Renovating our 1930's Bungalow Kitchen

Renovating our 1930's Bungalow Kitchen

We love to help customers redesign their homes with new lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, and other decor items. We recently undertook our own remodel. We didn't knock down any walls, but it was still quite an undertaking. The biggest visual difference is in our kitchen. I was most excited about replacing the countertop, going from tile to beautiful quartz. We kept the kitchen in a white color scheme since it is a small space. With a relatively smaller countertop (galley kitchen), we were able to find a remnant piece to use for the counter. It was a tad bit longer than your average slab, but placing a seam just one foot from the edge is barely noticeable. We had a great experience with Toluca Granite, if you are in the Austin area. Their remnant selection was the best we found in the area. Going with a remnant piece saved us about half the cost as ordering a new piece of quartz.

The cabinets were something we went back and forth on. I was convinced they needed replacement. We weren't exactly sure the age of them - they certainly were not the original 1930's cabinets, but maybe from the 70's? Still, they looked old to me with their hinges showing on the outside and round pulls. Luckily my husband convinced me we could fix these things and with a fresh coat of paint they would look brand new. He was right! More than a couple people asked if they were new cabinets. We had the cabinet doors taken off and hinges drilled on the inside to be hidden. Wood filler worked magic covered the existing hinge on the outside of the cabinet doors and also where the old knob pulls were to make room for the more modern handles we would put on the finished cabinets.

During the demo of the tile countertop, we also took out the matching tile backsplash. This was replaced with a simple and classic white subway tile. We decided the white tile would be classic and most budget friendly, as well as definitely match the countertop. The tile for all of this space cost only about $40.

The wood floors in the kitchen were original and not of the same quality of the rest of the house. These wider plank floors had been very worn through the years, so we decided to paint them black. The first attempt was with a satin paint that matched all the doors in the home that had been transformed from stained wood to black. However, the satin black looked dull, so an epoxy product paint was used in a much glossier finish. Finally, like the rest of the house, the walls and ceilings got a fresh coat of white paint (White Opulence by Benjamin Moore).

We couldn't be happier with the result. New blinds and a new table and chairs set finished up the look and we think it's our favorite place in the house! 

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