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February 2, 2016 40 Comments

Gray and White Kitchen Makeover

Filed Under: Florida House, kitchen, My Home, My projects 40 Comments

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Gray and White Kitchen-14I’m finally revealing the gray and white kitchen makeover. Alternate titles for this post would be DIY kitchen makeover and BUDGET kitchen makeover! This is hands down my favorite project I’ve ever completed. I’m so proud of how it turned out.

Gray and White Kitchen-3

There are a few tiny details that we have to finish like um, painting the toe kicks but for now, I’m calling it done since I’m already working on three other half painted projects ha!

before and after gray kitchen

Okay, to refresh your memories, we bought this house back in October. It had been empty for years and really needed a lot of TLC. The kitchen was our first major project after laying floors throughout the house and painting the entire thing.
Gray and White Kitchen-4

We had painted the cabinets over a weekend before Christmas then had Quartz countertops install. The moment we bought this house, I dreamed off having a gray and white kitchen.
Gray and White Kitchen-2

After having the countertops installed we installed this gorgeous Carrera marble backsplash in a herringbone pattern. When I look at this kitchen the backsplash is what I’m most proud of. You guys, Matt and I installed this ourselves with zero idea what the heck we were doing. We were totally flying blind relying on online tutorials (this is a good one) and YouTube videos. How we ended up DIYing a project we most definitely didn’t intend to DIY was interesting. Our contractor who had done a few other projects for us totally bailed, like didn’t show up and didn’t call. We had already purchased the tile so we kind of looked at each other and shrugged, then decided yeah, we can do this. Then we went straight to Home Depot and bought a tile saw and a bunch of supplies, got home and thought, we definitely should not DIY this but what the heck, let’s try it anyway.
Gray and White Kitchen-8

Guys – we felt like absolute rockstars once it started coming together. I won’t say this project went without hiccups or that it’s perfect by any means (ehm, there’s a reason why there’s no tutorial on this specific project) but it turned out better than I could have imagined and now Matt and I think we can pretty much DIY anything – I mean, tiling the shower and refacing the fireplace are next up on our list!

Gray and White Kitchen-5

Remember, we opened up the “drive thru window” to make this opening to the living room nice and big. It now offers a breakfast bar, which I love. This was the biggest game changer for me. A galley style kitchen is not my favorite but redesigning the entire layout was not an option for us so this was a great alternative.

Gray and White Kitchen-6
We also replaced the sick and faucet. I opted for a stainless steel, under mount,  single bowl sink. I have always had a double bowl sink and switching to a single bowl is a dream. Being able to fit large pans in the sink is heaven.

Gray and White Kitchen
Another fun feature of this kitchen is that little pocket door. It opens to the “formal” dining room which I’m considering using as a office. Folks with form dining rooms do you use them?

Gray and White Kitchen-9
Gray and White Kitchen-13

On the opposite side of the galley kitchen is a small set of cabinets, our fridge, and our teeny, yet newly organized, pantry. (Please pretend you don’t see those bits of orange play doh on the floor :))

Gray and White Kitchen-12

I love this section for making lunches and food prep since it’s close to the fridge and right across from the stove.

Gray and White Kitchen-10

Then of course, you’ve seen the breakfast nook before but it’s part of the kitchen and it completes the space!

before and after gray kitchen

learn to decorate buttonHere’s a run-down of what we did in the kitchen:

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. That means, at no additional cost to you, I may get a small commission on something you purchase. You can read my full disclosure here.

  • Painted Walls – Behr Marquee Crisp Linen c/o Behr
  • Replaced Floors – Allen + Roth Toasted Chestnut Laminate
  • Replaced appliances 
  • Replaced Countertops – Quartz Viatera Celeste
  • Replaced Sink
  • Replaced Faucet – Moen Indi Faucet
  • Painted Cabinets – Behr Still Gray
  • Installed New Cabinet Hardware – we bought these and these
  • Enlarged Existing Opening
  • Created Breakfast Bar
  • Installed Marble backsplash
  • Budget Friendly Kitchen Makeover with painted cabinets. Love this method of painting cabinets!

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About Chelsea

Chelsea Coulston is the resident decorator, baker, and pillow hoarder around these parts. A wife to an active duty Sailor and mom of two girls, Chelsea's got a knack for decorating even the most challenging spaces (just see her military base house!) She's inspired by cool beach tones and warm natural elements that remind you of a day at the beach. After living in a half dozen rentals, she's enjoyed spending the last few years in a cute ranch style home that she and her husband have almost completely renovated themselves. Chelsea lives in sunny Jacksonville, Florida with her husband and two daughters.

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Comments

  1. [email protected] Stroll Thru Life says

    February 2, 2016 at 7:47 am

    It looks amazing. You did a fabulous job. I love the gray and white and the tile backsplash is gorgeous.

    Reply
  2. Allison @ The Golden Sycamore says

    February 2, 2016 at 8:12 am

    Beautiful makeover, Chelsea! I REALLY want to update our kitchen, too! We’ve gotten as far as the painted cabinets! LOL I’m really in love with your backsplash and have been looking for something like that. Definitely keeping it in mind whenever we do end up replacing ours! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Denise says

    February 2, 2016 at 9:07 am

    It’s beautiful Chelsea! What an awesome job!!

