• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact Me

The Inspired Workshop

Inspiring you to Do-It-Yourself

  • Home
  • Furniture Plans
  • Remodeling
  • How To
  • Holiday
  • Crafts
  • Tools
  • Videos
You are here: Home / Archives for Remodeling

Remodeling

DIY Concrete Countertops – Pour in Place

January 28, 2019 by Cara 2 Comments

This post is sponsored by Concrete Countertop Solutions. I was given some concrete products in exchange for my post, but ALL opinions are my OWN. I would also like to note that I purchased some of the supplies in this post from them as well with my own money!

Hey Everyone! Happy Monday!

Many months ago, ahem, maybe even a year ago, we poured concrete countertops in the kitchen during our kitchen renovation and I wanted to share all about the process, what we did well, what we would NOT do again, and answer some questions I received! Pour in place concrete countertops are absolutely a DIY solution to countertops if you are on a budget or just love the versatile look of concrete! I say after having poured them, as long as you can lift a full five-gallon bucket up to your head 15-20 times, you are good to go…or at least have someone handy who can! Lol!

Pour In Place Concrete Countertops

Don’t mind that fancy copper patina in the sink!๐Ÿ˜•

There are a few things you need to understand before picking concrete countertops as your new counters though, and that is one, they are not a uniform color, there are variances and the more you need to sand on them after pouring, the more they have variation because of the aggregate that shows through! Don’t think for one second that because you saw a far off picture of some concrete counters, or a semi blurred close up, that they are solid gray or white! I didn’t know this going in, and though I LOVE the look, I understand that not everyone wants that look. Since the only concrete projects I had done were flipped over, they had no aggregate showing through, they were more solid gray! If you are sold on concrete counters but want solid gray, maybe you will want to create forms and not pour them in place! I will go into more on this below!

And just in case you missed any of my previous posts on the kitchen renovation you can find them under Remodeling!

But first, I must show you more of the beauty shots! ???? And just to let you know, I did not edit these photos at all…they are exactly what the camera picks up, some spots are actually more exaggerated in the photos than in real life, but I wanted you to get a REAL clear picture of what concrete countertops look like!

Pour In Place Concrete Countertops

Pour In Place Concrete Countertops

Aren’t they gorgeous? ๐Ÿ˜ First off, my kitchen counter space could be a small bedroom, it came in around 80 square feet without the drink station. It makes for great space to cook, bake, and entertain…but it does not make for a budget-friendly renovation when you look at the prices on countertops! Lol! I priced out laminate and it was going to cost me more for this space than the concrete did…and by a long shot! It was over double the cost! Marble, granite…out of the question. But concrete, there was the solution to all my problems, I love the look of concrete, industrial yet sophisticated. And wait, you are telling me there is a way I can pour them in place with absolute ease because the edge forms do all the work? Sign. Me. Up. (This was my thinking, but clearly, you need to know trowel work and such which…I didn’t exactly…but it worked well enough!๐Ÿ˜…)

Enter Concrete Countertop Solutions, I found them while searching and researching all I could about pour in place concrete countertops. They had a system that made it so easy to DIY your concrete countertops, I practically begged them in an email to work with me on this post! Lol! I was using their white concrete and edge forms regardless of what their response was to my email, I was sold before contacting them that this was the ONLY way to do pour in place concrete countertops!

Now, let’s not forget, I had only worked with concrete a couple of times in the past, I made a few tabletops and benchtops, but they were created in forms and flipped over, so the top was essentially created by the form, not by my concrete work. This made me a little apprehensive about pouring the countertops in place, but if I didn’t even try, I would never know if I could or not! Lol! So I decided to give it a shot!

Pour In Place Concrete Countertops

While not ‘perfect’ of course, they are perfect for our kitchen! They are an option that I do not have to worry about the kids spilling anything on or hot pans melting! They work great for us and look great as well, in my opinion! Down below is the tutorial showing you how we did our pour in place concrete countertops, and what we learned in the process!

Materials Needed for Pour in Place Concrete Countertops

  • cement board cut to cabinet layout
  • heavy drop cloths to protect cabinets and floors…it gets pretty messy
  • White Countertop Mix  (from CCS if doing white counters)
  • Sand / Topping Mix (from the hardware store if doing gray counters)
  • Z Liqui-Crete (if doing gray counters)
  • counter edge forms
  • Fiber Mesh Reinforcement
  • Z Clips
  • Screed
  • Float
  • Sanding Pads – Z Gem Pads are the ones I purchased and I am still using them on a multitude of projects, not just my counters…worth every penny!
  • Sealer – This is the one I purchased from them (the owner recommended it for the white counters but it works great on all concrete)
  • miter saw
  • corded drill (you need one with low rpm – the link is to the cheap one I purchased and it worked great)
  • paddle mixer
  • duct tape
  • small 1/2″ screws
  • you will also need faucet knockouts and sink form if you have an under-mount sink
  • utility knife to cut cement board

Preparing the Kitchen for Countertops

NOTE: Before starting this tutorial, I would just like to make sure you understand that I am NOT a concrete professional of any sort, I am just sharing my journey of how we poured our concrete countertops!๐Ÿ˜‰

Before we could pour the counters we had to prep the cabinets, which in our case meant building them out in certain areas and adding support in other areas. Then we were ready to add the cement board to the tops of the cabinets to pour the concrete onto.

