My ‘Industrial Chic’ Kitchen Renovation

I am SO very excited to finally share the photos of my kitchen renovation with you!

First, let’s get started with the “before” pics. Photos by Robert Bruce Photography, my husband!

Before Pics

There was a huge wall blocking our kitchen from our living room. It made our house feel super small and cramped.

It was cute but could be SO much better.

And now introducing...my new kitchen!!

I went for an “industrial-chic” look and everything turned out exactly as I’d imagined. Knocking down the wall really opened the space up so nicely and the white shaker cabinets brightened everything up. We refinished the floors, but kept the same stain (so we didn’t have to redo ALL the floors in our house).

This is the new view from the living room (where the wall was blocking it before). There is so much more space now and it feels like a completely different house!

The pendant lights over the island were a bit pricy but I wanted to splurge since they were such a focal point. The stools are so cute and adjustable height which I really like, and they are reasonably priced too! And the chandelier (on the left) is from Wayfair.

As you can see from the photo above, we don’t have a table yet for the dining room. Ok, dining room may be a stretch. Let’s say, breakfast nook? Either way, we’re getting a custom made table, and the wood is coming from an old Kellogg’s factory in Detroit. So cool.

It’s hard to see but there are even cabinets underneath the island (behind the stools) where I keep all of my baking and food photography props.

The island and countertops are probably my favorite part of this kitchen and WAY more beautiful in person. I chose quartzite- called Fantasy Grey (closeup below). It’s truly gorgeous. The island ended up being 50 (wide) x 66 (long) which was the perfect size.

We also decided to add a microwave to the island (seen with trim kit). I was a little worried about bending down to heat up food/drinks, but it honestly doesn’t bother me at all. I like to think of it as a quick leg workout. 😉 Also, if you’re wondering, the kitchen rug is from Wayfair and I love it!

One of my other favorites is the LG double gas range oven, plus the hood above. I opted to close off the hood at the top and add a cabinet, for more storage space.

And I decided to go with a simple very light beige/gray subway tile, which changes colors in the light. I added a simple herringbone frame design behind the oven, which is subtle but makes a big difference!

My LG fridge is equally amazing. I finally have an ice maker/water IN MY FRIDGE! I know this is common for most, but for me, it’s a true luxury. =)

Another awesome buy was my new champagne bronze pot filler (below). I honestly thought this was too fancy for me, but my builder convinced me to get it. So glad I did! Filling pots has never been so easy, and it just looks cool.

And then there’s my new Delta faucet (below). It was pricy, but combined with my pot filler, they are really the statement pieces of the kitchen.

I also got a pull-out spice drawer and a pull-out drawer for trash/recyclables.

The sink is also HUGE. I didn’t order the sink so I don’t have the exact link but the name was Apron 16 gauge SA 3000 Series and it’s very similar to this one. It also came with a cutting board and colander which can be placed right in the sink.

You can also see (to the right of the sink) a garbage disposal button– so cool!

The cabinets are “white shaker”, and we upgraded to pull-out drawers for many of the cabinets. So glad we did. The drawer pulls/knobs/cup pulls are from Lowe’s and they match perfectly with the champagne bronze faucet and pot filler (from Home Depot).

And finally, if you’re wondering, the paint color is Repose Gray from Sherwin Williams.

I really hope you enjoyed seeing my kitchen! I also put together a few lessons learned below, for those of you considering a kitchen renovation.

Lessons Learned

Hire a contractor.

We opted to use a builder without any designer/architect to save $, and this made things difficult (and maybe even cost us more in the long run). Although our builder did a great job, not having a “project manager” per say, put all the pressure on us to make every possible decision, do a ton of research, AND keep on top of the contractors. Therefore, I highly recommend investing in some help up front.

Order all appliances first, and early on.

If you already have all of your appliances purchased (or at least picked out), it will be easier to make sure everything will fit as planned when you have your cabinets built. Items can also get delayed or back ordered, which can delay the process.

Know how long things will take to order.

We custom ordered our tile and it took over 2 weeks to come in, which delayed our builder. Then we ran out of the tile frame and had to wait another 2 weeks, ugh. It also took some time to pick out our countertops. I’d suggest picking out the big stuff (appliances, cabinets, countertops, tile, and flooring) as soon as you can so you don’t delay the process.

Count on spending 25% more than planned.

I hope it’s less than 25% for you, but things happen and it’s good to plan ahead. We realized when we opened up the walls, that there was an additional load bearing wall which was an extra $1500. I also thought I would go cheap on some things, but in the end, decided to spend more once I saw the kitchen coming together and wanted certain upgrades.

Plan for every possible expense in advance.

When estimating the cost, I forgot to include things like curtains, rugs, light bulbs, etc. And if you go with a completely different design style, none of your old stuff will match, requiring you to purchase a lot more than you might have anticipated.

Try not to let the little stuff get to you.

There’s a reason why home renovations are stressful on relationships. While living in our basement throughout our kitchen renovation (covered in dust), there were some disagreements along the way. But we really tried to remind ourselves that it was “only a couple months” in the sum of our entire lives. That certainly put things in perspective. And when it’s over, you won’t even remember the bad times and soon you’ll be planning another room renovation (or maybe that’s just me?). =)

Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing my new kitchen renovation and are feeling inspired! As a food blogger, you can probably guess that I cook ALL the time (usually 6-7 nights a week when I’m not traveling) so this kitchen is not only beautiful, but also super practical, better for entertaining, and cooking is much easier and more enjoyable.

Leave a comment!

Have you been through a house/kitchen renovation yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts/tips!