Remodel: Turning My Old Country Kitchen into a NEW Farmhouse One

I love my kitchen. It’s my favorite room in the house for two reasons.  One, because I love to eat 😜.  And two, because food has always united my family.

When my children were little, supper time was where we shared our day. On Sundays we had dinner where oftentimes we would invite the extended family over.  At that time, my sister lived in the same town and we were more a large family of one, rather than two separate families.  We were, and still are (despite her move to Florida) very close. But now my family has grown, and my once busy home has become decidedly quieter. I have two grown daughters, the youngest is a senior away at college, and my eldest is graduated and works in her chosen profession.  They’re not home too often, so when they are, you can bet I’ll make a meal to entice them to stay longer – to linger. Because nothing makes me happier than having my family around me. The kitchen is the heart of my home. 

But …

My kitchen, despite being my favorite room, needed freshening up. It had a country look – but it was dark, and my taste has changed since then.  I wanted something brighter. But man, updating a kitchen can be expensive. So, it stayed as is for many years. Remodeling it was a bit of a pipe dream. I desperately trolled Pinterest saving this look and that.

Which brings me to something about myself you might not know – when it comes to decorating, I second guess every instinct I have and every choice I make. So yeah – if I couldn’t even decide what look I wanted, how was I going to even start?

With a little help from my family – that’s how!

Enter Family with Helping Hands

After purchasing new stainless-steel appliances, I knew I wanted white cabinets, but new cabinet were definitely not in the budget. So, one weekend, I dismantled the cabinets (I’m handy like that 😉) and my daughter painted them for me. Once done and back in place, I had to admit, they looked great! My mom knew I wanted to transform my kitchen, so she gave me the money for new flooring (love you Mom!!) which my husband and his brother Scott installed (love you Scott!!).  A couple months later my husband created my butcher block island and my sister helped me choose the stain. My other daughter picked dried flowers one day and filled little vases with them. That small detail warmed up the space and made everything look perfect. Suddenly, (or not so suddenly since all these changes spanned over a year 🤪) things were looking better! The white cabinets helped brighten the space and I loved my new floor and island.

So now, I was all in. I wanted my dream kitchen and the only big things that remained were the countertops and backsplash.  I was paralyzed with fear. Countertops aren’t cheap! What if I chose something I hated, I’d have to live with something awful for God knows how long! 

Clearly, I had to call in the professionals. Enter Nashua Home Design Center (shameless plug for where I work 😜).  Nashua Home Design Center is different from other design centers in that it has 6 independent showrooms.  I work for FloorMe!, but in our little design showcase family there is Blackdog Design/Build/Remodel (a division of Blackdog Builders), Silver Lake Cabinetry, Top Line Granite Design, Budget Blinds and The Ultimate Bath Store. So, I walked into work one day and threw myself at their mercy, begging for help

And of course, they did. ☺️

Enter – the Professionals

Sue was instrumental in helping me choose our countertops. I showed her pictures of my almost-done-kitchen and she helped guide me in my quartz decision. LOVE it!

I had an idea of what I wanted for a back splash, and my coworker Nicole with FloorMe! counciled us on everything from the shape and size of the tile to the color of the grout. I saw my sink and faucet selections displayed in Silver Lake Cabinetry’s showroom.  The sink is probably my favorite feature of my new kitchen, I love how neatly the two attachments fit on top of the bowl, giving me more counter space if needed. I saw it, I loved it. Boom. Done. 

We had the countertops professionally installed, but my hubby (who is also very handy! 😘) cut and installed the backsplash with his brother Scott. By doing a lot of the work ourselves, we cut our costs in half and it wasn’t as hard as you might think. Or as costly.

So now the big work is done, all that’s left is to paint the surrounding walls. The Thursday night ladies -Darlene, Kathleen & Sarah – helped me choose a color for that so it will be a quick and easy weekend job. Then I will be done, done. lol. I just love, Love, LOVE it.  My kitchen is so much brighter and when I come down in the morning I just look at it and sigh with contentment.

I guess it’s very fitting that my favorite room in the house, the heart of my home, was given a facelift by the hard work of my family, and the design expertise of my other family.  The one I work with. ❤️

Sunday dinners are back on! 😉

– Maureen