We had an abnormal situation because our cooktop was 49″ wide and left a span between cabinets that a 3×5 sheet of cement board couldn’t cover. We also have a vent that is inside the counter so you can’t put a support board across the back wall. This led us to have to find a larger 4×8 sheet of cement board. We could only find one brand, Perma Base at Lowe’s, and let me tell you…I would NOT use it again. I would special order the Durarock or Hardy brand! The Perma Base was the only one I could get in-store, and I regret it…it did not cut easily with a utility knife like the other brands, and it had the strangest Styrofoam balls in it, which made it so much weaker than the other brands! No lie, it was awful! So do not make that mistake, use the other brands…okay!

Once all your cement board is cut to size, attach it to the cabinets! Our kitchen looked a little silly at this point!

Prepping the kitchen for counters

After attaching the cement board, I was able to start attaching the edge forms! The edge forms were lifesavers for this project! I do not know what the outcome may have been without this special piece! Edge forms not only make the front…or should I say, the most important part of your counters look good, but the system is designed with edge forms that go up against the wall as well to give you two pieces to screed the concrete with to make sure they are level! That is worth every penny, trust me on this one! I still managed to make a mistake that I will show you later but it was due to the awful cement board, not the edge forms!

The edge forms are super easy to install. You cut them to the length of your counters, mitering the corners at 45 degree angles! You will need to duct tape the corners as well just to keep the concrete from seeping or opening the corners. Small screws are used to hold the forms in place! Concrete Countertop Solutions offers a vast selection of edge forms too, you don’t have to go with a straight square edge like I did, you can have a more fancy edge if you’d prefer! They even have a thinner square edge that I love…they didn’t offer that a year ago, but now they do! It is perfect!

This part did take me a full day to complete because I had a ton of corners to go around and concocting a way around the pillars wasn’t easy! Lol! I brought my miter saw inside because walking back and forth into the garage was wasting way too much time!

Prepping the cabinets for counters. Edge forms in place

Can we say MESS? ๐Ÿ˜ณ Wow, things can really get out of hand when I start projects!

Pour in Place Concrete Countertops

Pour in Place Concrete Countertops

At this point in the journey, I measured from the top of the edge form to the ceiling along the back wall, at both ends…they measured the same! I thought yes, great the cabinets are level! Muahahaha! Boy was I wrong! I sat a level along the back edge forms…showed it to be perfectly level! Yesss! Muahahaha! Boy was I wrong! One, it was a smaller level than I should have used…it was a 3 footer, should have been six! And, here’s where that Permabase board really bit me in the a**! It was sitting level but once the weight of the concrete was placed on top…it quickly sloped in the area where it wasn’t supported as well as we should have supported it. Now is that all the Permaboard’s fault, no. I have a fault as well in that I should have made sure it was super supported and not moved forward until we came up with a way to do that. But Hardy board or Durarock would have been so much stronger than this stuff so it would have helped as well! Lesson learned!

You know how I measured from the top of the form to the ceiling, yeah, and the measurement was the SAME on both ends…well guess what?! The countertop was sloped the opposite direction of the ceiling…neither one was level! Had I have had the laser level at that point in the journey I would have known that.๐Ÿ˜ฌ How does that manage to happen, I mean seriously…how?! So all the while I was WAY off, thinking I was golden! ๐Ÿ’ฉ Lesson learned…laser level for the win!๐Ÿ˜

Anyway, once the edge forms are in, AND THE COUNTERS ARE LEVEL, another part of the Concrete Countertop Solutions system, is the fiberglass mesh and little clips to hold it in place. This keeps the fiberglass mesh right in the center of the concrete so it doesn’t float to the top or stick out anywhere. And since the main goal of the mesh is to keep the concrete from crumbling and cracking, being held right in the center is best. There are also fiberglass fibers in their concrete mixture as well to help with this! I am telling you, this system is pretty awesome, and they have thought of everything!๐Ÿ‘Œ

Here’s the kitchen awaiting it’s pouring!

Pour in Place Concrete Countertops

Pour in Place Concrete Countertops

Pour in Place Concrete Countertops

Mixing and Pouring the Concrete for the Countertops

So, my husband was heading out of town for over a week, and remember I was trying to complete the kitchen in 6 weeks for the One Room Challenge…so I had no time to lose! He had 4 hours before he had to leave, and so we were going to do the island together and then I was going to try the rest by myself. Well, that plan didn’t quite work out the way we planned…our corded drill I bought, yeah, it wasn’t made for mixing concrete!  It burnt up after less than 5 minutes trying to mix that concrete!๐Ÿ˜ต My hubby finished mixing that batch by hand and we put in into the island form so it wouldn’t be wasted. But now I had to drive an hour to get to a store that sold a drill that was able to mix concrete! An hour there and an hour back…yeah my hubby was gone! On my own now, I had to mix the rest of the concrete and pour it myself! After that fiasco, I was a little worried!๐Ÿ˜ฐ

Luckily, the new drill, even though it was from Harbor Freight, worked great! I was able to mix the concrete and throw them in the form in minutes…only I about died having to lift the 5 gallon bucket of concrete over the counter all 8 times I had to! Lol! That’s why I wanted to make sure and state that in the first paragraph!

The instructions from CCS are great and well written on the packaging materials! For the white concrete, you just mix it with water in a 5 gallon bucket, water first, then slowly add concrete.

