DIY Kitchen Renovation: Hello Lovely Arizona Fixer Upper
April 02, 2017 |
| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Serene, simple, chic kitchen remodel with Viatera quartz countertop and backsplash |
| It has been a busy year for your crazy DIY friends here as you'll see from the kitchen renovation progress made DIY styleat Fixer Upper No. 2 in Arizona. You may remember we bought this second home as a warm vacay getaway to escape Chicagoland, and it was in great shape but needed design love. Everybody loves a great before and after! Fortunately, there's still plenty of DIY adrenaline and design love left in this couple. If you're new to the blog: Our getaway home we're renovating has 4 bedrooms, an open living/dining area, and a kitchen with breakfast bar...the floorplan really didn't matter to me as much as the setting. The DIY journey began here. My dream was to find privacy and a pretty view outdoors, which was tricky given we were looking at the least expensive homes in the neighborhood! Somehow we found my wish: a cute little Mediterranean style cottage backing to a desert wash with a view of a butte and mountains...almost no maintenance outside! Today I'm sharing the DIY kitchen renovation progress, and I am thrilled with the smart upgrades and changes we made ourselves which completely transformed this house without breaking the bank. This was not a gut job like the kitchen renovation in our primary home, the Chicagoland fixer, and for this renovation, I relied upon LG Viatera, The Builder's Depot, and Top Knobs, who provided beautiful product. We salvaged maple cabinets, painting them a soft European blue-grey, and since they are short cabinets in a room with 9' ceilings, we added a riser to the cabinet tops and installed crown molding on top. When the gorgeous hand forged bronze cabinet hardware from Top Knobs (Aspen Collection) was added...ooh la la! What a huge impact and beautiful function this beautifully simple DIY addition made. We ditched the existing tan laminate countertops for a very luxe and hardworking LG Viatera quartz. (Read about why I chose Viatera for the Chicagoland fixer right here.) It's a brand new warm white color option called Soprano. The day these quartz countertops were installed was one of my favorites since the old counters were holding down the quality of everything and stealing light from the space. Since I love the modern minimal look of a quartz backsplash, we continued the material on the backsplash as well. To give the back wall of the kitchen wow factor and interest, we installed a gorgeous Calacatta Gold marble hex wall tile sourced at The Builder Depot, and I knew it would be perfect with the Soprano quartz. Calacatta Gold boasts tons of natural variation in the marble, and I love how the white/grey/caramel tones add a layer of lovely not just to the kitchen but to the adjacent rooms as well...it may have been busy had we used it as the backsplash on the other kitchen walls as well, but it makes a bold statement without getting out of control since it's grounded by other simple elements in the space. It's almost done! We need to fill gaps in the crown molding with filler and finish painting the crown as well as do touch up painting of the cabinets. I'd like to do a pretty window treatment as well. So the finishing touches will get done on our next visit, and I'll bring you pretty pictures for the final reveal! Let's take a look at the before and after journey of our Arizona kitchen.  |
| Hello Lovely Studio (Bemz Custom Belgian Linen Sofa Cover; HP Elitebook) |
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Simple, Serene, Chic Nordic French Kitchen |
I partnered with LG Hausys for the Viatera quartz countertop
in Soprano, and I'll be sharing more about that choice
with you in a forthcoming post.
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Simple, Serene, Chic Nordic French Kitchen |
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| Inspiration for the Kitchen Palette (Shabby Chic Couture Linen, Calacatta Marble, Blue-Grey, Pewter) |
is a sponsored product from The Builder Depot
that I'll share more details about later,
and it's offered at an incredible price
if you are in the market!
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: BEFORE KITCHEN: BLACK/RED/GREEN |
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Painting Cabinets Behr Classic Silver |
The existing natural linen toned porcelain
floor tile worked for me since it looks like
new and adds a sandy beach layer.
We also left the cabinetry as is since in
a small house like this, we couldn't afford
to lose any storage space.
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Painting Cabinet Doors in Behr Classic Silver |
What a huge difference painting those
cabinets made!
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Cabinet Doors Back On! |
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| Shabby Chic Couture linen fabrics to be incorporated |
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| BEFORE: Back Wall |
trim for a faux painted red backsplash that
I just was not feelin'. Like. Not. At. All.
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| BEFORE: Sink Wall |
| I am nutty von nutty about my apron front farm sink, but I knew to have one here would involve construction and probably a new sink base so I decided to keep this stainless one which saved a chunk of money and potential headaches for my DIY superhero husband.  |
| BEFORE: Breakfast Bar |
more presence (and frankly, function) is to add
wainscot or shiplap, which is just what we did.
We installed it horizontally which is less traditional.
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| My Dad Easing Our Pain |
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Simple and Serene Nordic French Style Kitchen |
been a challenge, and you can't get much
simpler or less costly than wood stools
like these which I found at the thrift
store for $3 and painted with the
paint on hand from the cabinets
(Behr: Classic Silver).
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| BEFORE: Frig Wall |
and green walls which are anything
but appetizing.
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| DURING: After Painting Cabinets |
nearly matching the floor tile.
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| DURING: Frig Wall |
Goodbye black appliances that work amazingly
well and are in top condition but won't mesh
with the simple serene redesign...you
will be perfect in someone else's
more modern kitchen!
