1970s Ranch to Country, Cottage Kitchen
Hi sweet friends! Today, I am sharing all about our ranch style kitchen renovation. Keep reading to see how we took our 1970s ranch kitchen and transformed it into the country, cottage kitchen we have now!
Recently, I have been learning how to cook from scratch… which means I have spending a lot time in the kitchen. I have been feeling so incredibly blessed to have a space that feels warm and inviting, and I really wanted to share with you all the work we put into it.
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I want to start out by saying that our kitchen isn’t entirely complete, and there are a few more changes I would like to make later on. Designing and decorating a home takes time, especially on a small budget. But, I am really happy to be sharing the progress we have made with it so far!
If you read my previous post, I talked some about how this home is hopefully just a starter home for us. I explained a little about my country farmhouse dream and what that would look like. My dream kitchen would have tall ceilings and windows with trim, a high back sink, beautiful hardwood floors, and a harvest table… However, with this being a starter home and us being on a tight budget, I went with pieces that I not only liked but that were also within our budget and allowed me achieve a small piece of my dream home.
So, let’s get into all that we did!
RANCH STYLE KITCHEN RENOVATION- BEFORE
For this kitchen, I wanted it to be clean and airy while still being cozy and charming.
The original kitchen was rather dark and dingy. Our house sits facing north and south, meaning we get little direct sunlight in our home. We have massive, beautiful windows in our dining room and kitchen, but due to the lack of sunlight pouring in, it can easily feel dark even on bright sunny days.
The kitchen was dated and in need of many repairs. The oven was sitting on two pull out drawers that were missing the outer fronts. The countertop range was falling in, and previous water leaks caused damage to the flooring and sub flooring.
Yellow formica covered everythinggggg.
DIY KITCHEN RENOVATION- DURING
We tore out the floors the very day we bought the house. Once the sub flooring was repaired, I spent an evening tearing down all the formica. Then, we demoed all of the cabinets and drawers that the oven was sitting on. We also took out the range and the cabinets above it.
This, in turn, exposed all the paneling underneath. A family friend offered to patch and mud our paneling to give us a smoother finish on the walls.
From there, we painted the walls (this color) and installed the microwave.
Next came the cabinets. We painted the cabinets using a spray gun and then installed these standard countertops from Lowe’s. Installation for the countertops was quite tricky because our home is older and isn’t a standard size. We used a jig saw to cut the countertop length in order to make them fit our cabinet. We also used the jig saw to cut the holes for the faucet and knobs.
This sink weighs almost 100 pounds and required an extra support in the cabinets underneath. It is quite possibly my favorite element in the kitchen, and I love you can choose which front you want to use. (note: always watch the price with Amazon because it fluctuates often)
We replaced the old flooring and windows as well as added AC/Heating.
Hear me when I say, I LOVE OLD WINDOWS. Windows made from old growth lumbar should never be taken out or replaced. They should be restored. However, our windows were made from cheap aluminum, and many had cracks in it. It made more sense for us to replace the windows and save on our heating/cooling bill, and I haven’t regretted it once since we did!
The original flooring was very yellow. The flooring I chose is a lovely brown and hides SO MUCH DIRT.
*UPDATE: since having these floors for over a year, I don’t recommend them. I still love the color of them, but they are not waterproof and have ended up bulking in various places from spills.*
We used it throughout our entire house, and I think it looks great for the price. Installation was a pain, and I honestly think if you can afford to hire someone to install it, you should. But, if not, you can install it yourself.
For backsplash, we used a simple white subway tile with white grout. It took us less than 3 days to complete it and was super affordable and easy.
I focused on small details to create a cohesive space and save money. For example, I used rub n buff on the original copper hardware to make it match my faucet, and I purchased these plug and light switch covers. We also installed floating shelves where we ripped out the cabinets above the range, and we cased out our microwave with wood to match our living room.
DIY KITCHEN RENOVATION- AFTER
Here is how our kitchen turned out. I love it so much, and I’ve never been more motivated or excited to cook in my life!
What do you guys think of our kitchen renovation? Leave a comment down below!
