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Aqua and White Kitchen Reveal!!

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I love my new Aqua and White Kitchen.

I had white cabinets at my last house and loved them. For some reason I thought since this house was a little more rustic that a white kitchen wouldn’t work. But I am so happy with the way this remodel turned out.

{NOTE — lots of pictures to come}

{The Keep Calm sign is from Barn Owl Primitives}

Here’s what the kitchen looked like when we bought the house 10 years ago — Corian counters and lots of brass.

A few years later we added some granite counters and a rustic backsplash:

But it wasn’t quite what I wanted. I needed something a little lighter and brighter.

So this summer we started working on making a pretty big change. We painted the walls from brown to a light grey —

Sharkey Grey from Martha Stewart Paint via Home Depot. And painted over the backsplash tile. We used a special primer for tile first. And it looks so great.

We ended up painting the entire first floor, except for the living room that color. It’s such a pretty shade of grey and so neutral.And it makes the house seem so much lighter and brighter than the brown color did.

We also painted the little nook in our family room white and added some beadboard to the back. It’s a great place to display family pictures!

There are also a few other projects that I did along the way that added to this project, like my Aqua Door:

Stenciled Pillows:

Stenciled Faux Roman Shades:

Family Organization Station:

Beadboard Open Shelves:

Wrapping Paper-Lined Cabinet:

DIY Pendant Lights:

Pennant Pantry:

And I love the color we decided to paint the island. It’s Martha Stewart’s Rainwater:

Here are a few more pictures:

Just to let you know — we did pay someone to paint the cabinets. After painting my DIY Entertainment Unit, I knew I was way too anal to paint all of these cabinets myself.

So we hired  a wonderful cabinet painter. He used a very high-tech spray gun with dyed polyurethane which is very durable and leaves no brush marks. I couldn’t be happier.

And now I have a bright & Happy kitchen/Family Room area.

It’s a great space to spend time as a family!!

xoxo

Have a Wonderful Day!!!

PS — Coming up tomorrow, a Valentine’s Day tutorial.

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Comments

  2. Molly says

    So, how are the painted cabinets holding up after a couple of years? I’m curious to know! Thanks!

  3. Megan Taylor says

    Hello – did you paint the kitchen cupboards too? If so what type of paint did you use?

  5. leilasmomma says

    I love the entire transformation. I was wondering what the special primer was you used on your tile? I am wanting to paint over my own dark tile to a lighter color but I havent had the best of luck finding good DIY info about doing just that! Thanks for any info you can provide!

    • Jen says

      Hi Abbey — do you mean the banquette? I got that through Ballard Designsand had the corner part altered to fit the wall.

      xoxo

  10. Kirby Hopper says

    Hey thanks for giving a nice plug for professional painters doing the painting for your cabinets. Spraying does indeed eliminate brush marks but takes a lot of skill to do it right.

    Beautiful house Jen!

  11. Michelle says

    We just bought a house with a similar kitchen layout and I plan to copy a lot of this! Where did you get the L-shaped couch kinda thing you have there with the table? I just love it all!

  12. katie says

    where did you get your breakfast nook bench table–dying to have something like this in my space

  13. harley says

    Love everything about this kitchen!! It is so much like my layout but looks so much brighter! Thanks for posting & giving me a goal 🙂

  14. Erin Wright says

    I’ve been searching all over for a rug just like that! Please do tell where you found that one!!!!!! Thanks 🙂

  15. indiengmom says

    Hi Jen. Love your kitchen. How costly it is to hire someone to paint kitchen cabinets? I am thinking of painting our kitchen cabinets white for some months now, but I don’t think I can paint them myself. Also how to find custon slipcover maker locally? Thanks.

    • Jen says

      It depends on the size of your kitchen and how many cabinets you need painted. Mine was about 3,000 but I have tons of cabinets.

      xoxo

  16. Krissy says

    Where did you purchase the light fixture above the table? I love it and haven’t ever seen anything like it!

