, and shiplap
planking works just as well for this upgrade.
I also wanted to add simple modern farmhouse
barstools and was able to find the ones below
for $1-3 at nearby thrift stores and simply unified
them with paint.
 |
| AFTER: Hello Lovely Studio |
 |
| Thrift store stools getting painted in the backyard. |
But the easiest beautiful kitchen decor upgrade
to inject gorgeous farmhouse chic style?
Upgrade No. 3
Add quality cabinet hardware with
farmhouse style and patina.
Cabinet hardware from Top Knobs
was probably my favorite farmhouse
kitchen decor upgrade we added because
it provided instant gratification and style,
high quality, and timeless design for our
basic builder's grade kitchen cabinets.
Check out the area next to the refrigerator before...
 |
| BEFORE: Yuck. |
While this area improved after we painted the cabinets,
the Aspen collection cup pulls and small potato knobs
make a huge impact in terms of both function
(these cabinets are going to better live up to
daily wear and tear with hardware) AND
aesthetics (defining that modern farmhouse look we love).
 |
| AFTER: Hello Lovely Studio - Top Knobs Aspen Collection (Silicon Bronze Light) |
The bank of base cabinets on the window
wall before we added the cabinet hardware
looks as if it should be in a basement workshop,
not a space that is seen all day, everyday!
 |
| BEFORE: BTW. Can we talk mottled everything?!? From the tile to the laminate to the maple cabinets! |
bronze pulls and knobs make.
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| AFTER: Hello Lovely Studio - Top Knobs Aspen Collection (Silicon Bronze Light) |
because this is too much fun!
 |
| BEFORE: The range wall with naked cabinets! |
Sweet Mother Teresa on a motorbike,
I love these Top Knobs knobs and pulls!
 |
| AFTER: Hello Lovely Studio: Top Knobs Aspen Collection cabinet hardware |
cabinet hardware, and while I love the cup pulls,
don't be surprised if I devote an entire post
in the future to the small potato knobs which...
omg, have the best hand feel and weight to them!
Stay tuned for more updates and reveals
as we finish up this DIY whole house makeover!
Thanks, Top Knobs for sharing such gorgeous craftsmanship with me.
8 comments
This looks amazing! Thanks for the How To!
ReplyDeletethanks, mary ann! can't wait to get back there and finish the details. :)
DeleteWhat an incredible difference in your kitchen. It's so nice to see you repurposing cabinets and showing folks what a difference a coat of paint makes. Thanks for your predictable wonderful posts! I grab some coffee, turn on some Pandora music (French Cafe usually) and savor every picture and word!
ReplyDeleteI'm so grateful to have you here, friend. Thanks for the encouragement. I enjoyed every minute of painting them, and I know I may be freaky in that way, but put a paintbrush in my hand, and a peaceful world opens up. We wanted to disturb this place minimally to keep the labor and costs low. Enjoy your glorious day! :)
DeleteLove all your farmhouse touches Michele! Enjoy your weekend:)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leslie. It's certainly not your beautiful farmhouse kitchen, but it is now a pleasant space! xox
DeleteYou have really transformed that kitchen! I love it!
ReplyDeletethanks a million, katherine! xox
DeleteYour comments add to the beauty...thanks in advance for your kindness.