HELLO! Yes you are in the right spot. I have a blog!! After YEARS of thinking/talking/dreaming about it. I did it. Do I know what I am doing? Absolutely not. So be patient with me. I have a lot to say and share……way more than I could fit onto Instagram. A place you can come to to get the information you need that is more detailed. More step by step pictures. More behind the scenes. More Mommy hood. More real life. So after sitting in front of the computer for a few minutes I decided to jump right in. This is the post I have dreamed about. The budget friendly kitchen makeover anyone can do! Here is how we turned our 1990 orange oak kitchen into a white farmhouse kitchen for under $500!

After moving in the orange oak cabinets were not top priority. It was cleaning the years of dirt and grease off of them. But not long after that I knew I had to do some research into painting. It was so intimidating and something I have always been scared to tackle. Because what if I screw up? Thats like a 10k screw up. No thank you! So I came across this paint. It got great reviews. And no top coat needed. (I bought 2 kits. It took one to paint the cabinets and kept one for touch ups) My advice when it comes to painting cabinets. Do it right and dont skip steps. Sand, prime, paint. I did a quick sand with my electric sander, 2 coats of primer and 2 of paint. A foam roller and a good quality brush. (I have more detailed instructions in my IG highlights. I will get them over here someday) Total cost of the two kits was $100. Purdy 2” angled paint brush $15. The best $115 ever spent!

If there is one question I get asked the most it would be about our counter top. It is “mostly” 2x6 pine boards. With a 2x8 and a couple 2x4s thrown in. We used a Kreg Jig to attach the boards together from underneath. Then attached the counter tops just like the previous laminate was with a few screws. I stained them all with Special Walnut and then white washed them using watered down white paint. Alternating painting and wiping down with paper towels until you get the finish you want. Then applied 5 coats of Minwax water based poly. I did put a light bead of clear caulk in between the boards to fill the gaps. Looking back I would have taken a table saw and shaved off the rounded edges. But we had done these before we had better tools! Total cost on this project was around $60. They have held up GREAT for 3 years. Way better than I imagined and made a HUGE difference on such a tight budget.

Back splash is just stock white 3x6 subway tile from Home Depot. 2 boxes cost me around $60. And guess what? Its never been grouted. I like how it looks with no grout so we just roll with it!

Taking down a set of cabinets to add open shelves was another small change with a huge impact! The brackets are just 8”L Brackets that any hardware store will have. I painted them satin black as they come in silver. We cut a 2x10 piece of pine that we had laying around for the shelves. I had first stained them but since painted them white. We did keep the cabinet for the future but as of right now no regrets taking down the set of cabinets. I needed to purge anyway.

Shiplap is another super budget friendly idea with a lot of impact. It will totally change a room. We use 1/4” Underlayment cut into 6” strips. Brad nailed into the studs and nickels used as spacers. We used this method all through our home and I dont think I will ever be sick of this look!

Our Ikea sink has been discontinued but Ikea replaced it with this one and is also very affordable! Under $200! I would totally buy it again for the price. No scratches and easy to take care of. If you dont need a smaller sink they also have a larger double one for under $300.

Lastly a few more changes we made was new lighting and large crown molding. A little tip…..sell your old fixtures! I think I sold the old lighting for $60. Then used that money for a new light. So in my World thats FREE! (If you havent used your Facebook Marketplace to sell you are missing out! That will be a entire blog post in itself!) Also moving up and out the cabinet above the microwave gives the impression of “custom” cabinets just by moving it a few inches. Just little details like these can make a big difference. We pulled off this entire transformation for under $500.

Are you still with me?? HA!! Thank you so much if you are! My plan and dream for having a blog is to encourage you to be able to make something that isnt pretty into something you love on a budget! That is what we do around here daily! Would I love to have a custom kitchen? Get rid of that tile? Change the layout? Yes to all of that!! But we currently have to make do with what we have and keep planting those money trees. Why dont they ever produce? Thank you again for visiting and I cant wait to come up with more content for you. Feel free to drop me any questions below and I will try to figure out how to respond! Love, Erica