Industrial Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover Plans
I’ve never been SO happy for a room planning post. IT’S KITCHEN PLANNING DAY!
To be honest, the plan has been in my head for 2 years now, but since we’ve been saving up for this big overhaul, I’m finally able to share. Woo to the hoo and spirit fingers galore!
(If you’ve been struggling to save up for a big room re-do at your place and have felt overwhelmed with it, I shared my 5 steps to budget for a room makeover last week, and they’re super helpful.)
Envisioning our future kitchen in my head is exciting to me already, but seeing all of the pieces together on a mood board makes me feel even more confident about it.
UPDATE: See our full kitchen makeover reveal here!
Right now, here’s how our kitchen looks:
Really, we’re very thankful for this big space with lots of storage and plenty of room to move around. Our kitchen was one of the biggest reasons we bought our house.
But since figuring out my style these first few years, it’s becoming more and more obvious that it just doesn’t fit in with the rest of our house. The reddish wood tone is not meshing well at all with that wood beam doorway.
So, here’s what’s gonna happen. (I’ve numbered this list based on the mood board above to hopefully make it easier to follow.)
- Those leather bar stools are going bye-bye and being replaced by something more industrial like these aqua ones.
- We replaced our basic flush mount light last year with this one. I love how it looks like a vintage cage fan.
- We’ll be upgrading our current knobs with hammered bronze cup pulls and knobs. I’m hoping to score an awesome sale at some point since those can really add up fast.
4. My parents surprised me with a stainless steel Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas that is capable of making some rockin’ pound cakes and looks mighty fine sitting on our counter.
5. I’ll be throwing in more greenery in here since that’s my favorite way to make a room come to life.
6. Our bar pendant lights have already gotten the DIY treatment with these inexpensive industrial cage lights I made.
7. We’re doing DIY concrete countertops! The plan is to keep our existing formica ones and just apply concrete on top of them, so we’ll see how that works out. (Design Dining and Diapers has a really great tutorial about it here.)
8. Our rinky dink faucet drives me bonkers all the time when trying to wash cookware, so we’ll be replacing with a high-arc type faucet.
9. I would really love a farmhouse apron sink to replace our existing stainless steel one, which is the worst to keep clean. But an apron sink would be much more expensive and would require cutting the countertop and part of the cabinet, so I’m chickening out on that one and sticking with a white cast iron drop-in instead.
10. White subway tile backsplash! I’m scared of this one but also really excited. I’ll be pairing dark gray grout with it too. I thought about painting our existing tiles white to save a bit, so that’ll be plan B if the budget gets tight (but I really hope not).
11. I just recently discovered that you can paint your range stainless steel! I might be crazy enough to try it. Or I might just try to snag a spring appliance sale and sell our black one. The mix and match black and stainless steel appliances in our kitchen is no bueno.
12. I’ve been toying with the idea of putting white reclaimed wood on the backside of our kitchen bar. It might be more durable against kicking feet and smudges than white paint. And it would add some extra texture.
13. The cabinets are going to be white! I’m thinking Benjamin Moore White Dove.
14. I’ve wanted a cute vintage kitchen scale for two years now. I’m on the hunt! (For one that doesn’t cost $100…sheesh!)
15. I picked up our French drying rack at World Market two years ago and love it! It’s awesome to set out at a coffee station when guests come over.
16. We won’t be replacing our kitchen floor since it’s still new and in great shape, but we’ll most likely be bringing in a jute runner to warm up the room a bit.
As for the chalkboard, I’m on the fence about whether I should keep it or paint over it and mount a roll of craft paper for our weekly menu instead. The chalk does get messy sometimes, but I don’t know if I’m ready to part with it.
I’ll probably make an oversized “reclaimed” sign of some kind to hang above the top cabinets too.
Oh, and I don’t show it very often but this is our butler’s pantry that in reality is basically two junk drawers and our insanely large collection of coffee cups. Because…coffee.
Are you starting to envision it yet? This is one room I’m sort of dreading, but I’ll be so happy when it’s finished. This space feels like a cave with the dark cabinets since there are no windows in our kitchen, so I can’t wait to see how much the white will brighten up everything.
As for the other two room makeovers currently in progress, we’ve made a lot of headway in our home office that I’ll be showing you guys soon. And the master bedroom will be getting its final DIY in a couple of weeks. Yay! Chuggin’ right along.