*Note: My video directors were not the best in the business,๐Ÿ˜‚ so they only caught parts of this and that…but I compiled the little footage that I did have to create snippets of video!

I decided after pouring the white concrete on the island that maybe it would be better to wait and not finish the kitchen on time, than mess up the whole main counter! Because once you get started, there really isn’t any stopping and the main counter is one solid, very large piece so if I started it, I had to finish it! Let me just say, a few extra hands are worth the wait! Yep, lesson #2 learned.๐Ÿ˜†

I purchased the island screed from CCS to make the island a breeze…ha ha ha…joke was on me, the island was larger than the screed! ๐Ÿ™ˆ I had to run into the garage and try to find the straightest board that I could. Talk about sweating! This is typical of DIY projects around here, the faster you learn to roll with the punches, the faster you learn to enjoy the challenge… I think! There is always something new, something you didn’t think of, and something you have to quickly think on your toes to improvise! I think I enjoy that!๐Ÿค”

Anyway, fast forward a week or so and my hubby returns home! Yay! Now we can do the BIG countertop! s Another problem, my grandma was in the hospital fighting for her life, if you have been following along for a while, here and there I have talked about her bout with liver cancer. This happened to be the last bout she faced, as it did take her life shortly thereafter. We poured our counters on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I rushed out and left my hubby to smooth them at the hour mark and went to see her in the hospital. She bravely hung on until she was able to eat her thanksgiving meal and passed away the Sunday after Thanksgiving. My countertops will forever remind me of her! She would have been so proud of them and my hard work in here, even though she wanted to see it finished and was never able to! I know she would have been! ๐Ÿ˜Š

Let me dry up my tears! Back to pouring these babies! So with help, someone mixing and someone pouring, it was so. much. better. It was still a lot of work don’t get me wrong…but oh so much easier than the pressure of doing it without any help! Lol!

We worked and poured, mixed, and poured some more.

Once they set for a couple of days, we sanded the edges of the edge forms and popped them off!

Viola, the edges looked like some kind of glass or marble, it was crazy how smooth they were. Since we smoothed the top, of course, it wasn’t quite as smooth as the edges! We just used our orbital sander to sand the tops and one thing to note, once you sand down you expose small aggregate…it’s tiny flecks and you can’t see them unless you are right on top of it, but it is what creates the overall tones of the concrete! The white mix, you had to sand down a lot farther to get to it. I think it’s because I mixed the white a lot thicker (drier) than the gray. So that is something to be leery of if you don’t want to see aggregate, they have to be perfectly done…and even then I’m not sure it’s possible! Lol!

So two things here…first, we didn’t have the trowel marks in the gray counters quite as bad as on the white counters…so I am thinking if you mixed the concrete a bit thinner than I did the white, but a hair thicker than we did the gray…they would be perfect! Wait, actually I think the white concrete with two people working it so that it doesn’t dry as fast would work the best! ๐Ÿ˜… Then you would not have the trowel marks…I think that’s an experiment I need to try! Hey, I have a bathroom counter that could use a makeover! Lol!

Anyway, I don’t mind the aggregate or trowel marks, I love the handmade, organic look of them! You know my favorite mug is from Magnolia Market and is hand made and not at all perfect…but I love it! Perfectionism is overrated! (Ahem, says the DIYer that can’t manage to do anything perfectly!๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜) Here’s the imperfections best as I can capture them!

White Concrete countertops

Sealing Concrete Countertops

Once they are smoothed out to your liking, you seal them with the Aquapoxy! I love this stuff! It is so easy to apply, it is thin, not like I expected. I thought it was going to be thick and hard to apply, showing all imperfections, but nope, you roll it on with an epoxy roller and it dries beautifully! No talent needed here, thank goodness! ๐Ÿ˜Ž I thought I had pictures and a video of us applying the epoxy but I couldn’t find them anywhere! Sorry about that…but if you got this far, sealing is the easiest part!

Let it dry between coats and sit for three days I believe and they are DONE! Finished, ready to go, finito! The kitchen is back in working order! Yep!

Kitchen with white subway tile and concrete countertops

All in all, it was not a bad experience and I can’t wait to try concrete countertops somewhere else in the house! I’d love to know what you think, would concrete countertops be something you would consider? Let me know below!

Like what you read? Make sure and share it as that totally makes my day! Thanks for stopping by!

Wanna save this awesome project for later? Pin it!????

This beautiful DIY kitchen renovation includes pour in place concrete countertops that span a large island and peninsula. The tutorial shows you how to pour your own concrete countertops in place! The post covers the does, don'ts and so much more!

DIY Concrete Countertops

 

This DIY Kitchen Renovation includes a tutorial for DIY concrete countertops that were poured in place in both white concrete countertops and gray concrete countertops. Easy to follow how to tutorial.

 

 

Filed Under: Remodeling, How To Tagged With: concrete countertops, countertops, kitchen renovation, white concrete countertops

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building Out the Peninsula – Kitchen Renovation

January 21, 2019 by Cara Leave a Comment

Hey everyone! Do you ever look through pictures of homes and just love the look of the kitchen cabinets that touch the ceiling, and then walk into your kitchen and think, “Bleh, my cabinets are boring and lame!”ย ???? Well, today is your lucky day as I’m sharing how I extended the wall cabinets to the ceiling. As a small bonus I am showing you how I fixed the back of the peninsula so that it now looks like it was always meant be this way as well!???? You would never know that the cabinets were short, or that the peninsula was just a sheet of painted plywood covering a drain pipe! Yep, it was a lot different to say the least!ย ???? After this tutorial, you will be able to update your cabinets and make your kitchen look great, no matter what you may be dealing with! Lol!

Here’s the beauty shot of the cabinets extended to the ceiling!

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building Out the Peninsula

Check out the before!

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building Out the Peninsula

Woah, the mess! ???? It looks so much better now, but it may just be because I cleaned up the mess! ???? Oh and I can’t wait to show you the mold that was growing just beneath that counter! ????

Here’s the part of the cabinets I was talking about needing to be built out, there was a piece of plywood screwed back here when we started and now it looks like this!

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building Out the Peninsula

And of course, I will show you the plywood back it had before!

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building Out the Peninsula

I closed in the awkward area that was almost like a spot for a stool, but if you sat there it seemed strange and there was already an island with seating and two dining areas, so I figured we could manage without that area! I closed it up and created shelves here! I love it so much more now!

Now in advance I must tell you that I was an emotional mess because this was done only days before my grandma passed away and so in my absentmindedness, I did not take nearly the pics I should have to show you exactly what I was doing, but with my Sketchup pics and words hopefully you will understand! Lol!

I’ll start first with extending the cabinets to the ceiling! This is the simplest build you can really do, but yet it packs such a big punch! It takes ordinary to extraordinary!ย ???? If you can build a box, you can do this to all your cabinets. It doesn’t even have to be perfect because you are going to use molding to cover where it meets your existing cabinets and then crown molding where it meets the ceiling! No one will ever know if you have a gap or something isn’t totally square! I will tell you from experience, there is NOTHING in this house that is square and I had to do a TON of tricking the eye and laser leveling what I could!

NOTE: This post may contain Affiliate links! If you click a link below, and make a purchase, I may make a small percentage at no extra cost to you! I also may not make any money because I provide links regardless as to whether or not I have an affiliate with that company! But just in case you click and make a purchase, and I am an affiliate, I would like to thank you in advance!????

Extending Your Kitchen Cabinets

Note* This is a generalized list to build a box about the same size as mine, make sure you buy enough supplies based off of your measurements!

-1 4×8 sheet of 3/4″ plywood (you could also use 1/2″ plywood)

-3 1x2x8

-1 – 1x4x8

– 1 – 8 ft stick of crown molding

-1 – 8 ft stick of small molding to cover where the new box meets the cabinet top

If there is ONE tool you will need in this kitchen renovation besides the obvious saw and brad nailer, it would be a laser level! This Bosch laser level was a God send and thankfully my Dad let me borrow his, so I didn’t have to spend the money! They make lower end ones that from others that have used it, they say it works well too! I just haven’t personally used the more affordable ones! I would have purchased a lower end model though if I would not have been able to borrow his! This red beam laser level is more affordable and has great reviews, although it still isn’t cheap! But definitely worth the splurge!

Alright, for starters, you will need to measure your cabinets, how wide/long and deep are the tops of your cabinets. Then check the space from the top of your cabinets to the ceiling. This will be the size of your box! For instance my cabinets were 54 1/2″w x 12″d, with a space of 20″ to remaining to the ceiling. Using 3/4″ plywood, the box was built at 54 1/2″ long x 12″ deep and 20″ tall. Pretty simple right?! Here’s a diagram of the box.

Extending the cabinets to the ceiling and building out the peninsula - kitchen reno

Cut list here is 2 pieces at 54 1/2″ x 12″ and 2 pieces at 18 1/2″ x 12″. The sides were cut down by 1 1/2″ to accommodate the 3/4″ plywood on top and bottom!

I opted for dividers as well so that they looked as if they were built this way even though I added this later! My cabinets were each 18″ wide and the shelf in between was 18 1/2″, so I had to place my dividers accordingly!

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building out the Peninsula - kitchen reno

The measurements in between each divider is taking into consideration that our face frame will be made of 1x2s and centered along each divider. In a couple more pictures you will be able to see it with the face frame and it will make sense!

I used my Kreg Jig to attach the box together! Using wood glue and 1 1/4″ screws it makes for the easiest joinery. But if you do not have a Kreg Jig, you need to get oneย ???? but you can screw straight down into your sides from the top and bottom.

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building out the Peninsula - kitchen reno

Once your box is built, add your face framing boards to the front and brad nail into place with wood glue and 1 1/4″ brad nails. I used the 1×4 at the top so even after the crown molding was added there was still a decent amount of board seen.

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building out the Peninsula - kitchen reno

Extending the kitchen cabinets and building out the peninsula - kitchen reno

See now the dividers are perfectly placed to look like they are part of the existing cabinets!

I did not add a back onto the box simply because I knew that I would be tiling the back wall and so there wasn’t a need for a back, and even if you don’t want to tile, there is nothing wrong with seeing wall through the open cabinets!

After the face frame boards were attached, I placed the box on top of my cabinets, and then added the crown molding and small molding as it is to hide any imperfections and non level lines of the ceiling or existing cabinets. I just used brad nails so they could easily be removed if I ever wanted to take this down. You can use glue if you prefer, but they aren’t going anywhere!

