Let me start off by saying I let my husband put the offer in on this home while I was traveling in China for business, sight unseen –  YES I trust him that much!   While I never got to tour the house or see its layout in person my husband knew we could turn this into a home.

As soon as I returned from my trip I asked to have a private showing on the house with our agent, with 3 hours of sleep and jet-lagged beyond, I needed to see it!   So I took the drive with my 2 babies to tour the house….. I immediately wanted to cry, this was true buyers remorse at its finest, but this classic colonial from the 1960’s  spoke to me and was begging to be worked on, I feel in love.

It was charming but extremely old, dirty and just plain neglected.  Knowing we had a tight budget and I immediately went to work in my head…. I could see the vision – rustic farm house.

So here goes the reno…..

The kitchen was so dark and dated so first thing we did was tear out all the old linoleum flooring <GROSS> and installed hardwood floors in a dark rich walnut.  We then painted the pine cabinets in a nice light cream – by Benjamin Moore, changed out all the hardware for a dark pop, but did salvage the hinges as the rustic charm was unbeatable all they needed was a good cleaning.

Installed white marble counters, added a farmers sink <my dream sink> and removed the front cabinet doors under the sink and installed a curtain for that true rustic farm charm.   All new appliances, including a down venting cook top, this way we didn’t have to have a large vent hanging from the ceiling which totally killed the vibe and look I was going for.

Added new lighting fixtures over the sink island and dining table.   We had to have the light over the dining table moved as it was so not centered.

I wanted lights from Pottery barn but was on a serious budget and found the same pendants from Lowes at a fraction of what PB was charging: https://www.lowes.com/pd/allen-roth-8-in-Bronze-Mini-Clear-Glass-Pendant/50283457

Light over the sink – https://www.lowes.com/pd/allen-roth-Bristow-7-in-W-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Clear-Glass-Semi-Flush-Mount-Light/50244831

Classic subway tile but in a sea glass blue. A fresh coat of paint in Classic gray by Valspar over the shiplap walls, bright white used on trim and ceilings, including the beams…..

 

The 6 candle light chandelier was purchased from lowes – https://www.lowes.com/pd/Portfolio-26-5-in-6-Light-Black-Linear-Chandelier/4764695

Since we used our kitchen entrance pretty much as our main entrance I add a bench with storage baskets for shoes and hooks for coats and a large salvaged window shutter to hang the kids artwork and notes with clothespins.   I loved how the space turned out!

PS- if you’re looking for a creative way to hide kitty litter boxes see what I did to the buffet table here –  https://towneandmain.com/diy-hidding-the-kitty-litter-box/