Before and After: This Mostly DIY Kitchen Upgrade Looks About 100 Times Brighter

Myra McKeon’s kitchen was, well, totally fine.

“The before was functional and by all means great,” she writes. “The style of the kitchen would be liked by most, but it just wasn’t my particular style. It had an opening into a bedroom, which I don’t believe was there in the original floor plans. To me, the kitchen didn’t necessarily ‘flow.'”

Last fall, Myra happened upon several kitchen sales and decided to make a change. After a previous bathroom remodel, she says this kitchen renovation was no big thing. Over 11 months, she totally demo’d the room and then built it back up, only hiring pros for the electrical work and countertops. Her dad, a carpenter, helped out a ton.

She says everything went fairly smoothly, though refinishing the ceiling drywall was a big pain and mess. “Luckily, we didn’t find any structural issues, mold or water damage, which I feared, given the age of the house,” she writes.

The whole kitchen redo — including appliances — cost about $8,000. “Almost everything bought for the kitchen was on sale or I scored a deal on it,” writes Myra. “I meticulously scoured the internet and local places for the items I needed, and because the process was slow, it all worked out perfectly.”

Like a true deal finder, Myra says she still hopes to purchase a white refrigerator to go with the rest of the appliances, but she’s waiting on a sale. She’d like to add some can lights, too, to make the new space even brighter.

“I absolutely love how light, minimal, and open the ‘after’ is,” she writes. “It was intentional, but it is better than I ever planned or imagined.” She particularly loves the hard maple shelving, a woodworking project she completed with her dad.

Thank you for sharing, Myra!

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: This Upgraded Kitchen Looks About 100 Times Brighter