What do you think of the plans? Any changes you would make? Or must-haves in your own dream kitchen? I’d love to know if you’ve ever attempted DIY concrete countertops or painted your own cabinets!
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I just replaced my bar stools with stools much like the ones you picked out. I bought mine from Wayfair in pairs. They look so unique and are actually quite comfortable. I had to put them together. The first one took me an hour to put together; I had it down to around 20 minutes by the 4th one.
Ooh yay! I’ll have to check there! Want to come over and put them together for me. 😉 Haha
It’s going to be amazing, Lauren!! I love your plans and we did subway tile with a soft gray grout in Beaufort and love it! The range is beautiful – can’t wait to see it all come together~
Thank you! I am SO excited about it!!!
Oh my goodness! This is going to be so fun to watch! Everything is going to look amazing! Guuuurl, you’ve got it going on!
Haha! Thanks, Marie! Can’t wait to share!
I buy all my kitchen hardware on EBay. You can’t help find what you want. We just did an entire kitchen gut and install. I have LOTS of cabinets and I bought all the kitchen hardware for $68. The savings are enormous!
That’s awesome! I’d checked EBay before and hadn’t had much luck for what I was really looking for. Might have to give it a go again though.
Remodeled our kitchen in our old house and just had to have a white cast iron sink! Ended up HATING it! It chipped 2 or 3 places with normal sink using! My sister had one too mandated it for the same reason. I love a stainless one. Good luck!
Oh no! Well, it looks like after researching a bit further the past couple of days, we’ll be going with an apron front ceramic one instead. Maybe that will be better than the cast iron? I’m hoping anyway. Thanks for sharing your experience with it, Jen!
I backed out of the apron front sink for our recent kitchen renovation as well… Too hard to retrofit it to the current cabinet that was there and logistically we just couldn’t give up the function of a kitchen sink for two weeks to get it done! (Not possible with two young kids!) The good news is now that our kitchen is done I don’t regret it at a! Our new sink is so much better than our old one! Can’t wait to see your finished product! So up my alley!
Ugh! Yes! That’s what I’m not looking forward to either. That kitchen sink is so vital with little ones and their messes. Your kitchen is gorgeous though, Sara! I think your sink was a good choice.
Go for the farmhouse sink, or at least a single basin. I’ve had a deep single basin for a few years and would NEVER go back to a double. So practical in every way. For the few times you need a smaller area to fill with water, just use a large bowl in the sink. I really think you could handle the little bit of modification it would take to get your apron sink from IKEA, though. I enjoy your blog…keep up the good work!
Okay, I’m convinced. I just talked to the hubby about it a bit more, and he’s over here saying, “What?! Let me at that countertop with a jigsaw. We’ll MAKE that farmhouse sink fit.” Looks like it’s going to happen after all. 😉 Someone else pointed out too, big farmhouse sinks are awesome for baby baths. 😀 Ahh!
I love the pendant light, number 6. Where is that from? I’ve been looking for one for above my sink. Thanks!!
It’s from Barn Light Electric. Here’s the link: http://www.barnlightelectric.com/pendant-lighting/vintage-pendants/urbanite-wire-cage-pendant-light.html Hope that helps! 🙂
I’m thinking about these bar stools. I love the ones you linked, but these are similar for less money. 🙂 http://www.walmart.com/ip/48694349
Ooh I like those too! I picked the ones I linked because of the weathered aqua finish. Maybe it’d be worth DIYing on those though? Hmm…
Oh man! I would have bought your cage hardware–I just bought some in black for my re-do! LOL. I love the chalkboard wall–I’d hate to see that go, but I get it.
I love your plan. I think it will be fantastic.
I would encourage you to look into maybe glass tiles for the backsplash…just a touch of sparkle would really make the room pop. Maybe the kind that is mixed with tumbled stone so its not ALL shiny. There is even a new product of heat proof gel tiles that mimic glass that you can stick RIGHT OVER your existing tile called Smart Tiles. Just an idea…
Thanks for the feedback, Lisa! I’d looked into Smart Tiles and would LOVE to go that route. I wish they had the bigger type of tiles. Maybe they’ll come out with more designs eventually? Hoping anyway.
This is going to be so, so good! You guys are gonna knock it out in no time and I can’t wait to see it!