    • Jen says

      Hi Krissy!

      My mom actually found the light fixture in her attic. I think it’s pretty old 🙂

      xoxo

      • Krissy says

        What a find! It looks perfect there above your table. Thanks so much for answering my question – and for sharing your beautiful kitchen. It really is lovely, and I have enjoyed looking at the pictures (over and over again!)

  17. Jen says

    Love your kitchen colors!!! Thinking of going grey myself. 🙂 I saw your kitchen rug by your sink and loved it. Do you remember where you got it? Look forward to your reply. Thanks, Jen

  19. Marion Prosser says

    Enjoyed your presentation very much. Very creative and unique. Keep up the good work.

  20. crystal says

    Where did you get your chairs for your kitchen nook? I can only find them at Ballard Design and I don’t want to spend that much. Your kitchen looks great!

  21. Sara says

    Where did you get the L-shaped corner “couch” seat to use with the black round table? I have a black round table and would love a cozy L-shaped seating arrangement for the corner of my breakfast nook.

  22. kim barrett says

    Jen….LOVE IT ALL! You did an amazing job and believe me I know what you had to put into this to make it perfect. I just became the recipient of 30 “white wash” cabinets. My good friend did a kitchen remodel and gave me all her oak cabinets for my new craft room. Now I’m struggling with turning my formal living room and dining room into a large work space. 25×16 feet or just installing them in my existing room 12×12. Plus doing the whole layout is making me crazy, along with what color to paint them. I don’t want white or black, would love something new and exciting. Your pictures have inspired me to move forward. I do love the gray. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. K

  25. Carol says

    Wow, so bright and happy now! I have more wood in this house I just bought than a forest! I want to paint it all and now I see how good it can look. You’re giving me lots of ideas!

  26. Hollie @ I'm Busy Procrastinating says

    I noticed several people asked about the stools. You can find them at Overstock — they’re called Tabouret Metal Stools, and they come in 24″ or 30″ heights, and in silver, white, black or red. I actually purchased some myself in red, but my guys pooh-poohed them, so the stools have been returned. They’re used to the wide seats of our saddle stools and didn’t like the square seats of these cute stools. Also my hubby didn’t like the tomato red color. He thought they would be more of a cherry red. But I think the quality of the stools is great, and would recommend them myself!

  27. Marty says

    I’m in Utah and would like to know who you hired to paint the cabinets…We have lovely oak cabinets (sarcasm) and want them painted…will you please share who you used?

  28. Chelsea Khan says

    Hi! I just had to say that I love your new kitchen! I think it is very daring to go from what you did have to the new. I never would have thought that old kitchen could turn out like your new one! It is stunning!

  29. Victoria @obSEUSSed says

    I saw this on my phone when you first posted it but I couldn’t leave a comment. So now I’m at my desk top and am loving seeing the big pictures. Everything turned out beautifully. I love all the touches of aqua but it is not over powering because you kept the white as the primary color (with the painted cabinets – that also turned out perfect). I like the beadboard open shelves and the wrapping paper lined cabinet. The painted island and pantry door add so much to the room. I’m so glad I got to see it at the cookie exchange. You AMAZE me!

  31. Linda L says

    Your kitchen is beautiful!! I wish I could talk my hubby into painting our oak cabinets!! I have been looking everywhere for barstools like these!! Do you mind sharing your source??

  33. Janet says

    I LOVE your kitchen (and whole house!) Have followed along since the beginning and consider us kindred spirits as I am currently on my 3rd re-do of my kitchen! Nothing at all wrong with tweaking until it suits us, right!? 😉

  35. Deanne says

    Wow! I love it and thanks for specifying the colors you used. I have been looking for a nice gray. I LOVE your sectional in the family room, too…. Where did you get it? You have excellent taste.

