Small Kitchen Remodel

Posted byBesaPosted inKitchen Design, Renovation Project

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I could not agree more with the saying that “kitchen is the heart of a house”. This goes for everyone, even for those whose busy lives do not allow them to often cook meals in their kitchens. It is a place where you find yourself as soon as you wake up to have your morning cup of coffee or tea. It is a place which fills a home with wonderful aromas and where memories are made. Having such an important place in a home, beside being functional, the kitchen cabinetry, the shape and size ideally should suit the taste of people who use that kitchen the most.

Well, this is not always the case, and many of us end up living in homes with old, not so functional and oddly shaped kitchens. While some of such kitchens can be saved and brought back to life with some power of DIY, there are some kitchens that are helpless, and tearing them down completely is the only thing that will work.

My old kitchen was one of those helpless ones. It was a very small, mid century kitchen with built in wooden cabinets which were painted over and over. On top of it, the long time renter has made some improvements and “decor” touches that made this kitchen even more undesirable; so the day we took the possession of the house this spring, we started tearing down the kitchen cabinets.
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The kitchen area was very small, so in order to make it appear larger we removed a part of the wall that divided the living room and the kitchen. To get a better access to the backyard, we replaced the kitchen window with French doors. These changes instantly made the kitchen feel larger.

To enhance the feel of a larger space I went with white cabinets. I chose the IKEA Adele doors, and created a kitchen plan in their software. To keep the expenses down, I did not make any other structural changes so I had to work around the existing placement of kitchen cabinets. However, my challenge was how to make the kitchen functional without involving any plumbing work.
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To maximize the efficiency and functionality of the kitchen, instead of a stove I decided to get a separate cook top and underneath the cook top I placed a set of drawers for my pots and pans to have them easy accessible when cooking. The dishwasher, placed next to the sink, provides the only countertop working surface in the kitchen; pretty small isn’t it?
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However, despite the lack of countertop space, the placement of the kitchen cabinetry has been carefully planned, so the cooking and baking in this small kitchen proceeds quite smoothly.
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Opposite to cook top and sink, I have placed high wall cabinets. One of them is a 15 inch pantry cabinet with several floating shelves. Floating shelves make an easy access to the food supplies, so it is worth paying few more dollars for this commodity. Oven and the microwave are placed on another high cabinet, and the drawer below the oven is a huge bonus. This is where I store all my baking pans. The fridge is very tightly squeezed between the oven cabinet and the wall, and we were so happy to see it fit because we thought we were short for just less than 1/8 of inch.
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I played safe with the backsplash, and went with the classic subway tile. I opted for white tiling and very light grey countertop, as when pairing with white cabinets they create a uniform view and add to the feel of spaciousness.
For a pop of color I chose these icy blue cotton velvet drapes, which give the kitchen a very sharp and clean look.
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Considering the size and the shape, designing this kitchen in this space without jeopardizing the functionality and appearance was a challenge in a way. Ordering and assembling the cabinets all by myself was another challenge and a tiresome and hard work.
However the project has been completed now and, considering all circumstances, I am very happy with the way my kitchen turned out.
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So are you ready to see the before kitchen?
Here is my poor old, tired, hilarious, dysfunctional, neglected BEFORE kitchen:
BEFORE -Kitchen 2 Before Kitchen
And here is my new and bright, AFTER kitchen:
AFTER 2

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Have you done any kitchen update lately? I would love to hear from you.

Thanks to the following blogsites for featuring this post: Commona My House; The Dedicated House; The DIY Dreamer; The Happy Housie; Share Your Cup Thursday; The Koenig’s
Thank you for reading.
Besa

67 thoughts on “Small Kitchen Remodel”

    1. Wow, that’s quite the transformation…awesome job! Found you over at the Wildly Original Party.

      Reply

  6. It’s absolutely gorgeous! You did an amazing job! I found your blog through Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Budget! Have a wonderful day!

    Reply

  8. That is fabulous! I love how you used every inch of space plus brought in seating and so much light. I have never understood why builders shut off views to the backyard.

    Reply

    1. Thank you, and yes I am really happy with the use of space as my small kitchen is functioning perfectly. Thank you for stopping by and taking time to comment.

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog Zografia. I love the city you live in. I used to go there very often while I was living and working in Europe.

      Reply

  13. Gosh yes, your kitchen is so fresh and clean looking. Love the blue velvet curtain choice with all the white. You make Ikea look Good! I enjoyed this so much. Thanks for sharing with us on Meet The Neighbors

    Reply

  16. OMG! Yes, your before kitchen was ALL the words you described it, lol! Now is stunning, modern and functional my friend. Congrats on the great remosel! We did totally remodel ours 4 years ago and boy, I still adore it and appreciate it so much and it’s not a big kitchen or anything, everything is in the design. Happy week.
    FABBY

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    1. Indeed it was, and the describing words came easily.I am so happy how everything turned out and, as you pointed out, everything is in the design. Thank you for stopping by and for your comment.

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  21. What a fabulous remodel! I’m gong to send this link to my daughter and son-in-law since they are going to redo their very small kitchen and are hoping to use IKEA cabinets. Thanks for sharing at TTF!

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    1. Thanks Linda for hosting the party and for stopping by to comment.Hope that your daughter and son-in-law will find this design useful.

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  23. Shut the front door! This looks stunning and you brought that kitchen a long way from the before pics! Awesome! I’m a big fan of white cabinets and used the same ones from Ikea when we did our kitchen 3 years ago. I love them. I’d love for you to come join our link party over at TinySidekick.com. It is going on now. Hope to see you there!

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    1. THank you so much for the compliment, and for the invitation. I just stopped by your blog and entered this post in your collection. You have a very pretty blog, and I enjoyed browsing through.

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    1. You are so right. When it comes to small spaces and its functionality, carefull planning is the key. Thanks for stopping by to comment and for pinning it.

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  26. So seriously stunning. What a transformation – and so well planned! Thanks for sharing this with us at Work it Wednesday- I am featuring you tomorrow morning. Hop by to grab a button if you have a chance. Have a great week!!
    ~Krista

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  32. love love love all the choices you made for this kitchen as little as it is its stunning I’m featuring it tomorrow at our next Meet the Neighbors link party

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    1. That is awesome. Thanks so much for including my kitchen remodel in tomorrow’s features, and great thanks for hosting the linky party.

      Reply
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