My Parents New Kitchen

Check out my parents’ new kitchen!

Recently, my parents received a new kitchen and I’m so excited to share all the details with you! As with any renovations and transformations, we need to start with the BEFORE and add a little context. Questions are also answered towards the end of the blog post. 

BEFORE

 

 

When Jimmy and I first got married, we bought this townhouse. There are sooo many memories in this house as we lived as a couple for a few years before having kids and then we raised Jules and JJ in it until he was 3 years old. The house is about 1370 square feet and after almost 10 years, we felt we had outgrown it especially since it didn’t have a garage. Helloooo scooters, bikes, and strollers. When we moved to buy our current home, we kept the townhouse as an investment property and had my parents move in since they wanted to move out of their apartment. 

 

 

The kitchen was in pretty bad shape as it had never been renovated. Oh yeah, we also had one other renter family in the home for one year and our house took a beating during that time. The green walls were old and dingy and the cabinets were in awful condition. Thermofoil cabinets are awful and over time, they start to peel terribly and warp and there’s really no way to fix it. If you look closer, you can see the cabinets peeling and many of them wouldn’t even close properly. I would have loved to have renovated the kitchen when we lived there but it wasn’t financially feasible at the time. 

 

 

I dreamed of gifting a beautiful new kitchen to my parents since they both spend so much time cooking and preparing all the delicious Korean foods together. Since we are often the recipients of such tasty meals, I had plans of updating this space to make it function even better for the two of them as they are currently in retirement. Obviously, it’s also an advantage for us if we ever sell the house since we won’t have to worry about dealing with a dilapidated-looking kitchen. My dad does a lot of the prep work for my mom and is the dishwasher so he was equally thrilled to gain a better-looking and functioning kitchen.

 

 

 

We called on Tailored Homes to renovate the whole kitchen. This was not a DIY project I was willing to take on and I really wanted it to be a quick renovation which usually never happens with a kitchen, especially in this season. Jay is the owner and also a very close and dear friend so we trusted him with the execution of this project especially since we had hired him to build our screened-in porch.

 

 

A few things on the list of priorities were to have cabinets go all the way to the ceiling. Since the kitchen isn’t large and didn’t have a lot of cabinets, it was important to add storage vertically. I originally wanted to demo the little wall behind the sink but it was out of budget so we kept the footprint the same. If you’ve recently hired a painter, electrician, or anything for your home, you have probably seen a big increase in prices lately. They are in such high demand right now so labor has gone up along with the price of lumber and other building materials. So take that into consideration when you are hiring out for work in your home. 

Wow!! It’s already looking so much better!

 

 

AFTER!

Can you believe it’s the same kitchen?!? It’s fresh, clean, modern, and oh so pretty. My parents are thrilled and over the moon with the results. 

 

 

I of course had to style and shoot the kitchen. There wasn’t enough lighting when I shot this yesterday but trust me, it looks infinitely better in person. Before styling, I also added this beadboard wallpaper against one wall. I had originally planned on installing tile but decided to wait until the appliances get replaced sometime in the future. Since I spent over budget on the cabinets, we decided to wait on the appliances and backsplash. Here’s to hoping the stove and dishwasher don’t break anytime soon!

 

 

The beadboard wallpaper is so easy to install and it looks like real beadboard. It’ll be easy to remove in the future when we change it to tiles. 

The shaker cabinets are a real beauty and I wanted to stick with what my parents wanted since they like a really clean, modern look. You can’t go wrong with this look, especially when paired with these gorgeous 8 inch matte black cabinet pulls from Signature Hardware. My friends were so kind to gift the cabinet hardware, lighting, drop in sink, and faucet. 

 

 

The drawers all have a soft close and Tailored Homes added an awesome lazy Susan cabinet in the corner as well as cabinets for trash and recycling. Jimmy installed this gorgeous Bankloft semi-flush drum light and it holds 6 bulbs which makes it super bright in the kitchen. 

 

 

The Steyn spring spout faucet is a perfect match with the white granite composite sink. It has dual-function spray head with push-button control. My mom wanted one large sink as opposed to two so they can wash big pots and fill it with a ton of cabbage when they make homemade kimchi. Priorities, people! The basin is resistant to heat, scratches, and stains making it built to withstand heavy use.  