  38. Katie says

    um…that is pretty much amazing!!! I feel like our house is super dark all the time! We have dark cabinets, wood stained trim and doors. We are basically beige and brown thru out and I am dying to lighten it up!! That really is amazing! How did you get the guts to do that??

  41. Kristan says

    Jen, this is simply gorgeous! I love how clean everything looks, and the pops of aqua against the white are perfect. I shared this post on my Facebook fan page because I love it so much!

  42. Megan says

    I love all that you did. Especially the backing of the open cabinets with the beadboard and subtle chevron details. Just beautiful!!!

  43. Rachel says

    Well, now I have to start collecting milk glass cake plates. LOVE IT ALL. I especially like the hardware on the island and the open bead board shelves (with afore-mentioned cake plate collection). Nice work!

  45. [email protected]&Fuzzy says

    WOW…I just texted my Hubs…Go to this website…I want this kitchen. We always talk about redoing our kitchen but never find all the right things we want to do. Looks like yall did all the redos we need to do. I cant wait to show this to him. He is gonna flip! Thanks so much for the inspiration!

  47. Katie W says

    Wow! What an amazing transformation Jen! I’m loving everything you did with your kitchen and I LOVE the colors. When we moved into our house I wasn’t 100% happy with our white cabinets… but now after living in our home and decorating I love our white cabinets. I think the white cabinets really makes a home look so much more open!

  49. Annia Huff says

    I would really like to know how and what you painted your cabinets with. I have similar wood cabinets and would like to go white but I want it to look good without “brushstrokes”.

  51. sally haddox says

    I love your kitchen redo – I just moved to a smaller older home with cherry cabinets and granite countertops with a lot of brown paint on the walls. Can I ask you if you know the name of your granite? Does it have any orange in it? I couldn’t tell from the pictures. My granite has some orange, black and brown in it and I just am wondering how it would look with a lighter paint on the cabinets. Thanks for any information you can send.
    Sally

  53. Abbie (Five days...5 ways) says

    The redo is really fantastic, Jen! Love the wall color you chose and the fact that you painted over your backsplash.

    Also, thanks for sharing the paint color on your island.

    My kitchen is currently in intense shades of deep teal (cabinets) and true red (island) with Dover white on the walls, and I love it, but I also love many shades up the scale of blue-green right on up to aqua (one of my all-time faves), and it’s so hard to find an shade of aqua that’s subtle but still pops!

    I’ll keep Rainwater in mind!

    Everything looks soooo bright, cheerful, and chic!

    Congrats on a project well done!!

    ~Abbie

  54. Brooke todd says

    Great kitchen remodel!!! I must know where you found your kitchen rug below your sink…please???

  55. Samantha says

    Love this kitchen remodel! It is so similar to what I envision for our own kitchen in the future. I had to pin the work station in particular. I love the glass front cabinets above and the little drawers. Looks awesome!

  57. Danielle Podrazil says

    Oh Jen- Your place looks great! Thank you so much for sharing the color names- it’s so hard shopping for paint- well for me anyways. I really love what you did- so inspiring! Danielle

  58. Jordan says

    Love this so much! Really lovely! What’s the name/brand of the gray and white fabic on the lights? I am looking desperately for some (or some grey and white chevron) and I can’t find it anywhere!!!

  59. Marisa Stadtherr says

    I love your kitchen! I can’t commit to an aqua for mine so I think I am going to do yellow and accent with aqua. I see your blue couch in the other room…is that a slip cover? Where did u get that? I love it! My house is kind of in those same tones.

  62. elz says

    What a fun and fabulous space! I love blue and white; it’s so cheery and fresh. I really like your chandelier over the table. Can you give a source for that?

  64. Tracy says

    Hi! LOVE, LOVE your kitchen! ITs beautiful! 🙂 I have a question-is your bench around your table from Ballard’s? And are your windows floor to ceiling there? I have floor to ceiling windows and didn’t think I could do the bench! Is there hope?:)

  65. Jamie says

    Great to see how all the pieces fit together in one big space! I am considering painting my honey-colored oak cabinets white, but couldn’t picture in my head how my brown-ish granite would look. They are very similar to your counters…this gives me hope! 😉
    Love it!
    Jamie

  67. scarlett says

    LOVE your kitchen! Your breakfast nook… where did you get that couch/ bench did you make it or buy it? Also where are those bar stools from?

