My Country Farmhouse – Kitchen Renovation (Before, During & After)

The kitchen, the heart of the home… or in my case, what was the saddest room in the house. I had big plans to renovate it right after moving in. I saved lots of money and had even drawn up the floor layout, purchased a faucet, appliances and sink. I was pumped! And then March 2020 happened… Covid. The kitchen Reno had to be put on hold and all funds were moved to paying the bills for my apartment and house while not working. The funds ran out and I had to start from scratch. The sink, faucet, micro hood range and dishwasher would sit in their boxes until November 2022.

The kitchen had honey maple cabinets, laminate countertop and vinyl roll floor. It also had the washer and dryer in it which I knew would have to move out ASAP. On the opposite side of the wall that the two appliances were on is the back room so the first major order of business was making that space in to the new laundry room. That project was done in the summer of 2020 since it was not an overly high cost. New floor and moving the plumbing. All in about $1600 and worth every penny.

During September 2022 I decided it was time to remove part of the wall between the kitchen and the middle room giving the illusion of more space in the kitchen which is just under 12 feet by 12 feet. This also makes it feel like an eat-in kitchen now. And there is more space for a small island (Which I made in a previous post). I started by cutting a smaller hole to see if it was something I was sure I wanted to do, and it was. So I asked some friends in town who would be the best person to call for such a project and had them in to quote (which I accepted). Luckily at that time it was rainy weather so they were able to get it done rather quickly since no one really wants to work outdoors in the rain.

In about a week the wall was removed, the drywall was up, taped, mudded, sanded and I was able to prime. What a difference removing 24″ of wall made. That entire section of the house feels twice as big and twice as bright. The kitchen has two of the biggest windows in the house and so they flood that and the middle room with tons of natural light.

I decided that I would visit Home Depot’s kitchen section at the store to look at cabinets in September. And since I had the layout and measurements I decided to see what the kitchen would look like in a professional program. After talking with Dave, I realized I loved the quality of the cabinets, the promotion they were offering was amazing and that I could get my kitchen professionally done the way I wanted it. So I decided to sign on the dotted line and have ZERO regrets. I was told the cabinets would be delivered and installed around the middle of December. SO Exciting!

November 1st was the day I started to remove the cabinets and appliances. And shortly after that I had Handy Mike in to remove the old floor and lay a new subfloor in preparation for the new vinyl roll that would be going in. Beneath the old floors was another layer of old vinyl roll and under that the original soft pine. It was in really rough shape but would make a great subfloor yet again. In that floor was the original basement hatch which was neat to find. Within a couple days the new subfloor was laid and I was on hold until Van Huizen Flooring would come in auto do the install of the new Evening Reception soft vinyl roll flooring. I have ALWAYS wanted black and white check flooring and this vinyl looks amazing. It is Cost effective, waterproof and stain resistant which for me using it made the most sense with geriatric pups who have been known to have accidents. Shortly after this I was told that the cabinets would be landing much sooner, November 24th. Which meant all trades had to be moved up ASAP.

Once the floors were in it was time to have the electrical moved in to place before the cabinet install. Everything was moving, nothing was staying where it was so $$$. The plumbing would also have to be moved to the opposite side of the kitchen (still waiting for that invoice). Thankfully both the electrician and plumber were able to move the dates up to ensure the cabinet install would not be delayed.

November 24th – the cabinets landed. What an exciting day. They put everything in the back room until the install date. I Opened one of each colour cabinet to see how they looked. Seeing the colours meant I could begin deciding which countertop to go with. Have you ever heard of Countertop fatigue? It’s real. I had it. I must have looked at over 80 different stones. I had even settled on one, or so I thought. One afternoon I went to the Scarborough Home Depot and walked through their kitchen section and there is was, THE countertop. Silestone Helix Quartz. I loved everything about it. On my way home from Scarborough I stopped in to my local HD to see Dave and place the order.

Cabinet install day was awesome! I love to watch the trades people do their thing. You can learn so many neat tricks and skills. They came at 830 in the morning and were done by 4pm. So organized. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the kitchen looked. It’s one thing seeing pictures of what you’ve selected as finishes on a “mood” board but as it comes together so perfectly it was so fulfilling. I was able to move my appliances in that evening. The only thing left was countertop and sink / dishwasher install to do. Unfortunately that would take me into the first week of January. Thankfully I was able to have my dishwasher installed right away so I could finally stop taking my dishes upstairs to the bathroom to wash.

I decided to paint the middle room a gorgeous sage green paint colour since the house was feeling rather “beige”. The colour I chose was October Mist by Benjamin Moore. I loved the colour so much that I ended up using it in the kitchen which really warms the space and works well with the colour scheme.

January 9, 2023 – Countertop install day. Quickest installation I’ve ever witnessed in my life. In under 20 minutes I had my countertops put in. Everything I chose was the right choice. From the light, to the hardware, to the flooring and colour scheme – it all works. And I now have a fully functioning kitchen.

I did add some under cabinet lighting as a little splurge. Best $175 spent. I moved the island I made in to the centre of the room and added some small decor items in and the kitchen is complete. I LOVE my kitchen. It is 100% me.

The total cost was roughly $27000 which doesn’t feel too unreasonable for a kitchen this size and getting everything I wanted. Especially that wall removal 😉

I hope you enjoy seeing the kitchen that took me over 3 years to do.