Everybody loves instant gratification, that’s the whole MO of this blog! Before pic, after pic, boom. You just digested an entire kitchen remodel in 15 seconds.
But don’t get fooled or frustrated when your real life projects seem to take three times longer. (Longer than you originally planned on, I mean. Three times longer than 15 seconds is 45 seconds. Good luck giving anything a makeover that quickly. I can’t even make toast that fast).
Better After reader Joan chose to do her kitchen remodel as time and money permitted, which ended up taking seven years! It’s a game she enjoys, seeing what she can accomplish on a minimal budget without going into debt. Piece by piece she replaced this outdated kitchen, starting with stripping the fruity wallpaper and repainting, installing new countertops a year later, then new flooring and appliances a few years after that.
It’s definitely a kitchen to be proud of, and so inspiring to see what can be done with a little money and a lot of patience.
6 Comments
Starla
September 16, 2014 at 11:41 AMWay to go Joan! What a fantastic example of stick-to-it-ness!
We are doing our whole home that way, little by little, as we can afford it.
We even have fruit wallpaper in our kitchen that will be making an exit this fall.
What an inspiration!
Kate H Jordan
September 16, 2014 at 12:38 PMGAH! Gorgeous. I love that. I’m in the same boat – doing what I can when I can on a cash basis. Slow progress, but I find it helps to periodically look at my before pictures to remind me of how far I’ve come.
LeeAnn
September 16, 2014 at 3:32 PMThat is a great makeover! I love the new kitchen. Gorgeous!
Staci
September 16, 2014 at 8:24 PMWow….that kitchen is so pretty!
Danielle
September 17, 2014 at 7:56 AMI need to learn this lesson. We just bought a house and I so wanted to wave a magic wand through the whole thing before moving in to make it perfect. It is so hard not to want the immediate before and after! My problem is that my tastes would change about 50 times during the seven year period and I’d never be able to make it cohesive!
Cathy
April 15, 2015 at 7:36 AMLove this, Joan – what colours did you use on the cabinets?