 

 

I’m in love with these two items from Signature Hardware! I have total sink envy! I also choose this granite countertop since I shot all the budget on the cabinets. I would have loved to add quartz but my parents are more than happy with this change. 

 

 

I almost forgot to add that my dad completely painted the main level of the house with Antique White by PPG and it looks like a completely different house. He even painted all the trim work and there’s really nothing better than fresh paint on interior walls. They said they were happy to get rid of the green dingy walls and dookie colored walls in the family room. And yes, those were their exact words. The white is a soft creamy color and it does look a heck of a lot better than those dookie-colored walls that for some reason I chose when I lived there. 😀

 

 

I styled and added a few nice touches like a new wall clock and some artwork. We got rid of the previous curtain and installed simple blinds. I got the artwork from Etsy and put it in a gold Ikea frame. Trays always help keep your countertop looking less cluttered. I always love a little lamp moment on the island or counters if space allows for one and this one from Target would look great in any home. 

 

 

I had a cute lemon art that I had in my staging inventory along with these fun canisters so those are staying in the townhouse. Boards and art are nice ways to hide outlets. I styled the countertop with some of my mom’s cute dishware. I get my love of dishware and glassware from her. 

 

 

 

We are all so happy with how everything turned out. Yesterday after I finished shooting, we celebrated with some homemade galbi. YUM! This cute round Amazon jute rug lives in my bathroom but it looks so cute styled here doesn’t it? 

 

 

 

 

I’ve received a few questions on the renovation so I wanted to add those here. If you have any other questions, feel free to add them to the comments section!

This is always the most asked question but how much was the renovation?

-We paid Tailored Homes $32,500. This included demo and them taking all the old cabinetry. This includes labor for everything including design work, demo, cabinetry installation, electrical, and plumbing. Price is also for cabinets, trim, and granite countertops. 

-I received $2000 in products as gifts from Signature Hardware and I also spent some money on other items like a new stove hood, paint, paint supplies, and decor. 

Why is it so expensive?

-Kitchen renovations are expensive!! I’m sure you could find other companies to do the work. For me, quality is really high on the list along with customer service. This is definitely what you get from Tailored Homes. I have peace of mind knowing that their work will last because their quality control and level of service are really high. Plus, the speed at which they can deliver is really something to consider. I knew my parents couldn’t live without a kitchen for more than two weeks and it took them a little more than a week. This is exactly how I thought of my screened porch. I know I could’ve gotten it cheaper somewhere else but the quality of the materials they used and their craftsmanship can not be beaten. I think of it like buying a car. The car and service may vary depending on the type of vehicle you’re purchasing. You pay for what you get. Also like I said before, the price of labor and materials have gone up considerably so you need to factor those into the equation. 

Why did you do the cabinets and drawers on the outside of the island as opposed to the other side?

-We went with the original layout and extended the island countertop a little more. Since we can’t jut the island countertop on the side of the dining room, it made sense to keep it the way it was. Plus, the other side allows for stools to be tucked in and hidden.

Would you get rid of the popcorn ceiling?

-I would love to but that’s a huge project and it’s not a priority. 

How can I contact Tailored Homes?

-https://tailoredhomes.com/  Be sure to tell them I sent you! 

 

 

Let’s do a final BEFORE and AFTER!

BEFORE

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

What do you think? I think these two look quite happy no? Be sure to check out my IG stories later today because I add their interviews to them. It’s quite hilarious! These two can truly drive me absolutely crazy but God I love them. Doing something like this for them gives me such a great amount of joy and pleasure. I love you, mom and dad! Now, get to work and make me some delicious kimchi!

 

 

Thanks to Tailored Homes for doing such an amazing job on the kitchen renovation. A big thanks also to my friends at Signature Hardware for the beautiful additions to the kitchen. My parents are truly thankful as am I!

 

Thanks for reading and please lmk if you have any other questions below! 

xoxo,

 

 

 

 

 

Let all that you do be done in Love. 1 Corinthians 16:14

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