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DIY Eclectic Vintage Kitchen Makeover {Primitive & Proper}

Hello everyone! If you have been following along for a while then you know that things are all about kitchens ’round these parts these days. We are still knee deep in our own kitchen renovation (it got put on hold by our “rental project”) but that has just wrapped up and I have several big projects to share with you soon!

In the meantime, Spring Break has arrived, and we are taking some time together as a family (I will be sharing what we are up to on Instagram over the next couple of weeks). While I am gone I have lined up some fabulous kitchen tours from a few of my favourite bloggers who have great success in building or renovating their own dream kitchens. I just know you are going to find amazing inspiration in this series.

Fabulous DIY Kitchens Tour Series at thehappyhousie

Today I want to welcome over my friend Cassie from Primitive and Proper. I got to meet Cassie oh so briefly at the Haven conference this summer and I wish I had gotten to spend some more time with her. I love her blog; her vintage eclectic style, and the beautiful furniture makeovers that she shares.

cassie
Hello Happy Housie fans! I am so excited to be here today kitchen crashing on Krista’s blog, and honored that she asked me to share my kitchen with you! I am Cassie and I blog at Primitive & Proper where I share my home projects, my furniture makeovers, stories of owning a vintage barn sale, and anything else that I fancy.

We’ve made so many changes to it, and I am happy to share them with you. We’ve done a mix of DIY and hiring because, let’s be honest, I know my limitations. Let’s take a look at it!

Amazing DIY Vintage Eclectic Kitchen Makeover by Primitive and Proper at thehappyhousie.com

You see how we added a little corner shelf, and also a great peninsula for us to eat at?

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BAHAHAHA! Kidding!!! Hope I didn’t scare you there. These are the before pictures… it was atrocious. Mustard yellow formica countertops with matching backsplash, old peeling linoluem, wood trim…. barf.

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It was so closed off, too. This wall backed up to the dining room.kitchen11

We had major dreams for this kitchen. It was a great size for us, but the layout was not working, and of course stylistically, it burned my retinas. If you read my blog, you know I am very much a blue/gray girl and not so much a yellow and brown girl. We lived with the kitchen like this until we could afford to do what we wanted, and then we went for it. And by went for it, I mean it took us almost a year to complete because it was a big project, and some of it was DIY, so those parts were completed when we had time.

We started by having a contractor remove all of the upper cabinets, knock down that wall between the kitchen and dining room, lay down new tile flooring, and install new lighting.

Once they got all of that work done, we moved on. I painted the cabinets and my neighbor helped us to install Ikea butcher block counters.

Here you can see the cabinets, with their new hardware, the new floors, as well as the counters.

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We removed a lot of cabinetry with that entire wall and by taking out all of the uppers. I love the look of free standing pieces in a kitchen, so we added a couple of pieces to the wall where the refrigerator moved. We purchased an inexpensive industrial shelf, and I used vintage crates for storage. I also found an awesome minty green chippy old file cabinet and cleaned it up and sealed it with polycrylic for safety. It stores glassware, bread, mugs, and has our “junk drawer”.kitchen13

We also created more storage by adding an island. My neighbor who is a talented woodworker (website coming soon at middlecreekwoodworking.com ), created the island based on my vision. I finished it to look as I wanted. You can read more about it here.kitchen9

And here you can see how it looks now, open to the dining room. The light really flows into this once dingy kitchen!

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I have been asked if we have any regrets about removing the upper cabinets. The answer is an enthusiastic “No!” This space feels so much more open, and the open shelving that we had installed by a friend serves as great storage for everyday dishes (I used to store my vintage glasses there as seen above), as well as cookbooks and more.

open shelves

 

The last DIY project that I am sure you are wondering about….. the backsplash!!! I am proud to say I tiled the backsplash, and am really happy with how it turned out. I loved the recycled glass tile and the color and feel it brings to the space. You can read all about it here.

backsplash

This kitchen started in a sad state, but has become one of my favorite rooms in the house. We congregate here as a family, and it’s the heart of our house!

Thank you so much, Krista, for allowing me to share my kitchen makeover with your readers today!

 

I am so thrilled that Cassie came by to share all of her hard work with you guys! Isn’t it fabulous?! I love it!

You can visit Cassie at Primitive and Proper, or keep up with her on Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter!

 
 

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