  68. Jenny says

    I love it!! You used just the right amount of aqua. I bought two yards of that gray fabric you have on your pendant lights and I can’t figure out what to do with it. I love it so I bought it. Your lights may inspire me to use it as an accent in our dining room. Anyway, love what you’ve done!

  69. Beth says

    Wow, that is incredible. I love everything about it! Can you tell us where you purchased the banquette for the dining room? I am inspired to paint grey now!

  77. April @The 21st Century Housewife says

    Your kitchen looks gorgeous! I know what you mean about grey. We’ve just re- decorated quite a lot of our house using a grey wallpaper. I was leery of grey at first but I think it is one of the most effective colours we have used.

  79. Jenni Horne says

    It is perfect. I so want to paint our cabinets, so I just may have to check into hiring someone. We just bought the house and the cabinets are beautiful, just not me. Your kitchen is such an inspiration!!

  80. Jenn says

    It looks fabulous Jen! I think I love the inside of your cabinets the best. So pretty with the bead board and wrapping paper! Funny how it’s always the little details that make the room! GREAT JOB!

  83. Lisa @ Creative Raisins says

    I am in love, I really like the color choice. The cabinets look so much better it makes the space look bright and fresh. I love the eating area and the open cabinets showcasing the the cake plates. So Pretty.

  84. Jill Wilhelm says

    I just LOVE LOVE LOVE your kitchen makeover….did I mention that I LOVE it!!! Its absolutely beautiful!! And the pictures are amazing. I love the white cabinets and teal door and that island is to die for!!

    [email protected] iknowtheplansihave4you.blogspot.com

  86. Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl says

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU so much for sharing the pictures of your kitchen. I installed beadboard wallpaper at the back of our newly opened cabinet and wanted to paint it aqua. But, everyone told me not to. Now that I see your’s I love it! And I wish we had an island to paint, I think I’m just going to paint the penisula back the aqua color.

  87. nest of posies says

    i love it because it sooooo YOU! you covered every detail. gorgeous job!

    good grief, girl – it looks like you could eat off your floors they’re so clean. beautiful!

    xoxo
    kellie

  88. Rasha @ mychampagnetaste says

    Im having a heart attack here…OMG I love it…can we have more pictures plz??? Love everyhting from the Aqua Island to that Aqua doors and those open shelves like really??do you wanna kill me or what???
    I love aqua I just posted today about my living and dining room the color is Turquoise..hope you like it but it is not like urs at all no comparison plz :))))

  93. Tina G. says

    This kitchen is FANTASTIC! It all comes together so well.
    Clean, refreshing, and happy all at once.
    I especially like the little nook with the couch and dining table & chairs.
    That whole ensemble flows perfectly with that kitchen!

  94. Kim says

    Your kitchen is beautiful! I can picture spending ALOT of time in that kitchen! Also… I noticed you have a cavalier? Me too!!! S/he’s so pretty!

  95. gail says

    jen–your home is beautiful-right out of a magazine! I’m a “blue” girl, so of course I love the aqua. I’m also loving your table (black) I painted mine white, and not so fond of it. I do need to repaint my island and have been considering black. I think I’ll go for it.
    Y’all have worked hard, but it is gorgeous! So happy for you!
    gail

  99. Sue-Someone's Mom says

    I love it! I really love the color you used for the island and I’m really getting interested in gray paint these days. I had a little chill when I read that you painted over the tile, but I really like the way it turned out. It is such a happy kitchen and I love the hints of yellow, but it also leaves open the possibilities of switching out for red, pink, navy, black…whenever you feel like a slight change. Great job!