    Reply
  4. Margie Cooper says

    February 2, 2016 at 9:35 am

    Looks awesome guys!

    Reply
  5. Renee says

    February 2, 2016 at 10:51 am

    Love it!!! The tile job is amazing. So so beautiful. On dining rooms- I go back and forth. I think it depends on when and how often you entertain. We have at least one other family over twice a month. With kiddos that ends up being 8-12 people. If we have 2 families at once it’s over 15. And we have a tiny table that we can barely squeeze 6 at in our eat in kitchen. We make it work but I know we’d get use out of a dining room table!! but if you don’t often have groups of people seated around a table then use it as an office. Or set it up as both- make a large table your desk when needed (which would work better for laptop than desktop computer) and put some shelves or cabinets that can double as holding office supplies and dishes! excited to see what you do with it 🙂

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:39 am

      Hi Renee! Thank you so much for your input! We never really need a table bigger than what we got and I was thinking that if I do ever host a large dinner event I could always set something up in my living room near the fire place because there is so much space over there. I think I’m going to go for it and convert the dining room into my office. Stay tuned! Happy weekend 🙂

      Reply
  6. Christene says

    February 2, 2016 at 11:25 am

    Wow!!! LOVE! Those colors are amazing. I’m really loving the gray. Also I think I want that basket weave marble tile – it’s perfect!! Great job it looks amazing.
    -Christene

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:37 am

      Thanks, Christene!

      Reply
      • Hmg says

        October 26, 2018 at 10:46 pm

        What color grout did you use with the tile backsplash?

        Reply
  7. April Hoff says

    February 2, 2016 at 12:59 pm

    Your kitchen looks great, Chelsea! I love the colors and your accessories!!! Great makeover!

    Reply
  8. Lisa says

    February 2, 2016 at 1:09 pm

    Love the cabinet color! We’ve been lucky enough to have space in our kitchen area for a large table in our last two homes. We just add a leaf or two when company comes so we’ve never used our dining room as a dining room.

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:37 am

      Hi Lisa, that’s pretty much what I have now. I could fit a bigger table there if I needed. I think I will go ahead and move my office into the dining room. Thanks so much for your feedback!

      Reply
  9. Erica says

    February 2, 2016 at 2:52 pm

    so so SO beautiful!! This is literally a kitchen out of my dreams! I would love to do all of this with my kitchen. You did a fab job, my friend!

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:36 am

      You can!! Painting the cabinets was the biggest transformation! It made such a huge impact. The tile wasn’t easy but it also was totally doable!

      Reply
  10. Mary S says

    February 2, 2016 at 5:38 pm

    Great job, Chelsea! The kitchen turned out wonderful! I love the marble you chose, it’s so bright and airy. The hardware looks high-end along with the stainless appliances. Dining rooms? We just sold a house we lived in for 25 years, during that time the dining room was many things-craft table, family game space, Lego-land, cutting table for fabrics, a place I journaled every day. My son did his homework there all through school. If you have a buffet or closed storage in the room it can easily be a home office/blog spot, too, but you won’t have a lot of cute office accessories then, either. Things change as children grow older, too. I no longer have a separate dining room and miss the flexibility it offered.

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:35 am

      Hi Mary! I was thinking of moving my workspace into the dining room and then moving the girls toys into my current workspace. We don’t have a formal dining table so the room is completely unused right now. We don’t get a lot of company so it doesn’t seem to make sense to turn it into a space we’ll never use. Thank for your input!

      Reply
  11. Krista says

    February 2, 2016 at 8:05 pm

    Stunning, Chelsea!! I love it – every inch! Pinned and sharing on my FB page tomorrow. Congrats to you guys – it must feel so amazing to have it done!!

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:34 am

      Thank you! And thank you so much for sharing, Krista! Happy weekend.

      Reply
  12. Laura @ The Turquoise Home says

    February 2, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    It’s beautiful and I’m so impressed by the back splash!! Great job! And I use my formal dining room as a play room. 😉

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:33 am

      The backsplash is my fav! And I’m totally thinking of converting my dining room into a workspace and moving the toys into my current workspace!

      Reply
  13. linda says

    February 3, 2016 at 11:01 am

    You did a great job! Love the grey and flooring together.

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:33 am

      Hi Linda! Thank you so much 🙂

      Reply
  14. kristin says

    February 3, 2016 at 11:41 am

    OH WOWZA, the kitchen is just gorgeous. You did an amazing job! xo

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:32 am

      Thanks Kristin!! 🙂 Have a great weekend!

      Reply
  15. Summer says

    February 4, 2016 at 11:56 pm

    Such a gorgeous space Chelsea!!! I absolutely love it!

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 6, 2016 at 8:32 am

      Thank you so much, Summer!

      Reply
      • Michael Illescas says

        March 27, 2020 at 10:33 pm

        Hello i really love the color that you picked for the cabinets? Is this color still gray? I saw that you mentioned the kitchen cabinets being toasty gray elsewhere on this blog.

