Our Brand-New Modern Kitchen Remodel: Before/After Photos, Our Mishaps, and Good Moves!

Hubby and I were looking for a home for months. First, we had to sell our condo, which took a short three weeks. Then, we started looking for a house in Abbotsford. Please let me tell you that British Columbia’s real estate market ain’t that simple to flirt around. It’s quite complicated and, most of the time, the houses won’t remain available for very long.

Sometimes, there were houses for sale we were interested in during our research that were displayed as sold within 2 days… kind of complicates the matter. Then, we found our gem. Yet, the house was still far from perfect. The kitchen was to be fully renovated, there was carpet here and there that was to be removed, the basement wasn’t completely done, and let’s not forget about the backyard that deserved ten years’ worth of love. You can imagine the great challenge we took upon our shoulders. We had and still have a long way to go, but having customized the kitchen to our needs completely changed our home.

In fact, the kitchen was a fully closed area just like most houses built in the 80s. To me, the room had plenty of potentials since it was quite big — 11×15 ft. Very good for a kitchen, but the way it was built wasn’t right. Most of the space was counterless, plus there was a door in the kitchen. There was little room available to work, and the fact that there was a cupboard over the sink made washing the dishes a challenging task. Since it was a large closed room, the sink and the oven were at their end of the room. That way, not only did it take us 3 minutes to cross the room, but the floor would get all dirty and wet as we drained pasta, washed fruits and vegetables, etc. In short, not very effective.

It required we put the kitchen’s renovation at the top of our to-do list. We knew it was a project that would demand a lot of cash assets, so we also wanted to make sure we could afford it without borrowing or being frugal. Obviously, we had to keep a tight budget since we were bound to meet some mishaps along the road!

BEFORE

I still can’t believe it was our old kitchen. Our first goal was to make the room bigger and to let the light in. We had to take down two walls, one of them we believed was a bearing wall. After checking with an engineer, we learned we would have no problem taking down the walls. So one worry out of the way since we wouldn’t have to add a beam.

However, we didn’t know that the joint inside those two walls was about 1% asbestos-containing. It complicated the matter. So the walls had to be taken down by experts so the particles wouldn’t spread in the air. I know that 1% isn’t much, but it still kept us from removing the Gyproc ourselves since the limit was set at 0.05%… Yeah, so $3000 later, the walls were down. ? Fortunately, it’s the only mishap that we hit along the road. The rest went all according to plan!

So there I am, 30 weeks pregnant, taking down the wall’s structure, tearing the floor apart, painting, and managing the contractors so the kitchen would be done before Baby’s arrival! It was a long 2 months, but we made it!

AFTER

I always dreamed of having a white kitchen. My dream came true, and I love it! We had to rethink the whole room’s efficiency. We moved the plumbing so the sink would be under the present window. We had to rewire the entire electric system since we had taken down two walls. So all the lights and electrical outlets had to be moved. We also added embedded lighting to drench the kitchen in light.

Once the wiring and plumbing were done, we finished the walls, cleaned up the details and painted. I finished the painting late on a Sunday evening, and the cupboards were delivered on the next Monday morning. We followed my plan to the minute!

Once the cupboards were in place, that’s when we started living again after 4 weeks without a kitchen. We got ourselves a pantry, then a fridge, large drawers for the small household appliances, cabinets for glasses and plates, and a glass door cabinet for my pretty glasses.

On the other wall, we emphasized the “farm style” sink, a small coffee area, and our wall of “ovens” including a double oven and a microwave oven. I love cooking so much that two ovens were a must!

Then, we maximized the space by adding a large kitchen island in the middle of the room… and please tell me how I have survived all these years without an island? Seriously, it is life! I absolutely wanted a cooktop on my kitchen island since I always thought it was inconvenient to turn our backs on our guests while cooking. That way, I can allow myself to chitchat (a glass of wine in hand) while cooking! Our oven’s hood is also integrated into the counter and rises to the surface when we’re cooking.

MY KITCHEN’S MUSTS

With our large kitchen island, we could sit 4 people. One more dream come true! I can already picture ourselves in a few years with my baby/ies eating breakfast there, simply perfect!

I actually found the perfect wishbone counter stools to match my kitchen’s style at Eternity Modern. My review of the product is first that the chairs’ design is perfect! They are entirely made of ash-tree wood with a handmade rope seat. In short, very fashionable. They are comfortable and perfect for chilling out for a few hours, a glass of wine in hand!

I also like to keep some of the good-looking household appliances on my counters, like my pink KitchenAid mixer that I love to use for making homemade bread or pizza dough. I also had to show my way-too-cute Smeg espresso machine, which I tell you all about right here.

Since I like having a minimal and pure decor, I only keep the essentials out, and the rest rests in my large drawers. That way, when it’s time to cook, there’s no need to move around the whole kitchen to make a little space!

And you, did you get into some renovations recently? Or do you also have a room you think deserves a make-over?

If you wish, I could show you other rooms we transformed inside the house.

** The counter stools were gifted to us by Eternity Modern. However, all opinions are ours and are 100% authentic as a way to inspire each and every one in our day-to-day lives. The Sparks and Bloom sisters swear by this!

This post was translated from French to English by: