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[Oznell]

"Bored or Bananas"  (I love her name!) is a devoted thrifter and blogger,  who wanted to refresh her small kitchen last year.  I enjoy seeing how real people tackle challenges, without a big budget.   Her kitchen wasn't bad before, but she wanted to change some things that had bothered her. She and her husband did all the work.

BEFORE:

1) There was no substantial backsplash, other than the short little "self-backsplash" of her counter tops.  So they installed a cottage-y beadboard backsplash.  Love beadboard.

2)  She said that her cabinets were quite flimsy, the boxes  made only of particle board, with only the doors being wood.  So they backed up the sides with solid wood beadboard, helping to firm them up, and looking better too.

3)  She loves the architectural look of wood corbels supporting the cabinets, so they added those. 

4)  She wanted the homespun charm and usefulness of peg board in the kitchen, so added that.

5) She wasn't crazy about the color of the inexpensive wood doors they had, so all the cabinets got a refresher coat of "Eider White".   She specifically said that she does not like stark white, and Eider White" cabinet paint gave her the soft creamy look she wanted.

6)  The metal pulls were somewhat the worse for wear, so they got a smooth bronze paint job, rather than being replaced.  Below, getting ready to be sprayed

AFTER:

It's hard to see some of the smaller changes, so will give a few close ups.

A new peg board under the cabinets is such a good idea, and looks cute too:

In progress:    Here she shows how they added beadboard to the sides of the cabinets, before the final paint job. 

Up close with the corbels they added.  I think they give so much charm, and more of a custom look.

Her old leaf-themed pulls, given a gleaming oil-rubbed bronze finish, thanks to spray paint.

Even her dog's elevated food shelf got a nice paint job.  The shelf even has a decorative little corbel of its own!

She collects Pfaltzgraff "Heritage" white ironstone, which is now considered "vintage"!   Looks so pretty above her refreshed cupboards.

It makes you feel so good to make changes, for not a huge amount of money.

[Kachina624]

I love the pet food bowl holder idea.

[cimeranrose]

Wow, what a great transformation for only @$250! I also like the corbels and beadboard. The leaf themed pulls turned out so nice - I like those better than any I've seen in stores.

[Imaoldhippie]

Looks really nice.  For me I would need more color & I do not care for the windown treatment.  I think I would have chosen a bamboo shade.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Oznell  Now we're talking! We did a kitchen refresh this past year when we got new LVF flooring in the family room and kitchen. Our old cabinets are builder grade from 1984 and needed an update. We got a quote on new cabinetry and hyperventilated! So, while I was down at my DD's helping her after shoulder surgery, my DH painted the whole kitchen in a beautiful, warm cream color. He took each cabinet face and drawer off and painted them in the basement. They took 3 coats. We still have not decided on a backsplash, but I'm leaning toward that beadboard. We also removed the half wall between the kitchen and family room and put the microwave above the stove. What a great refresh with a minimum of expense.

[CANDLEQUEEN]

Looks really nice, but I would not have so much on the counter tops... I like just a couple of things on my counters, otherwise they can start to look too clutered...between the stove and the countertops, it does look a little tiny bit cluttered to me! But its a very nice makeover for sure!

[author]

I love it!

My kitchen is so similar to her "before" - and I've longed to paint the cabinets.  The beadboard is a great touch, very transformative, and I also have all that white Pfalzgraf!

The hardware looks great, but the corbels really make it cottage.  Just perfect.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

Several years ago we wanted to do a kitchen update, had a guy come to give us an quote on new cabinet fronts and exposed sides. The price was ridiculous.  We could have purchased all new cabinets for about the same amount of money.  I cleaned them up, treated them with some Old English, and put on new knobs.  Where we did invest some money was in flooring, a quartz countertop, 60/40 stainless sink, and tile black splash which DH put up.  I have done numerous pieces of painted furniture and sometimes think about doing the kitchen cabinets, but I end up not going forward out of the "what ifs". 

[DREAMON]

Looks good..a nice transformation on a budget. Money well spent.

[jubilant]

@Oznell   I love seeing what people can do on a small budget.  In fact, these type of pictures are hard to come by. It's nice to see what can be done with a small amount of money and a collection.  She did a good job.