Extending the kitchen cabinets and building out the peninsula - kitchen reno

I didn’t show you how to add the molding to the bottom, but I am assured you can do that all on your own! LoL! Once it’s done and your cabinets will look like a million bucks!

Extending the kitchen cabinets to the ceiling

DIY kitchen reno - cabinets built up to the ceiling

Building out the peninsula

Now moving on to the building out of the peninsula, this was a little trickier for me than it should be for most. Most people aren’t trying to build out around a drain pipe that had to be moved outside the existing cabinetry because the drain wouldn’t drain…and they just took the pipe straight out of the wall! ???? I didn’t get the greatest pictures but here was one I found that kinda shows the crazy going on back there! Lol!

Extending Kitchen Cabinets and Building Out the Peninsula - Kitchen Reno

You can see the pipe just randomly exiting the wall! ???? But it really isn’t tricky, I built two ladders essentially and put one inside the pipe on it’s side and one outside the pipe on it’s side, and attached them with small boards! It gave me the perfect surface to attach the concrete board to for the counter tops and the plywood to close it all in! You may have to think a little outside the box if you have something that most people don’t but I promise you, you can make it beautiful…and look totally normal!????

I will have to use sketchup pics to help show you this! I WISH I would have taken pictures for you! It really was an easy fix!

Materials Needed:

2 – 2x4x10

3 – 2x4x8

2 – sheets of 1/4″ plywood

1 – 4×8 sheet of melamine ripped down to 3 1/2″ strips and 5 1/2″ strips (1 sheet did the entire kitchen – the back of the peninsula, the island, the wall by the fridge and drink station)

I built the two ‘ladders’ as I will call them as long as from the wall to the end of the cabinet back that you can see in the picture, that’s how I closed in the space for the shelves. It ended up being 113″ long and 34″ high since that’s how high the rest of the cabinets were without a counter top! I used 2x4s to make sure it was able to support the weight of the concrete counters.

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building out the Peninsula - Kitchen Renovation

Once I had the ladders built, I attached them with small pieces of 2×4.

Extending the cabinets and building out the peninsula - kitchen renovation

ย  I covered them in 1/4″ plywood just like I did the island in this POST. Then added MDF strips just the same as well! Throw on some baseboards and BOOM! Just like that the whole kitchen seemed brand new! That was the moment I knew the kitchen would turn out alright! Lol!

I had to really work some magic where the shelves were. That was a little harder simply because of the angles and the plywood that was already there was not straight at all, it leaned way back as you got to the top of it. So bottom shelf is a wee bit small on that side than the other…luckily if I didn’t just tell you that, you would never have known! That is the beauty in all of this! It does not have to be absolutely perfect…as a matter of fact, I have looked really closely at every kitchen and bathroom I have encountered since starting to work on this house and I have yet to find one that doesn’t have something that I end up finding that I would have never noticed if it weren’t for REALLY paying attention and looking for mistakes! LOL!!

Extending the cabinets and building out the peninsula - kitchen renovation

The only way to DIY your kitchen renovation is to be able to see through all the caulk and ugly to visualize the pretty! If you can do that, you can make your kitchen anything you want!

Extending the Kitchen Cabinets and Building Out the Peninsula

Want to see more of the kitchen renovation? Here are the other posts I have that go along with it!

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal

Building out the island

Demo on the Kitchen

Stripping the cabinets

Mood board and plan for the kitchen reno

Thanks for checking out this post! If you liked it, or it helped you in your DIY journey, I would LOVE for you to Pin it or share it!

Filed Under: Remodeling Tagged With: building cabinets, fixing cabinets, kitchen reno, kitchen renovation

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal

January 16, 2019 by Cara Leave a Comment

Hey there! Okay, I am jumping around in my seat…so excited I can’t even concentrate to type this post!!! EEEEKKKKK!!! My. Kitchen. Is. Done. Yep! You read that correctly, even though I started to think it just wasn’t going to happen! Lol! Here is my DIY kitchen renovation reveal! It has been so rainy and gloomy so the pictures aren’t the best, but go ahead, look at her and all her beauty!????

DIY Kitchen Remodel

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal - In this Diy kitchen renovation I was able to do all the work calling in the back up of my hubby a few times! This old brown kitchen is now a beautiful white and gray kitchen complete with subway tile and open shelves! The vent hood anchors the large wall! I will share how I poured the kitchen countertops, painted the cabinets, built the vent hood, built out the island and so much more!

DIY Kitchen Remodel on a budget

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal

DIY Kitchen Renovation - Kitchen remodel completed on a budget and og beautiful white and gray cabinets along with subway tile and swing arm lampS!

The sources for everything and the paint colors will be listed after all the pictures! Tutorials on how I did everything in the kitchen will be on the blog each Monday for the next few weeks! I have already typed them up and scheduled them, so there will be no waiting around on me! Lol!

What a labor of love this kitchen has been, and oh what memories it holds! I will forever think of my grandma every time I look at those concrete counters, and I will forever wonder if she approves of the new look! It saddens me that I was never able to drink coffee in here with her…but I guess that is what happens when you let projects take you FOREVER! Lol! So don’t do that! Mkay!

Let’s have a look back at how this kitchen looked before I touched her! There wasn’t a lot of problems, just very DARK! A few years back, I would have loved everything about it…but now I’m in a light and bright or moody dark phase…it’s different I swear!  Anyway, here’s the before of the kitchen remodel!