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| AFTER: Frig Wall |
Hello, lovely, commercial and smudgeproof stainless steel.
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| AFTER: Frig Wall |
and "small potato" knobs with incredible weight and patina.
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| BEFORE: Sink Wall |
Goodbye, outdated builder's special kitchen.
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| AFTER: Sink Wall |
Hello, peaceful desert kitchen I want to spend time in.
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| AFTER: Breakfast Bar |
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: LG Viatera Quartz Countertop (Soprano) |
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Calacatta Gold Marble Hex Mosaic Tile (The Builder Depot) |
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| Installation of Calacatta Gold Marble Mosaic Wall Tile (The Builder Depot) |
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| DIY Installation: Calacatta Gold Marble wall tile |
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| DURING: DIY Marble wall tile installation |
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| DURING: DIY Crown Molding Installed & Tile Going Up |
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| Calacatta Gold Marble Mosaic Tile after Grout |
I don't know.
I bought them for the master and decided
to give them a try in here for cozy factor.
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| AFTER: Calacatta Honed Marble Mosaic Statement Wall |
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: A glimpse of the "backyard" which backs to a desert wash |
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| BEFORE |
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| AFTER |
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| BEFORE: Range Wall |
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| AFTER: Range Wall |
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| AFTER |
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| Serene and Simple Nordic French Kitchen with Quartz (Viatera - Soprano) countertop and backsplash |
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| DIY Kitchen Renovation: Serene and Simple Nordic French Kitchen |
Thanks for reading, friends!
What do you think about the kitchen
renovation progress?
I love this project in Arizona and am excited about
sharing more of our DIY renovation projects here with you.
It is all being executed on a budget so I am ever grateful
for the help in making our design dreams come true:
For more of our Arizona fixer upper stories,
Peace to you right where you are.
Thank you kindly, Viatera, The Builder Depot, and Top Knobs
for providing beautiful materials in this kitchen makeover.
18 comments
Your kitchen looks fabulous and I love the lamps. You and your husband work so well together.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I love the idea of lamps in a kitchen and appreciate you sharing that. xox
DeleteCongratulations Michelle! It's so clean and calm and inviting! Simply gorgeous ❤
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holly! I can't wait to finish up the little details. xox
DeleteMichele it's beautiful! Once again I'm utterly speechless by you guys, this kitchen re-do is no small feat! Your choices were elegant and warm and you're so right about those painted cabinets. What a game changer. Isn't it amazing what paint can do? It sounds like you painted those yourself and I can appreciate how time consuming that job is. Congrats on your new kitchen!!! I hope your Mama is doing well and now you have such a cozy home to host your Mom and Dad in.
ReplyDelete(ps your Dad is such a cutie).
xo
Leslie
Hahaha...thanks, Leslie. My dad is totally a cutie. We did it all ourselves (except quartz installation), and my dad and I painted the cabinets. It was easy since there was very little finish on the wood so the paint glided right on after a light hand sand. If they had been old with layers of varnish and grease and grime, that would be a nightmare. Yay for cheaply finished cabinets and clean freaks who lived here before us! xox
DeleteLovely. I am crushing on the Calacatta Gold.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I was so certain I would love the marble in here that I didn't even order a sample first! I wouldn't advise living that dangerously though! The quality is incredible, and not a single broken hex in the whole kaboodle. xox
DeleteLove the gold marble Michele! Doing it yourself is always a challenge and you guys are on a roll here. Your painted cabinets are gorgeous and you guys did that yourself? We tried to do that in our last home and ended up hiring someone to remove the cabinets and spray them in the garage..... what a mess! Looks great Michele!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leslie! Yep. My dad and I handpainted them, and there were no issues and not even a mess. Just a peaceful sunshiny room, a dropcloth, and time. But I'm a girl who lovvvvvvves a paintbrush in hand. This cosmetic stuff is a breeze relative to what we tackled in our primary home! xox
DeleteMichele, what a fabulous transformation!! It is so inviting and every detail was thought out. You guys are a force to be reckoned with. So happy for you to have this getaway home in a warmer climate!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for cheering us on every step of the way, friend. It is turning out even better than I expected. xox
DeleteBeautiful kitchen makeover!
ReplyDeletethanks, Jennifer! :)
DeleteHoly smokes! You ahve been one busy lady and might I say the after is GORGEOUS!! That mosaic statement wall is really something to behold. I am most impressed....awesome job Michele!
ReplyDeletethanks for visiting, friend! i am so glad you like the wall--i love when a natural material from the earth becomes art to enjoy everyday. :)
DeleteFantastic remodel! I am loving the look of your counter material also used as the backsplash, great idea, and is exactly what I am going to do in my own kitchen instead of using my original choice of subway tiles.
ReplyDeletethanks, lala! we have done a lot of kitchens, and this was the first where i opted to continue the material up the backsplash, and i've got to say...oh my goodness, i loved it immediately. maybe too boring for some folks, but for those of us who are looking for simple/no grout/super easy to maintain, it really does the job. i'd love to hear more about your project, so don't hesitate to email me! :)
DeleteYour comments add to the beauty...thanks in advance for your kindness.