Ready for a transformation? 😉 I’m so excited to finally share our DIY Kitchen Remodel with you all! We knew when we bought our first home four years ago that we eventually wanted to renovate our kitchen. Being so dark, it didn’t match the rest of our home and my dream was to have white kitchen cabinets! Well, my husband and I were feeling ambitious over quarantine and decided to do it ourselves! We had no idea what we were doing. After lots of research and trial and error, we figured it out!
I’ve been sharing the entire process on my Instagram Stories (I have a highlight on my profile if you want to catch up!) and have gotten a ton of questions from those interested in doing it themselves too! So I thought I’d do an entire post sharing before/after, all the supplies used and tips and tricks we learned along the way.
The number one thing you need is *PATIENCE* though. It wasn’t easy and my husband said he’s never painting anything ever again..haha. Just keepin’ it real. But we did save a ton of money and are so proud that we did it ourselves!
#1 tip: Use a Paint Sprayer!
We figured out early on that the only way we were going to be able to do this is if we invested in a paint sprayer. It was much more efficient and the finish looked perfect as opposed to a roller or paint brush where you could see strokes. Our cabinet doors also have an inset which made it impossible to paint with anything but the sprayer.
The first thing we did to begin the process was remove all the cabinet doors, shelves and hardware (organize the hardware in bags and label them for easy re-installation.) We set up an area in the garage where we degreased, sanded, primed and painted all the doors and shelves. We found this video to be a very helpful resource. All supplies used are listed below!
We chose to do the top cabinets first as we had limited space in our garage and doing it this way meant we didn’t have to remove everything from the kitchen all at once. While the cabinet doors and shelves were still in the garage, we set up for spraying the cabinet frames indoors. This part was tedious as you have to cover your appliances, floor, counter tops, ceiling etc. We then degreased, sanded, primed and painted the cabinet frames.
Once our frames, top cabinet doors and shelves were dry, we were able to re-install (shown in the above photo.) We then began the same exact process with the bottom cabinet drawers and shelves in the garage. Yay, this meant we were about 50% done! We started to get the hang of it all around this time.
As you can see in the photo above, we were finally in the home stretch. We set up for the bottom cabinet frames to be sprayed while the bottom doors and shelves dried in the garage. Like I said, this part is tedious as it’s important every single thing is covered. A lot of you were asking how many coats we did. We did two coats of primer and two coats of paint.
Final thoughts:
While we were very happy with the paint sprayer, the nozzle did get clogged from time to time. If this happens, it can start to spit out paint unevenly and blotchy. My husband, Mike recommends that you do a test spray before each coat (we used the inside of a box to test.) Be sure to wear a mask and googles for safety. If you’re able to wear a full paint suit, I’d recommend that as we were always somehow covered in paint.
After lots of hard work, we were finally done with our DIY kitchen remodel!!
I then began my next project: Peel and Stick Subway Tile Back Splash.
I found this Peel and Stick Subway Backsplash and decided to give it a go! It’s by no means perfect but wow am I impressed! It truly looks like real tile. I love that it’s temporary and can easily be peeled off. I feel like I could do an entire blog post about this so let me know If that’s something you would want to see.
You may of noticed that we turned this one cabinet into open shelving by removing the doors. This was a spur of the moment decision and I am SO happy we decided to do this! I’m also really happy we decided to go with gold hardware. I love the way it looks and it doesn’t bother me at all that it’s paired with stainless steel. We kept the original hardware if needed for when we decide to sell.
Another thing we decided to add to the kitchen was puck lighting underneath the cabinets. These are the exact ones we have and we absolutely love them! You control them via a remote and can change the color and brightness of them.
I’m so excited I finally got to share our DIY kitchen remodel with you all! What do you think of the end result?? We are planning to switch out the bar stools and get some recessed lighting installed so I’ll share those home updates as they come!
If you have any questions at all please feel free to leave them in the comments below and I’ll get back to you! 🙂 thanks so much for reading, friends! Stay safe!
SUPPLIES WE USED: Wagner Flexio 4000 Paint Sprayer, Valspar Stain Blocking Bonding Primer (Color: Tintable White), Valspar Signature Interior Paint + Primer (Color: Ultra White), 3M Sander (120 Grain Medium), 3M Delicate Surface Painters Tape, 3m Hand Masker Plastic Tarp (72 inch), Paper Sheet Dividers, Canvas Drop Cloth, Krud Kutter, Semi Abrasive Sponge, Warner Putty Knife, Painters Tripods, Safety Goggles, Painters Face Mask.
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