We have wood planks around our bar in white. We did shiplap in our entire kitchen on the wall for the farmhouse treatment (the plywood planks are easy on the budget and make a huge impact) and we carried it over into our island. i LOVE it because I have 3 little sets of feet kicking all the time. If you want to check it out I have pictures posted on my instagram @akhouser. I can’t wait to see how your kitchen turns out. We redid ours farmhouse look and finished about a month ago and we LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
Just stalked you on Instagram and your kitchen is beautiful! That’s my thought too. My little one is always swinging those feet and kicking the bar.
thank you! I have loved reading your blog! I think we have similar taste!
Thank you, Amberly! I’m thinking Joanna Gaines might have converted a bunch of us to this kind of style. 😉
Ikea has a reasonably priced farmhouse sink!
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S59093554/
That’s the one I was considering at first. We’re not removing our existing countertops though and thought we’d have to cut into our countertops and cabinets to fit the sink and that makes me nervous. Have you seen that done anywhere before? I’d love to get it!
I’ve seen several articles on it. I just bought a house that needs a complete overhaul, and that’s what I’m planning on using, and I’m going to have to cut into my counter and cabinets aswell. I just love it too much not to try!
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/step/0,,358427_248127,00.html
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/cutting-a-hole-in-a-countertop-for-the-sink.html
Also, this.
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/2011/08/install-ikea-farmhouse-sink-existing.html
You are an angel for digging all of that up, Emily! I think you’ve convinced me. I’ve really let the idea of this project scare me, but dang it, we’re doing it! Ready to bust out the jigsaw and do some work!
Love everything you are planning. I do wonder how well a white sink is going to stand up?? Looking forward to watching the transformation.
Thanks, Carrol! The one I’m looking at has great reviews. Anything is an improvement on our stainless steel sink because even just plain water makes it spotty and dirty looking. Makes no sense at all. We’ll see how the new one goes. 🙂
I like the idea of the subway tile but do be careful on the grout. “Sometimes” that dark grout can make the area just too busy for the eye. I always use white grout so that area can be a clean palette for anything that one would set on the countertop.
I hope that I didn’t rain on your parade — just wanted to give you something to think about.
Looking forward to seeing your other rooms now.
I definitely agree. Some dark grouts almost look dirty rather than just contrast, so I’m going to take a while to try out different colors. Didn’t rain on my parade at all! I need all the advice I can get. 🙂
Love your plans!! Maybe because it’s my exact kitchen haha!! I got my bronze pulls and knobs from ikea very reasonably!! Don’t be scared of the tile backsplash- it’s really easy! And we modified our cabinets to hold a farm sink and with all y’all have already done in your house you should easily be able to do that too! I have used the Henry Featherlight finish on countertops for a concrete look. It’s messy due to all the sanding- but again very easy! Never tried the completely poured ones but I know y’all could do those too!! Can’t wait to see the progress!
Ooh thanks! I didn’t even look into Ikea for hardware. Did you have to cut out a portion of your cabinets to fit your sink? I still really want to do it just didn’t know if it was feasible. Did you have to cut out part of your countertops too or did you replace entirely with new ones? Our formica ones are staying put so not sure how to handle that.
Your new kitchen redo is going to be fabulous. The only change I would make is a single basin sink. They are so great to hide dirty dishes and especially for washing oversized pots and pans. Then of course there’s baby washing too.
Aw I didn’t even think about a baby-friendly sink. Ahh! Okay, that might have changed my mind right there. 😉 Kitchen sink baths are the best.
Wow this is going to be quite an ambitious project. I am looking forward to you realizing your vision Lauren. It’s going to look great. Love the idea of the stools and the reclaimed wood.
You’re tellin’ me! Ahhh! I’m excited and super intimidated. Thanks, Mary!
Fun post and inspirational! Looking forward to watching you tackle it all, as we have a similar kitchen make over in the future. 🙂
Thanks, April! Can’t wait to share how it goes!
I’m excited to see how it turns out, the reclaimed wood idea sounds awesome! I painted my cabinets twice in one year (had a change of heart!) it was a lot of work but totally worth it! I also did my own subway tile which I was terrified about at first but it actually turned out to be pretty easy and kind of fun! You can see it here:
http://www.simplybeautifulbyangela.com/2015/04/diy-subway-tile-backsplash-big-reveal.html?m=1
Oh yeah! I remember that post you did, Angela! Good to know it wasn’t so scary after all! The hard part will be prying off the existing tile. Ack!