Before/After Kitchen Remodel

before and after white quartz kitchen remodel and update

Heirloom Linen Arabesque Porcelain Mosaic

Chandelier | Knobs | Faucet | Chairs (similar) | Chair Cushions

This kitchen is really the center of our house. We love it and spend most of our time at this island whether its for meals, working on our laptops or entertaining friends and family. It’s where we sort mail, drink our coffee, and have our daily conversations after work.

The time and investment in the kitchen has been well worth it 10x over! If you’re thinking of updating your kitchen, it can definitely be daunting to think about all of the choices you’ll have to make and money you’ll have to spend. But as my mom told me, “Your house is the only investment that you get to enjoy every single day”. <– I may use this quote a little too often as I’m loading up my cart 🙂

See a “before” tour of our whole house here!

See a “before/after” tour of our old kitchen here!

The kitchen hadn’t been updated in years and was all of my least favorite colors – brown, beige, and yellow. The island in the middle made the kitchen feel small and didn’t offer any seating, storage space, or room for meal prep. We switched the island to a peninsula and extended the countertops 12in to make lots of seating, and it made a HUGE difference in the feel of the kitchen. Now the kitchen feels open and the island serves dual purposes.

See below for before and progress shots!

The biggest changes included:

Moving the island
- Moving the gas stove and create a new custom vent hood
- Cutting out the old cabinets to make room for the venthood
- Updating the hardwood flooring underneath the old island
Changing the countertops
Changing the backsplash
Updating the sink and faucet
Updating the light fixture
New hardware
Removing the colorful windows and old window drapes

kinsey walsh kitchenremodel white kitchen quartz countertops ginger jar white arabesque backsplash tile

*my workout jacket is from here and currently everything is 40% off making it ~$20!

Counter Tops

We chose the Tipperary quartz from Arizona tile for our counter tops. We got four, 2cm slabs (total) for our kitchen, guest bathroom and half bath downstairs. We chose the 3in mitered edge for a transitional and substantial look. I wanted a thicker edge and I like the clean lines that it creates.

I’m pretty sure I looked at almost every slab of marble, quartz, and quartzite in Houston before deciding on the Tipperary. I wanted bright white but with some grey veining so that it wasn’t a solid color. We also wanted a very durable surface that would withstand wine, oil, and water stains. I’ve seen many bloggers who were happy with their choice of marble (and I was SO tempted to pick out a few marble slabs), but in the end I’m very happy with our choice of quartz because we can live life in our kitchen without worrying about every little drop on the counters. I also don’t think my OCD could let me live with the “patina” or “well loved” look that comes with a few water stains on marble.

Backsplash

We chose this heirloom linen white arabesque tile from Floor and Decor and I love it!! It has a subtle texture to it and is a little off-white so that it blends well with the grey and white counter tops. The arabesque shape ads a little bit of interest without being distracting – especially if you use a light color grout. I also think that it is timeless and won’t go out of style within the next few years (hopefully!). In our last house we used a classic subway tile, but I wanted something a little different in the new house. Just as a note, the contractor said that this type of tile can be a little harder to install because of the unusual shape.

We also moved our outlets from the backsplash to underneath the top cabinets to make a more cohesive look. The only wall outlet is in the coffee nook where we keep our functional items. We also added an electrical outlet to the island which has been really helpful!

Island

While it sounds easy to just move the island over a tad and connect it to the counters, there were lots of other issues that we had to figure out. First we had to move the stove from the center of the kitchen and integrate it with the cabinets and counter that were already there. That means cutting out existing cabinets and creating a custom venthood. Luckily, this wall backs to the outside so it wasn’t too big of an issue to re-route the gas.

We also had to have a custom hardwood company come and patch the floor where the old island sat and make it match our current floors.

Our contractor also had to add trim detail and reconfigure the cabinets in the island to make them functional since the stove and gas were no longer taking up space.

Details

Faucet – I chose a faucet with both gold and silver detail to tie together our appliances and hardware. It has a beautiful blue and white porcelain handle. It’s also available in gold with the chrome as the accent color.
Chandelier – I am so excited about this glass bead chandelier and you’ll never guess where I found it! The price is amazing (under $300! -especially compared to the Visual Comfort Jacqueline Chandelier)
Knobs – These mother of pearl gold knobs are my favorite. They are really beautiful pieces but are subtle in the kitchen are aren’t distracting. You can find them here or here!
Wall Paint – this is the paint we have throughout our entire house. Maybe one day I’ll switch it up but I’m currently very happy with it. This is a very popular color because it goes with both cool and warm tones.
Cabinet Paint – We just repainted the cabinets the same color as a refresh. It is the same as our trim paint.
Coffee Maker – Our coffee make is definitely a splurge, but if you are a daily coffee drinker it will pay for itself in the money you save if you went to Starbucks. Austin actually bought it for me as a wedding present – hah! It makes the most delicious cups of coffee by grinding the beans fresh for each cup. It’s such a treat in the morning. I will say that European coffee makers can be a little high maintenance but it has been totally worth it for me!
Bowls – These were wedding gifts and I love to use them to display fruits or veggies. I find that if I keep healthy items in view and easily accessible I’ll eat them more often

Considerations and Cost

The biggest costs associated with a kitchen remodel will most likely stem from having to move plumbing, upgrading appliances, and custom cabinetry work. If you can be thoughtful about all of those items, you can significantly reduce your costs. We had to get a new gas stove and move it from the center of the floor to the wall which messed with our plumbing, cabinetry and flooring. Thankfully, our amazing contractor did a lot of the custom work himself (except the flooring – we had to hire a hard wood specialist) which saved us some money, but ultimately was an investment in our house. It was totally worth it to us because we love the way it turned out and we use the island everyday. Additionally, we think we will get the money we invested in the kitchen back when we sell the house.

Your house is an investment, and updating the kitchens and bathrooms will usually improve that investment upon resale. It is important to be thoughtful to update the house appropriately for the price of the home. Higher priced home buyers will expect upscale appliances and finishes, and it won’t help your resale value if you look for the cheapest options and cut corners. This also works in reverse – if you have a more mid-priced home, you probably won’t get your investment back if you choose a Viking gas stove and a Thermador refrigerator that cost as much as the down payment.

It’s important to think of a remodel with 2 values: 1.) what is the “happiness” value it brings to your family now and 2.) what is the “investment” value it will bring to the price of your home later? Ideally, you would want the happiness and investment value to be one and the same, but it’s important to realized that while you may love purple cabinets and turquoise floors, it might not bring much value when you sell it down the line.