DIY WHITE AND GOLD Kitchen DESIGN AND Progress Update

We had planned on an addition/kitchen remodel in the near future. Unfortunately with the state of things right now, and the financial uncertainties of the future, we've decided to postpone most likely a few years.

While I am sad, I also decided that it doesn't mean we couldn't do a refresh. The goal was to build a kitchen, cash only, not dipping into any kind of savings. I believe the term is "shoe string" budget. 

Adding to this problem? We're in a global pandemic, you can't just go to a store and get stuff. So I've been relying on a combo of materials I had on hand and whatever Amazon was willing to deliver. I decided to do everything possible from scratch to save even more. Here's where we are at one month in.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. If you purchase through a link I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. These links help to offset the cost of running this blog. I only link what I love.

Since the state of the world means we are at home all the time, I didn't want to be without a kitchen for any length of time. So I decided to wait to demo until all of the pieces were ready to be installed. We're nearing that time (hopefully this week). I wrote out my original plan here and I've been using it as a sort of checklist to keep me on track, a few things have since changed (as they will) but I've been working my way through the list pretty steadily. 
​

Cabinets

The cabinets are almost done. I have to say they were not complicated to build, just required a bit of math and patience. I used Ana White's plans and adjusted for my size. One awesome thing about doing them myself is that I have been able to use every bit of space for storage, which is important in a tiny kitchen. I love that I've been able to implement unique solutions such as this pan storage system and double drawer slider:
​

SINK

If you remember in my original plan I was going to make a sink. Oh last month Liz, you're so naive. Actually, I still want to make a sink, and may tackle it for my bathroom reno (Doug if you're reading this pretend you didn't see that). However part of the reason I was building it (aside from the challenge) was financial. I wanted a farmhouse sink and those suckers start at $400 and that was for a smaller size than I wanted. Building it myself out of concrete seemed to be the solution, but then I found this sink on Amazon and was able to score it for under $200 (it's just over $200 and I had $40 in credit). That's about what it would have cost me to make it, so I couldn't pass up the deal. The clouds parted, the angels sang, and my sink arrived last week. I'll do a post once it's installed and I've used it, but man I'm in love.
​

Can you tell I want to do one of those flowers in the sink pictures that would never actually be a real life situation? Yes, yes I do.

Faucet

As you can see from the design plan, I'm going with a white/gold color scheme. I'm sure this will be dated eventually but since this kitchen isn't a long term solution, I'm sure it won't outlive the trend. If it does, hardware is super easy to switch out. However I wanted a gold faucet and again since I don't know how long this kitchen, or this trend, will last, I didn't want to spend a ton on the faucet. I purchased this one for under $100 on Amazon and again my first impression was a good one. I'll update once it's installed and I've tested it out. I did order a soap dispenser as well but I'm waiting for that to arrive.

I ordered laminate sheets for my counters from Home Depot. I tried to get a sample and wasn't able to. Since I couldn't go see them (global pandemic) I took a huge risk and ordered them site unseen. I have been planning on a marble look all along, but I was able to get a sample of that and there was a lot of veining. They were a bit busy for my taste, and I was concerned that it would be a give away that they were "fake" if that makes sense? So I decided on Formica Ice Onyx. They have a marble-ish look but are a bit softer. I'm worried they're going to pull very beige and look like the laminate of the past (ick), but hopefully I'm pleasantly surprised. I liked that they were a bit more subtle than some of the faux marbles I was looking at. I also think they will go well with the gold. They are arriving at my house today. I've never made a laminate countertop, so this will be a fun adventure (if I say "it will be fun" enough I'll believe it)! I'm crossing my fingers they look the way I think they're going to. Here's what they look like online:

As of now the cabinets for the left side of the kitchen are complete. I'm waiting on the right side (where my coffee bar is) until after the floors are installed. In part because we don't need them for the kitchen to be functional, and also because unlike the left side, they are going to sit on top of the floor so I want to wait to account for that. They're going to be awesome though and full of unique storage solutions. Speaking of floors I still have to order those.

I'm working on the doors today, and hopefully painting. Doors have been my nemesis in the past, so we will see. I went with oak instead of maple because it's what I had so if nothing else, they are very solid. I did mdf for the panel instead of wood because we live in a four seasons climate and I was worried about expansion and contraction and all that. 
​

So that's the state of my kitchen one month in. Which is to say my kitchen is exactly the same as it's always been, but the pieces are done and it's ready to become its beautiful self. Have you done a reno? What advice do you have for the install?