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal

It is so hard to take photos of this kitchen with the way the pillars are placed! It blocks half the picture every time! Lol!

I cannot wait to share all the tutorials with you all as well! I mean, we didn’t pull out the existing cabinets and we didn’t replace the flooring…which I would have loved to have done (but it wasn’t in my budget), but other than that we touched everything else in here. We built shelves into empty spaces, built the cabinet above the fridge and redid everything almost on the drink station side…I can’t wait to show you the mold in that post! This was a lot but honestly, nothing that couldn’t have been done in a few weeks, I just let it take me an eternity because I am a big fat procrastinator like that! Don’t be like me! Get ‘er done! We did manage to make this kitchen look pretty darn good if I do say so myself! And the best part is…it didn’t cost much at all… well, considering kitchen renovations are typically in the 20-40,000 dollar range! Lol! Although flooring would have added a pretty penny and those are typically part of a remodel, but not mine so add a few thousand more!

DIY Kitchen Remodel

Here’s the cost breakdown for ya!

Expenses on the DIY Kitchen Remodel

Concrete Countertops

Concrete for Countertops – Concrete Counter Top Solutions – White concrete for the island, and regular gray concrete for the main counters. NOTE: I was given most of the concrete for the kitchen in exchange for the post I will be doing about them, but I bought the sealants and all the supplies from them with my own money and would absolutely spend my money to buy the concrete from them again! Total cost for the countertops was $1,450.00 – that would be the cost if I paid for all of it out of pocket including the shipping that I did pay out of pocket! I could not get laminate counters for this kitchen for that cost! The granite quote was nearly $10,000 for ugly granite, and laminate was over 3000! ???? Yeah, so I would definitely use them for my countertops again! A little elbow grease went a LONG way in saving us money here! I will go over the counters in far more depth in that post! (Cost mentioned here also includes the concrete board to pour the counters over)

Painting the Cabinets

Paint for the cabinets – I used Sherwin Williams Pure White for the white cabinets, and Gauntlet Gray for the island, I also grabbed a gallon of Dorian Gray for the doors but of course, could have used a quart! I used only one gallon of each, even the pure white! I bought it while it was 40% off which they do not do nearly as often as they used to so keep a lookout and buy it when they are having the sale! I paid $140.00 for the three gallons! I also ended up buying a quart of extra white for the crown molding above the cabinets but I don’t really know that it was necessary! Lol! I think pure white was close enough! There will be so much more information in the post about painting the cabinets!

I primed the cabinets as well with Zinsser Bullseye primer, a gallon of it cost $20!

I used a Home Right sprayer to spray the cabinets and I think it’s a MUST for making them look professional! I already had the original sprayer and Home Right sent me the newest model to compare it to the old one…there are some great features about the new one but when it comes to pinching pennies in a remodel, the older model will absolutely do the job, and very well! Here are links to both of them!

New Model Sprayer

Old Model Sprayer

Cabinet Hardware

Cabinet Hardware – I used Jenna Sue’s cheapest place to buy hardware…it’s Ebay!! I had no idea you could get hardware so dang cheap and it actually is such a nice quality! I was impressed! I paid $86.00 and I kid you not, I still have a few handles and pulls leftover! Best deal ever!

Tile

Subway Tile, least expensive place BY FAR to buy it is Floor and Decor! This is not sponsored by them but I’m telling you I researched it for days, and drove a couple of hours to get to one, and it was well worth it! Total: $83.00 (and I still have a box leftover!) I also bought the hexagon tiles from them and they match gauntlet gray perfectly…I have no idea how that magically worked out but it did and it is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen! I paid an additional $40.00 for that one box of tile…see now why I don’t have it all over the kitchen? I’m too cheap, yep! ???? I love the small accent of it though and think it’s perfect!

Add the cost of the tile trowel, adhesive, grout and sealer! $70

MDF to add to the cabinets as molding – One 1/2″ 4×8 sheet from Home Depot ripped down in 3.5″ strips and 5.5″ strips – $28

Baseboards – 2 full 16 ft sticks from Home Depot – $35 (it cost 1.07 per ft at my HD, it may be more or less expensive at your store)

Caulk – I used a lot of caulk! Lol! 6 – Dap Alex Plus – $18

Supplies to build the back of the sink out, the cabinet above the fridge and the drink station…this includes 2 – 3/4″ sheets of PureBond Plywood, 2 – 1/4″ sheet of PureBond plywood, 6 – 2x4s, 8 – 1x2s, 4 – 1x3s and pocket hole screws! $300

Accessories

Lights – Amazon was a lifesaver here! The pendants and the swing arm lamps were purchased for a little less than $200!

That brings our grand total to just under $2500.00…$2470 to be exact and that was all rounded up to make sure I covered taxes and extra expenses! Wow! I don’t know if you agree but I feel like that is money well spent!

Once the links are live for the tutorials they will be active! I hope they help you make all your kitchen dreams come true no matter your budget or skill level! You really can have a beautiful kitchen that you want to spend time in! We couldn’t have afforded to update the kitchen if we weren’t doing it ourselves, nor would we have since it’s not technically ours! Lol!

Kitchen Remodel with open shelving and subway tile wall

 

Here we go!

