It’s here—the big kitchen reveal! This remodel has been 11 years in the making and I have been dreaming about it for so long. It’s finally finished and I absolutely love how it turned out.
I still pinch myself almost every day when I walk into this room. It’s incredible that this is the space where I now cook for my family and develop recipes for all of you. I feel so lucky, and I’m thrilled this project is complete. It was, unsurprisingly, a large undertaking. Below I’ll walk through the process with before-and-after photos, explain key decisions, and list the main sources I used.
Before
When we bought the house 11 years ago, the kitchen was largely unchanged since it was built in 1916. Some cabinet pieces were original—over a century old. I always wanted to remodel, but a full gut-and-rebuild felt daunting, so we delayed it. We moved away for several years and rented the house, then when we returned in spring 2017 I made the kitchen a priority and began saving. I couldn’t stand the yellow walls and the old black-and-blue backsplash any longer!
Fast forward to earlier this year: we were finally ready to begin. After months of browsing inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram, I narrowed down the look I wanted, designed the layout, found a contractor, and started the work. The project took about four weeks from start to finish and honestly turned out even better than I imagined. After years of dreaming, it was surreal to see it become real.
After
After researching cabinet options I chose Ikea for the base system. The price point and the variety of cabinet and drawer configurations made it easy to maximize space in our modest kitchen. I booked a session with a kitchen planner at the store and they helped refine the layout to make the most of what we had.
I preferred different cabinet fronts than Ikea offered, so I paired the Ikea system with Semihandmade fronts. Semihandmade makes custom-style fronts designed to fit Ikea cabinets, giving a more curated look without the full custom price. I selected white super-matte shaker fronts for the uppers and graphite super-matte shakers for the lowers. I wanted the kitchen to feel bright but also practical—white uppers for lightness and darker lower cabinets to hide everyday wear from two little boys. I love the two-tone result.
Working with Ikea and Semihandmade was a positive experience overall. I made multiple trips to the store and resolved a few delivery issues by phone, which was a minor inconvenience, but nothing major. Our contractor assembled the cabinets, and I highly recommend hiring assembly and installation when using Ikea kitchens.
Before
After
One big structural change was removing the partial wall between the kitchen and dining room. Opening that up made the entire area feel so much more spacious and connected.
We initially planned to remove an old chimney stack that remained from when the house had a wood stove, but once the contractor inspected it the job proved larger and costlier than expected. We decided to embrace the exposed brick instead, and it turned out to be a beautiful feature that adds rustic warmth to the updated space.
Flooring was another major piece. Because we opened the kitchen to the rest of the main level, I wanted consistent floors throughout. New hardwood was installed in the kitchen and the dining and living room floors were refinished to match. The cohesive flooring is one of my favorite outcomes—the new floors look fantastic and tie the whole space together.
Choosing finishes was both time-consuming and fun. I kept the tile and cabinet hardware simple and sourced both from The Home Depot. Since so much of my work involves photographing food, I prioritized high-quality countertops. The previous counters were black, and I wanted a lighter surface, so I selected a white quartz with gray veining from a local fabricator. Their selection, service, and turnaround were excellent and I’m very happy with the result.
We also added exposed wood shelves. I couldn’t find the exact look I wanted ready-made, so we made them. My contractor cut the boards and I stained and finished them. We installed matching shelves in the adjacent mudroom to display cake stands and other items.
I’m not a professional interior designer, but I couldn’t be happier with how the kitchen turned out. This remodel gives me a beautiful, functional space to work in every day.
P.S. I documented a lot of the remodel process in Instagram stories and saved the highlights for anyone who wants a behind-the-scenes look.
Sources
Cabinets— Ikea Sektion cabinets with Semihandmade fronts in super matte shaker white and graphite
Appliances— Refrigerator and gas range from Samsung; dishwasher from Bosch
Countertops— White quartz with gray veining from a local fabricator
Wood shelves— DIY pine shelves stained in a warm finish
Tile— Simple white tile sourced from The Home Depot
Faucet— Wall-mount kitchen faucet in polished chrome
Cabinet hardware— Satin nickel cup pulls and round knobs sourced from The Home Depot
Wall color— Kitchen painted in a soft gray; mudroom painted in a deeper green tone
Floors— Maple hardwood stained in a warm tone and finished to match throughout the main level
Disclosure: I received a small discount from a countertop fabricator in exchange for sharing my experience. All opinions are my own.