Retro Kitchen & Laundry Room Revamp Reveal

How we Renovated our 1970’s Kitchen on a Tight Budget

It is finally here!  Three years after we started our Retro Kitchen Revamp, it is finally complete.  You may be wondering why it took us so long to complete this renovation?  Well, we completed the bigger fixes quickly, and it made such a significant impact in the room.  But then the smaller jobs did not seem so urgent, and we lost momentum.  But we’ve been working so hard these last couple of weeks to get it completed finally and now I want to share our kitchen reveal with you.  Let’s take a look at the before again:

The cabinets were ok, but the colour was horrible.  And the island mosaic countertop was scary and dirty.  We had an old fluorescent light and a yellowed laundry sink.  Now our kitchen looks like this:

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Planning your Kitchen Revamp

First thing you always need to do before you try to transform a room on a budget is proper planning.  This will aid you along your journey, to help you stick to your budget and to get the projects completed.  Draw up a design plan or mood board and write down all the items you need to pay attention to.  Make sure you stick to your schedule and your budget as you go along. 

If you need more tips on budget-friendly projects to do in your home, you can follow through to this post here, or for advice on how to plan a cohesive kitchen design head to this post.

Tackling the Bigger Projects

We had a couple of bigger projects to do in the kitchen, and we got most of them completed right at the start of the project.  It will help a lot if you set aside a week or two to complete these more significant tasks.  You will immediately see the progress, and it is so rewarding. 

Our bigger projects included painting the cabinets and wall tiles as well as installing new lamps.  They did take some time, but these are big impact projects that will really transform your space.  You can, of course, stop here, but the decorative touches are what really pulls the room together. 

Adding Decorative touches

Even though it took me a couple of years to pull all of these decorative projects off, I will always recommend that you pay attention to them.  They will help you organise the space so that it is less cluttered.  They can also create focal points and rhythm, which every room design needs.

Our more-decorative, but still functional projects included the DIY round kitchen tray we made to help clear our counter clutter, DIY book covers I made for my recipe books, and the wall art I put up in our laundry room.

List of Projects Completed our Retro Kitchen Revamp

Let’s take a look at all the projects we completed in the kitchen:

• Firstly, I shared my design plan for the kitchen
• I listed some budget-friendly ways on how to update your kitchen
• I shared ways to create a cohesive design in your kitchen
• We painted out baked-enamel kitchen cabinets
• We painted the wall tiles in the kitchen
• I designed, and we installed new lighting – a caged pendant track light
• I firstly covered our counters with contact paper, and when that did not last
• We covered the counters with leftover sheet vinyl flooring
• I refinished our laundry sink
• I also fixed our bamboo blinds
• We made a round tray to group items on our counter
• I made a pretty tea towel with tassels
• I made brown paper book covers for my recipe books
• We framed decorative tiles to use as wall art
• I added patent art to the laundry room
• And I also discussed why you need to add plants to any room

Conclusion

We pulled this kitchen revamp off on a tight budget, and the biggest transformations were achieved with paint.  I believe that if you plan properly and look at all the budget-friendly options, there are out there, you to can renovate your kitchen on a budget.  This Kitchen of ours is proof of that. If you have any questions, you can contact me through my contact form.

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Have you done some work in your kitchen?  What is your favourite was of revamping a space on a budget?  Please share below in the comments.

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