Concrete Countertops

Extending the Cabinets to the Ceiling

Faux Vent Hood Plans

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Building the DIY Coffee Bar Cabinet

Building the Above Fridge Cabinet

How to Tile a Wall with an Uneven Ceiling

Pantry Door Makeover

Building Out the Island

Stripping the Cabinets

Demo of the Kitchen

Plan for the Kitchen

Let me know what you think of the transformation! I love it, but we all have different taste and that’s okay, it makes our world the amazing place that it is! Hope you have a wonderful afternoon!

Want to Pin this DIY Kitchen Renovation for later?

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal - In this Diy kitchen renovation I was able to do all the work calling in the back up of my hubby a few times! This old brown kitchen is now a beautiful white and gray kitchen complete with subway tile and open shelves! The vent hood anchors the large wall! I will share how I poured the kitchen countertops, painted the cabinets, built the vent hood, built out the island and so much more! Come see the before and after photos! #kitchenideas #kitcheninspiration #farmhousekitchen #farmhousestyle #diykitchenrenovation

DIy Kitchen Renovation Reveal - This beautiful white and gray kitchen was transformed from an outdated brown on brown kitchen! The post contains links to all the how to information so you can acheive any part of this kitchen in your own home as well! Concrete countertops, painting kitchen cabinets, building a vent hood, extending the cabinets to the ceiling, it's all on the blog! You must see the before! #kitchenideas #kitchentransformation #kitcheninspiration #subwaytile #openshelving

DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal - You must see the before photos to appreciate the DIY renovation on this white and gray kitchen! A big and bold vent hood anchors the subway tile wall and adds a focal point in this beautiful kitchen! Learn how to renovate and transform your kitchen with all the information in the post! Pour concrete countertops, paint kitchen cabinets, extend cabinets to the ceiling, build a cabinet above your fridge and so much more! #diykitchenmakeover #kitchenrenovation #diykitchenreno #farmhousekitchen #venthood

 

Filed Under: Remodeling, Furniture Tagged With: cabinet building, kitchen decor, kitchen reno, subway tile, vent hood

DIY Vent Hood Plans and Kitchen Update

July 12, 2018 by Cara 1 Comment

Hey there! Okay, so I feel like the laziest and worst DIYer in the history of ever! Everyone keeps asking me…in real life and online if my kitchen is completed yet. The answer is NO…but I am REALLY trying to finish it up over the next week or two! But here’s what’s changed since you last saw it! Check out the last Kitchen Update if you missed where I left off in November! I have included the diy vent hood plans with the kitchen update, so just skip on through the update if you’d like to get to the plans!

DIY Vent Hood Plans and Kitchen Update

It is still a mess in here of course but if I cleaned it up, I wouldn’t have gotten back to work for a while because I wouldn’t want to make it a mess again! LoL!

[Read more…] about DIY Vent Hood Plans and Kitchen Update

Filed Under: Remodeling, How To, Wall Decor Tagged With: diy kitchen, kitchen renovation, kitchen update, vent hood, woodworking

Plumbing Fixes and Bathtub Install – One Room Challenge – Week 4

April 30, 2018 by Cara Leave a Comment

Hey there! Late again on my One Room Challenge post but hey, I’m still trucking along and trying here! Lol!! Cut me some slack, I work like a sloth and honestly on Thursday there was NOTHING new to share! Yeah, empty spot just like I showed ya last week! ???? So at least we were able to get the tub back in, it’s not tiled yet but at this point I’m hanging on to a thread and like usual I’m counting EVERY step as a VICTORY!

Here’s the tub installed!

Plumbing fixes and Bathtub Install - One Room Challenge - Week 4

[Read more…] about Plumbing Fixes and Bathtub Install – One Room Challenge – Week 4

Filed Under: Remodeling Tagged With: bathroom renovation, bathtub, faucet, plumbing

Ripping Out the Tile and Bathtub – One Room Challenge – Week 3

April 22, 2018 by Cara Leave a Comment

Welcome back to Week 3 of the One Room Challenge where we are ripping out the tile and bathtub!! I must say that I have lost my mind! LoL! Tearing out this bathroom will be worth it in the end I am sure, but right now I’m at my breaking point!There seems to be white dust all over the house despite my best efforts to cover everything with drop cloths, so I can’t wait to clean the house from top to bottom…and I don’t think I have ever said that before in my life!???? Luckily, it is about an hours worth of demo work before I am able to start piecing it all back together and being able to CLEAN everything of the dust!

One Room Challenge Logo

Make sure and check out what all the talented designers are up to at this link: One Room Challenge Designers

And check out the other guest participants at this link: One Room Challenge Guests

Small Victories

So what we are up to this week…we removed the bathtub and found that the sheet rock behind it was moist, so there was a leak somewhere within the mess of plumbing that was behind the tub! So out came the sheet rock from the faucet side of the tub and we decided to just remove all the sheet rock three feet up the wall and we will replace it with hardy board! That way if there is a small leak the cement board will be better suited than sheet rock to handle it! I am not sure if we are going to waterproof it or not just yet!

Ripping out the tile and bathtub - One Room Challenge Week 3

[Read more…] about Ripping Out the Tile and Bathtub – One Room Challenge – Week 3

Filed Under: Remodeling Tagged With: bathroom, bathtub, room makeover, shower

Bathroom Renovation – One Room Challenge Spring 2018

April 6, 2018 by Cara Leave a Comment

Guess what time it is? It’s time for the One Room Challenge, Spring 2018 edition!! Woot Woot!

