Looking Back At Our Modern Coastal Kitchen Refresh - One Year Later
I can’t believe it’s been a year since we gave our kitchen a completely new look with a fresh, modern coastal refresh! This refresh was a game-changer for our home both in function and style, and I’m SO glad we did it.
Today I wanted to take a look back and review our project - how we feel about our choices, if we have any regrets, how our painted cabinets are holding up, if there’s anything we’d do differently, and what the project cost!
Grab your cup of coffee - we’re doing a deep dive today, friends!
In case you’re new around here and want to read more, you can dig into the series of posts from last year using the button above, but the short version is that when we bought our flipped home in 2019, we inherited a brand new kitchen…that unfortunately had a pretty dated look. We struggled with what to do since it seemed like a waste to rip it out, but it was so far from our style that I knew we would want to do something.
We lived with it for three years (I even wrote a post about working with dated granite in your home, which has amazingly become one of my most popular posts!) until we came up with a plan that made the most of what we had, but gave it a completely new look.
Here’s what it looked like before to give you an idea of what we were working with! So busy, so brown.🙈 It’s hard to see here, but the cabinets would have totally fine IF there wasn’t faux antiqued detailing all along the edges of the door and drawer fronts.
So what did we do to refresh our kitchen?
The cabinets stayed in place, but we…
Painted the perimeter cabinets in Benjamin Moore’s Pale Oak
Changed the hardware to a combination of brass knobs and pulls
Cladded the island in vertical paneling and painted it Sherwin Williams Breezy
Swapped out the granite for marble-look quartz countertops
Added a zellige style tile backsplash
Replaced our two-bowl sink with a single basin made out of granite composite
Replaced our faucet with a new one in brass
Converted one cabinet into a pull-out trash can
It sounds like a long list (and it is!), but it’s a far cry from a total kitchen renovation. So now let’s look at it with fresh eyes, a year later, and talk about how things are going!
How do we feel about our design choices in our modern coastal refresh one year later?
The short version is, we absolutely love it! I’m still really happy with the choices we made - from paint colors to countertop choices, hardware to backsplash. Every time I work in our kitchen, I’m beyond glad we took the plunge and went ahead with the refresh so we can enjoy it for the years to come. I also think the changes improved the resale value of our home.
I’ve been happy with the quality of the pieces we chose as well. The hardware in particular has held up beautifully and shows no signs of wear and tear. It’s solid brass, so that’s what I’d expect!
What’s are some of my favorite changes we made?
I really love the whole kitchen, but if I had to pick a few, I’d have to say our countertops, paint colors, and the addition of a pullout trash can.
Our granite countertops were so busy that I had a hard time keeping them clean. I would find crumbs all the time! Our light colored, marble-like quartz countertops are SO much easier to keep clean, not to mention they changed the aesthetics for the better!
I agonized over paint colors and am so glad we landed on a light taupe for the perimeter and a gray-blue for the island. Our last kitchen was white and I knew I wanted something a little softer and warmer - Pale Oak was a winner! The island was begging for some contrast and color, and Breezy was just right without being too bright and bold.
Finally, we sacrificed a cabinet (the lower one with the bar pull in the image below) to convert into a pullout trash can and wow, it has made such a difference. Before, we had one at the end of a run of cabinets by the back door and it always felt inconvenient to use. The pullout is within reaching distance of the sink and is under a great work zone, which has made it more accessible and efficient to use.
Do we have any regrets?
Nothing major, thankfully!
One choice that felt like a bit of a risk was the white granite composite sink - it’s a material I didn’t have personal experience with before our kitchen, and the only thing I don’t like about it is how our stainless steel pots and pans leave marks on it. It’s nothing that a little magic eraser or Barkeeper’s Friend can’t solve, but I like a clean sink, so I find myself scrubbing it more often than I did with our stainless one.
My other minor regret is not realizing that our cabinet knobs were deeper than our previous ones, which only mattered in one spot - the pantry! When we open the left door, the cabinet knob prevents it from opening all the way, which in turn prevents the interior drawers from being able to be pulled out! We ended up swapping two of the knobs for this flatter leather pull style, which works perfectly.
How our painted cabinets are holding up
I’ll admit, I was nervous about this. Painting over a factory finish doesn’t always go well, and I wanted to make sure the paint job was high quality and durable. I think I interviewed five painters and the ones we ended up with did a fantastic job.
They prepped, sanded, primed, and added two coats of finish paint. In case you’re interested in the nitty gritty, they used an oil based primer and water based enamel finish paint with a roll and brush technique. I debated whether to have them sprayed instead, but I felt confident that these painters knew what they were doing, and they guaranteed their work.
I’m happy to report that a year later, our cabinets still look just about brand new. There’s literally one spot that needs to be touched up thanks to my son’s overzealous door swinging (yikes), and the rest has held up beautifully. One BIG key was to let the paint fully cure before we closed the doors. That gave it a hard finish that’s ready to stand up to wear and tear.
We don’t baby our cabinets, but we are thoughtful about taking good care of them, and I’m delighted with how they’ve done over the past year.
Is there anything we’d do differently?
As you’ve probably gathered, I’m very content with everything we were able to do and keep it within the constraints of a budget-friendly kitchen makeover. If I could have taken things a step further, there are two things I would have done:
Straighten out the island. As you’ve seen in the photos, our island is L-shaped and this causes a pinch point by the refrigerator. You can see a straight-on view of it below. My husband and I get in each other’s way when one person is getting something from the fridge and another person needs to go by. I’d be willing to give up that cabinet in order to square off the island for more room!
Add more pullouts to the lower cabinets. This is something we can definitely still do to make better use of our storage and make things more accessible, but we haven’t taken the plunge. Our last kitchen had all drawer bases and we loved how it made the best use of space. This kitchen has NONE, and man, I miss it.
How much did this kitchen refresh cost?
Though cost can vary a lot depending on your location and materials selected, our goal was to spend about $10,000 on this project. I think it’s helpful when people share the actual costs - here's the breakdown:
Quartz countertops: $4,732
Cabinet painting (labor and materials): $4,250
Hardware, sink, and faucet: $1,801 (gifted by Signature Hardware)
Backsplash tile: $365
Backsplash installation: $470
Grand total: $11,618 - pretty close to right on budget!
When you call the project a “refresh,” $11k sounds like a lot, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than purchasing new cabinets and appliances! So if you're considering a kitchen refresh that includes similar work, I hope this gives you a ballpark estimate of what it might cost to tackle it!
So that’s where we are with our kitchen one year later! If you’re pursuing a kitchen makeover like we did, I hope those details will help you make smart decisions and plan well. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments or send me a note!
Sources
White Cloe Backsplash Tile
Quartz Countertops: London Gray from Panda Kitchen and Bath (local to Richmond, VA)
Perimeter Cabinet Paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Pale Oak”
Island Cabinet Paint Color: Sherwin Williams “Breezy”
Vintage Rug: Brick Alley Co. (local to Richmond, VA)
