Do you ever think about your dream kitchen? I do, all the time. Like ALL the time. A large, open space with a massive island in the middle and a farmhouse sink. Yeah, I think about it a lot. I don’t currently have any of that, but I do have a beautiful kitchen! It’s small, but with some smart design choices, I’ve maximized it’s functionality. In this post, I’ll show you some before and after pictures of my kitchen renovation and how I made the most of my small space.
Before I start, I have to give credit to one very important person. My dad. None of this kitchen would have been possible without him. He custom built and painted my cabinets, along with basically everything else. He is extremely talented and I am very blessed that he was willing to do all of this for me.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at some pictures of the kitchen from before I moved in.
I was so excited to have my own kitchen that I looked past the outdated space. I knew I wanted to renovate it eventually, but I thought I would just replace the appliances, paint the cabinets, and get new countertops. This kitchen did have a lot going for it. That large peninsula was what my baking dreams were made of. I mean look at all that counter space! Just think of all the cookies I could make here. However, it was not long after I moved in that it became very clear this kitchen was not ideal for me.
What you can’t see in the above picture is the dishwasher. It’s located inside the peninsula, opposite the oven. When the dishwasher was open, it became hard to move around in the space. It was very tight. Putting dishes away was a daunting task.
You can tell by the box of plastic utensils on the counter that I was avoiding using the dishwasher as much as possible. This picture also shows how small the drawers were. My largest drawer was 7 inches wide (the face on the drawer was wider but the actual drawer width was only 7 inches). I couldn’t even fit a silverware tray into any of the drawers, and for a neat freak like myself, it was tough to look at an unorganized drawer of utensils.
Another thing this kitchen lacked was a pantry. Okay… it had a pantry it just wasn’t ideal. In the laundry closet, above my washer and dryer, were shelves that served as the pantry.
The picture below was taken after the renovation had started, but you can see all my food tightly packed in the “pantry”. I can’t tell you how many times I dropped items behind the dryer. It always seemed to be my favorite cookies that would fall back there… so frustrating. Another thing to note is that all of my cleaning supplies were also stored here. If you look closely, you can see food piled on top of my Swiffer Wet Cloths. Super sanitary.
Now as much as I loved my perfect-for-baking peninsula, it was starting to sound like a good idea to rearrange the entire kitchen in the new design plan.
I knew that I wanted a larger fridge with an ice dispenser (because let’s face it, no one likes to refill ice trays all the time). I also wanted a side-by-side refrigerator, instead of the freezer on top like I had. That being said, both of the doors would need to open past a 90 degree angle, and the freezer door would hit the wall before I would be able to fit anything inside the opening. Because of this, the new fridge wouldn’t fit in the location of the old fridge–it would need to be moved.
With the help of my parents, (my mom also has wonderful design ideas– I can’t leave her out of this) we decided to build a new pantry in the space where the fridge was. I was thrilled at the thought of not losing anymore cookies behind the dryer!
To finish off the plans, the peninsula would be taken out, the dishwasher would get moved to the wall on the right of the sink, and the new fridge would be next to the dishwasher on the right. I grieved my spacious counter, but I knew this design was going to benefit me so much more.
For the most part, I wanted an all-white kitchen. The plan was white shaker cabinets with subway tile backsplash and light countertops. There were a few compromises along the way to fit the budget, but in the end, I am happy with my choices. The biggest compromise was the countertop. I wanted a beautiful, white quartz slab but it was not an option when I saw the price. So I went with this salt and pepper granite that I also really liked.
The new pantry would look like cabinetry, with three pull out drawers for easy storage, which I highly recommend. It makes it so easy to reach the back of the drawer! The upper half of the pantry cabinet would have storage for cutting boards, mixing bowls, and other small kitchen appliances. The best part is, I won’t have to store any cleaning supplies in the new pantry. Woohoo!
Here’s a few pictures of the long-but-totally-worth-it process.
All that was left to do was the window trim, backsplash, and finally find the perfect decor. I have so many helpful people in my life. My aunt helped me with the backsplash tile and my dad put up the window trim. I was in my happy place when it was time to shop for decor.
Here’s a look at the finished kitchen.
Even though I’m still daydreaming about a massive island and farmhouse sink, I really do love this kitchen! It’s small but perfect. I said goodbye to my large counter space, but I now have a fully functioning pantry (solely for food) and no longer avoid emptying the dishwasher. I love how open it is, too. The peninsula really chopped up the kitchen and dining space before. Just look at all the room I have for dancing and baking now!
Thanks for stopping by! I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments 🙂