One Room Challenge Logo

Oh my gosh, can I start this post off by saying how embarrassed I am that I am starting the Spring 2018 One Room Challenge after not completing my Fall One Room Challenge on time…as a matter of fact, my kitchen still isn’t finished!???? I thought it wouldn’t be fair to enter the remainder of the kitchen for the spring One Room Challenge though and I desperately need my bathroom done as bad as I need my kitchen finished! Lol!! So crazy as it may seem, I really need deadlines to make me work harder…sooooo, yep I am going to try to simultaneously finish my kitchen and redo my bathroom during the next 6 weeks! I can’t keep eating out, or fixing food in the bathroom! Lol!!

Let’s do this, I don’t have time to sit and chat…I only have six weeks! ???? Lets start with a look at the place! Here is the entry from my bedroom into the bathroom! The bathroom has a dressing area with the sink and vanity that leads into the private area of the bathroom that includes the toilet, shower and bathtub!

Bathroom Reno - Week 1 -One Room Challenge

[Read more…] about Bathroom Renovation – One Room Challenge Spring 2018

Filed Under: Remodeling Tagged With: bathroom reno, one room challenge

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Connect with me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search

Welcome

Hey there! Welcome to the place I share all my diy adventures in hopes of inspiring you to pick up a hammer or drill and get to work building, crafting or renovating your dreams! I will show you step by step instructions on every project to help you see how easy it can be! I’m so glad to have you here! Look around, hopefully you will enjoy what you see!

New Posts Sent Straight to Your Inbox!

Sign up to receive new posts directly in your inbox! Don't miss a single post or FREE plans!

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up! Can't wait to keep in touch!

Recent Posts

  • DIY Gold Hexagon Napkin Rings
  • DIY Marble Epoxy Pumpkin Chargers
  • DIY Hinges Made From Dowel and Pipe
  • DIY TV Stand / Media Console
  • DIY Neutral Fall Wreath

Latest Pins

  • DIY Hinges - Make your own hinges from a dowel rod and pipe to complete this media console or any other piece of furniture that you want to have hidden hinges on! DIY hinges can be easily made and allow you to use thicker materials than standard hinges.
  • DIY Cup Dispenser
  • DIY Dog Bed - Pottery Barn Knockoff - This adorable X frame dog bed has the cutest farmhouse charm! Complete tutorial showing how to build the dog bed and make the cushion. This dog bed can be used for cats or any animal really! The size is for a medium dog but the post contains plans for dog beds of large and small sizes as well! #diydogbed #dogbed # farmhousepetbed #dogbedideas
  • DIY TV Stand - Media ConsoleThis DIY Media Cabinet is not only beautiful, it's even more functional! With drawers to store video games and DVDs and shelves to accommodate all gaming consoles, gaming accessories and more! Tons of storage to keep all your tv watching and gaming equipment organized! Don't need all that storage for gaming and TV, build it to hold dishes and serving ware and use it as a DIY buffet! Use it as a show stopper in your entryway! Options are endless with DIY furniture!
Follow Me on Pinterest

I have been featured at

Archives

Copyright

It makes me happy when we all share… but please keep in mind that all images & text on this site are property of The Inspired Workshop. I love seeing my photos on other websites, just as long as there are no more than two per post, and they are linked back to my site! Please do not remove any watermarks, crop or edit any photos, or copy text off of this site without obtaining written permission from me first! Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thanks!

SiteLock

Popular Posts

DIY Scrap Wood Outdoor PlanterDIY Scrap Wood Outdoor Planter
DIY Ring Toss GameDIY Ring Toss Game
DIY Concrete Countertops – Pour in PlaceDIY Concrete Countertops – Pour in Place
DIY Dog Bed – Pottery Barn KnockoffDIY Dog Bed – Pottery Barn Knockoff
DIY Vent Hood Plans and Kitchen UpdateDIY Vent Hood Plans and Kitchen Update

Footer

Privacy Policy

Rest assured that The Inspired Workshop will never sell or distribute your name or email address! Please be aware though that we do offer advertisements and in order to place relevant ads for your viewing, tracking cookies are used. Tracking cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer, which are only used to analyze your viewing preferences while on this site! You do not have to allow tracking cookies to enjoy this site and you may disable them in your web browser! Thanks!

Disclosure

Although I am sometimes given free product to review or am paid to help promote certain products/websites, all opinions on this website are 100% my OWN!! I only work with brands that I truly use and LOVE, and I have no problem turning down offers from brands that I do not feel are great quality, or would not use!! I promote many brands without incentive as well, I just enjoy sharing anything and everything I have found in hopes of make building/crafting simple enough everyone can do it!! You can be certain that if I am promoting it, I truly LOVE it!!

Tags

barn door bathroom bench chevron Christmas Decor concrete console table countertops dining bench dining table distressed finish diy fall decor farmhouse bench fireplace gift ideas holiday decor Home Depot industrial kitchen reno kitchen renovation knockoff makeover mantle media cabinet one room challenge outdoor furniture painting cabinets pallet wood playroom pottery barn Restoration Hardware review rope storage table table settings vanity wall art wall decor wall hanging wardrobe west elm winter decor wreath

Copyright © 2021 ยท Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework ยท WordPress ยท Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNo