The Big Reveal: Rustic & Contemporary Kitchen Makeover

Y’all, it’s finished! I can’t believe it! We started our rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover at the end of October, and we slapped the last piece of backsplash tile on this bad boy last week! DONE! AAAHHHH!!!!

Even though we used a contractor for the demo, build-out, electrical, drywall, and plumbing, this was a labor of love. I had no idea what we were getting into, and how long all the little projects would take, but the end result is nothing short of glorious! Take a look!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

I’ve been sharing updates along the way, but to get the full effect of the makeover, you have to see some of the photos of what the space looked like before we started, right?

Consider this the oversized photo on wheels a la Chip & Jo, ok?

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

“Hey reader, are you ready to see our kitchen fixer upper?” 

And you say, “OH MY GOSH YES!!!!” so hubby Mark and I roll away the big picture on wheels to reveal….

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

And we all squeal together in delight 🙂

OUR RUSTIC & CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN MAKEOVER

I have so many pictures to share with you, so I hope you don’t mind scrolling and scrolling through all the beautiful-ness of it all. *wink*

I want to show you a bit of behind-the-scenes, too, because that’s always fun. The video below was recorded on my phone 2 days before the contractor came to start demo. This will show you exactly what we were working with for the first 4 1/2 years of living in this house:

Crazy, right? So small, always a mess because it just wasn’t laid out right. Ugh. I hated being in the kitchen, and really did try everything to create more space, but nothing worked long-term.

So, here’s how we’ll do this. I’m going to show you gobs of pretty pictures of the finished space, a few before-and-after side-by-side pictures for good measure, then I’ll link to all the posts for this entire makeover at the bottom. Sound good to you? Perfect!

Ladies and gentlemen (because I know you’ll be showing this to your husband), without further ado, I give you…

OUR RUSTIC & CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN REVEAL!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

Seriously, so gorgeous, right?

I’ve wanted navy blue cabinets before it was the cool thing to do – for like five years. Honestly. When we bought our house 4 1/2 years ago, I painted the dining room navy blue, and the accent wall around the fireplace navy blue. Navy blue is my favorite color.

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

I picked up that “gather” script wall art on my trip to Magnolia Market back in December. I’m eventually going to mount it on the wall, but for now it’s pretty on my cutting boards.

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

That barnwood, though, am I right?!?

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

I almost didn’t paint the inside of my upper cabinets navy blue, but I’m so glad I did!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

Choosing the right new lighting for your kitchen can be difficult, especially when you're in the middle of a remodel and it's hard to visualize the finished project. These tips will help you make the right choice for your next remodel!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

We’re currently rocking an open pantry. I have a door, but I haven’t painted it, and the longer I procrastinate, the more I like the open pantry, so it may stay that way forever. Thoughts?

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

Ok pause.

Can we just talk about how much I seriously love all the pieces of this kitchen? And my dining room that you can see through there?

The barnwood: My husband’s idea and man, such a great idea. I knew I wanted something on that wall and under the bar but couldn’t quite figure it out in my head. We saw the boxes of barnwood in Home Depot while shopping for Christmas decorations, and decided to go for it. And now it’s one of my favorite things about the kitchen.

My old American flag: You can see more of my Americana dining room in THIS POST. I love that flag, and I love that we had the cased opening cut wider and you can see that gorgeous flag now.

The mismatched dishes: I’ve been collecting dishes for the past few years, picking up pieces that I like at Target, Marshall’s, Home Goods, and thrift stores. They just all happen to coordinate perfectly with my kitchen!

Ok, moving on…

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

Hey do you see that bin on the far right over there? My Papa made that 🙂 It’s a potato bin, and it’s been hiding in a corner of our living room until now. I love it in my kitchen, don’t you?!

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

From here, you can see the navy blue accent wall around the fireplace, too. Great, right? How everything finally flows together?

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

HOW ‘BOUT SOME SIDE-BY-SIDE BEFORE & AFTER PICS?

‘Cuz those are always fun. You can really see the drastic changes this way.

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

To make the kitchen feel less cramped and more of an open concept, we had the knee wall removed and the countertop extended 5′ from the wall. We also had the overhang added to create bar seating since we lost the space for a kitchen table & chairs.

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

The countertop and cabinets were straightened out to give more floor space and counter space in the kitchen. We removed the doors and hardware from the upper cabinets and gave them a fresh coat of paint inside & out, painted the lowers, added new hardware, new granite countertops, sink, and faucet.

A dark, cramped kitchen gets a gorgeous rustic & contemporary kitchen makeover and the results are unbelievable! What a transformation! Gorgeous navy blue cabinets, granite, barnwood on the walls - so many details and it's all perfection!

There’s a “during” and “after” of our kitchen looking into the dining room. Opening up the wall to make the cased opening wider, and painting the cabinets really made the space feel so much bigger!

RESOURCES FOR OUR RUSTIC & CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN MAKEOVER

I’ll provide links to as much as I can. A lot of the items I use to decorate with are from thrift stores or my favorite stores, Marshall’s and Home Goods, so for some things I tried to find similar items on Amazon. Some links listed below are affiliate links, denoted by an asterik (*):

Cabinets and walls:

Cabinets:

Lighting:

Sink:

General Decor:

OTHER KITCHEN REMODEL POSTS

[one-third-first]

I'm planning a rustic-contemporary kitchen remodel and sharing my design inspiration with you. My goal is to turn my existing tiny dungeon-like kitchen into a bright & airy, and slightly larger, space.

[/one-third-first]
[one-third]Our kitchen is getting remodeled, but before the contractor can make it beautiful, it has be get messy. The demo has begun![/one-third]
[one-third]Our kitchen is getting remodeled, and demo is done! Now it's time to put the pieces together. The build-out is in progress![/one-third]

[one-third-first]You can drastically update your existing kitchen cabinets on a budget, with just a few small changes and some manual labor. Here's how![/one-third-first]
[one-third]Choosing the right new lighting for your kitchen can be difficult, especially when you're in the middle of a remodel and it's hard to visualize the finished project. These tips will help you make the right choice for your next remodel![/one-third]
[one-third]Installing a tile backsplash doesn't have to involve a big mess with a wet saw. Aspect Peel & Stick Tiles are easy to cut, easy to install, and beautiful for any room in the house![/one-third]

9 Responses

  1. Love it Kirsten! It came out great!! I am a navy lover also, and I have barnwood in my kitchen too – it’s one of my favorite things!! Great job! Now, time to enjoy!

  2. You really did an amazing job of opening up the space in the kitchen! I love the color; the wood and the navy blue work together beautifully. Your kitchen is unique, distinctive, and looks very welcoming!

  3. I don’t know that I have seen navy blue cabinets before, but I have to say I like them – and the counter tops go well with the color. Great job, love the pics. Thanks for sharing!

  4. It’s gorgeous! I love the blue and how everything flows with the adjoining rooms! It’s so cool that you guys were able to add personal touches and I love the potato bin! Enjoy your new kitchen!

MEET KIRSTEN

I'm Kirsten & I'm happy you're here! Sweet Tea & Saving Grace supports women seeking to find balance in the busy, deepen their faith, and instill joy and love in their homes, lives, and blogs by providing encouraging and inspiring content and valuable resources. My prayer is for you to leave here better than when you came. Be blessed!

CATEGORIES

FEATURED VIDEO

Darling Theme

Tailwind Visual Marketing Suite