My White Kitchen Cabinet Reveal

Let's take a quicksie look back at the history of our kitchen, shall we?  

When we moved into our house in 2004, this is what it looked like.  We had a tiny kitchen with a big kitchen table in it to fit our growing crew.  Back then, I was just beyond grateful to have a place to call HOME after having moved ten times in the first 3 years of marriage.  I wasn't born with design skills or a DIY attitude, and our kitchen stayed just like this until 2016.

In 2016, while pregnant with our seventh baby, and feeling very cramped in that kitchen as the boys got bigger and took up much more physical space, we decided to renovate.  We were able to knock down a wall, and move our bedroom, to create a bigger kitchen with a big dining room beside it.  We added an island with white cabinets, hoping that one day, we would be able to afford white cabinets to replace the brown ones on the wall.  Our kitchen remodel post is here, if anyone's interested.

Three years later, we were discussing what home improvement project we would put our tax return money towards (a homeowners life y'all) and decided to price out white cabinets.  My parents had used a company called Cabinets to Go when they renovated their home, and my dad and my boys had built the cabinets themselves and installed them to save money.  We (really, Phil) contacted the store, and got some quotes in November.  The guy at the store told us that they had a Black Friday deal coming where cabinets were going to be Buy One Get One Free.  What!!??  Perfect timing.  Phil and I headed to the store on Black Friday weekend, and picked out the cabinets.  We only needed seven, but as we were about to pay, I asked them to add an 8th cabinet, since it was free, and figured we would use it somewhere.  Then Phil built all the cabinets in two nights (they really came together quickly - love my handy hubby!) and my Dad and Phil (with a little help from JP) spent a weekend removing and installing cabinets.

My Dad was a builder, who always writes notes into his work.  So sweet :)

When we had ordered the new cabinets, we got taller ones than we originally had.  

Because of that, the small over-the-microwave cabinet had to get hung higher, to be in line with the taller cabinets on each side.  

Because of that, the microwave had to be hung higher.  

Because of that, they had to cut a new vent.  

Because of all of that, my microwave, which used to hang annoyingly low over the stove, now hangs at a perfect height.

And that's what you call a happy chain of events.  

For me, anyway.  It was a lot of work for my men.

My Dad: "Take our picture!"

 They worked very hard to get the whole project done in time for Christmas, so I could get a White Christmas.  Haha!  We bought white subway tile (the cheapest ones at Lowe's) and rented a tile cutter, and my Dad was a little elf while we were gone at work, and installed that too.  

Are you ready to see it?

You sure?

Ta Da!

Isn't it so much better?!?!  I just love it.  It feels so fresh and clean and pretty.  Plus, even the inside of the cabinets are organized and neat.  I bought those curtains from Amazon, and wasn't sure how I felt about them at first, but I really like them now.  They definitely brighten the space.  At my Dad's suggestion, Phil hung the curtains higher above the window, equal to the cabinet height.  It makes our windows seem much bigger, and gives us more visibility and daylight.  Oh!  If you're wondering what happened to that 8th cabinet...it is hung near our washer and dryer upstairs, and holds the laundry detergent, small hand towels, etc.

I'm so content in our kitchen.  The next project on my list is to replace the brown pantry cabinets in our dining room with white ones.  But that's a project for another tax refund or two.