        Reply
        • Chelsea says

          March 28, 2020 at 10:43 pm

          Hey – yes this is Still Gray by Behr. I went and did a search for toasty gray on my blog and I did see where I mistakenly called this cabinet color Toasty Gray – sorry about that. I’ve fixed it.

          Reply
  16. Alexis says

    February 8, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    What an amazing transformation! It looks great! I love the backsplash!

    Reply
  17. Joan says

    February 11, 2016 at 9:25 am

    Beautiful job!
    The runner in front of the sink/counter really pulls the room together–so much better than little scatter rugs–where did you purchase it?

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      February 15, 2016 at 7:46 pm

      Hi Joan, the rug is from RugsUSA.com 🙂

      Reply
  18. Barcy says

    February 14, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    Absolutely gorgeous! Amazing job on that backsplash.

    Reply
  19. Chaliece says

    March 12, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    Love your style!!!! What type of flooring did you use in your kitchen?

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Chelsea!

I'm Chelsea. Wife to Matt, and mama to P and Millie. I'm a fan of making and decorating things and everything blue + white. I believe that there is no such thing as too many throw pillows. Lover of iced coffee and cocktail Fridays. I'm glad you're here.

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#ad Homeschool/General parent “pro” tip - buy #ad Homeschool/General parent “pro” tip - buy a shower caddy and stuff it full of art supplies to keep your kids from having their markers and crayons all over the place. For real though, this was a game changer. Previously, I had one hard and heavy caddy for all of our supplies that I would plop on the table during our school day but I found my kids constantly getting up to grab a pink crayon or the blue marker. Or at the end of the day things weren’t getting put away properly and the next day we couldn’t find the glue or the scissors. Now, they each have a caddy that they are responsible for. I’ve partnered with @walmart to share this simple organizing solution. The girls keep their supplies together and carry the caddy around to wherever they choose to school that day/minute. I used my Walmart+ membership again to pull this off. I was able to order all the art caddy necessities online using the W+ free shipping, no order minimum (excludes oversized/freight & Marketplace items) benefit so I can limit my time in stores. #walmartplus
Sitting here thinking about everything that’s go Sitting here thinking about everything that’s gotten me through this last year.
1. My family - having my girls home has been everything I never knew I needed. 
1a. My mom - in those early pandemic days, when we didn’t leave the house, she would meet me halfway between here and Vegas. We would sit in the middle of the desert with our masks on and just visit. I needed that so much and I know she did too.
2. My friends - it’s hard to imagine making it through this year without the friendships I have. They’ve carried me. A small group of neighbors here that would meet at the park for some outdoor fellowship and our weekly dinners made life feel a little more normal. Having regular calls with my best friend in FL was gold especially since we can’t see each other. And regular chats with @bykaithanson got me through especially in those early days.
3. Regular therapy - if I wasn’t already going before all this happened I surely would need to now. This all is very heavy stuff and having someone that is outside your circle to talk to is so important. This saves me again and again.
4. Making bread. I started making last year so when it blew up during that first quarantine I was so excited that we all were baking together. Whenever I’m feeling anxious making dough helps.
5. Exercise - this was the year I finally made exercise a priority. I love how much better I feel when I move my body each day. I’m less anxious and I’m more at peace.
6. All the technology that connects us. Marco Polo, FaceTime, texting, FB Messenger, all of it. Being able to reach all of my loved ones with the tips of my fingers has made it a lot easier when I can’t see them.
7. Television - how many shows have we binged this year? I don’t even know but I remember tackling Friday Night Lights in the beginning of the pandemic and being so sad it was over. 
8. This community. One thing I wanted in 2020 was to CONNECT with you all here and that has happened and its been wonderful getting to know each of you!
💙
We’ve been through a lot this year what has carried you? Tag a friend that’s gotten you through. 
Hoping and praying for a truly happy new year. 💙💙
Merry Christmas from our home to yours! I wish you Merry Christmas from our home to yours! I wish you everything good this Christmas and in the new year. 🎄
#ad Fun festive morning with the girls! My girls l #ad Fun festive morning with the girls! My girls love making and baking anything! We made cinnamon roll Christmas trees then decorated them with m&ms and sprinkles. I bought everything from Walmart, used canned cinnamon rolls to make them quick and easy so we could focus our energy on decorating them. Holiday memories made! How are you making memories with your family this season? @walmart http://liketk.it/34rdO #liketkit @liketoknow.it #walmart
I want to hear about your collections!! I don’t I want to hear about your collections!! I don’t collect much but I do have a few Christmas things that I’ve been collecting over the years. These nutcrackers are one. The girls pick out a new one each year. I have a small collection little white village houses and since the first year we were married we bought a peace dove ornament from Pier 1 (Li Bien brand) - they quit selling them so this will be the first in 14 years that we don’t get one of those. What do you collect???
Military base house kitchen but make it Christmas! Military base house kitchen but make it Christmas! 🥰🥰🥰🎄
I really don’t love this kitchen but I’ve worked hard to make it easier on the eyes with a faux backsplash and with some mini wreaths on the cabs. Feelin’ festive. Sources for the backsplash are on the blog + @liketoknow.it 👍

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