  100. Keri says

    ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!! I have been trying to get some inspiration for my kitchen and you knocked my socks off! THANK YOU!!! 😀 😀

  104. Jennifer says

    Could you please please super please let me know where you found that awsome light you have above your table, that is super cool!

  107. Sara says

    Love how you painted your tile. I have wanted to paint a strip of pastel tiles that run among my white kitchen tiles (love the 90’s) but not sure what paint and primer to use. Could you please post about this project? Does it look good or does it just look painted? Any info would be appreciated! Thanks.

  108. tammy g says

    Love how you’ve chosen to add the yellow with the blue. Looks so lite cheery. Could you tell me about the light fixture above your round kitchen table. I love it too!

  109. Susan Dundas says

    love love love. how inspiring! Now to convince my husband to paint our backsplash tile!
    Love the pops of yellow too!

  111. Jennifer says

    Jen – Your kitchen is BEAUTIFUL…and the rest of your house, too!! I love it! How has the painted tile held up? I had our backsplash tiled when they did our floors, but I didn’t put enough thought into my choice of tile. I would love to paint ours!

  112. Jacy says

    It’s so much brighter! Gorgeous, I love it…when we get a house, I want your kitchen so can you mail it to me? Thanks 🙂

  113. Jennie Larsen says

    WOWZERS JEN- I love it! I love LOVE LOVE color, so this is right up my alley. I too have the same colors in my home now even that green I spy. So I am majorally swooning here, GREAT job my friend. Enjoy it. I would be cooking and baking up a storm in that pretty new kitchen. xo.

  115. Angela Himes says

    Awesome job! I love the aqua color, and I’m definitely inspired to use blues in my kitchen! Thanks for sharing your amazingness!

  116. Grace Calabrese says

    Hi Jen,
    I love you blog. And you kitchen looks terrific. I have a question for you. What did you use to paint the backsplash? I have a tiled backsplash that I am not a big fan of. I was thinking about replacing it but it seems like a lot of work. Painting would be much faster and cheaper. Thanks

  118. Meg McGinn says

    I love it !! What made me smile was the before pictures because it was already a beautiful kitchen but now it is even better. We have those same type of cabinets and have lived in this house almost 10 years. Up to this point, I would NEVER have thought to paint over them because they are in perfect condition. I painted our kitchen red about 7 years ago and I have been thinking of going lighter but it was such a pain the first time. Not sure I could get my “co-painter” on board!! This is an inspiration.

  122. Sarah Lingwall says

    Love it! and I LOVE your kitchen layout. You have a great eye for design!
    I just did my kitchen too. Light blue walls, off white cabs, and a bit darker blue island. Can I ask what color white you used for the cabinets? I am not convinced I love the color of my cabients. I went a little off-white, but am rethinking it. It was a HUGE project, and it’s not perfect, but we already had to do a million other fix ups with our house, so paying a painter was out of our budget 🙁 . However, if I do change the color to a brighter white, we may price out a paitner to re-do just the doors!

  123. Lisa H. says

    Holy smokes! That looks fantastic! Our home is also in the ‘rustic’ style with the same builder-grade cabinets. I have been wanting to lighten things up and paint our cabinets, but wasn’t sure if it would work for our style of home. I am totally showing your post to my husband!

  126. Suzie says

    I love what you have done. I was searching for inspiration for the kitchen in our new house. It just looks so bright and inviting.

    I think my biggest question is about your cavie. Do you keep your dog’s hair cut short all of the time and does that cause skin problems?I want our Emma To have shorter hair but our groomer said it could cause her to have a rash. I am just so tired of having hairballs everywhere (especially with a 9 month old in the house).

    • Jeff says

      This is Jen’s husband answering this one … Trixie seems to like it better with shorter hair … she has more energy that way. We keep her ears and tail fairly long, as you can see. We haven’t had any problems with skin problems. And … as you said … when her hair is longer she sheds more.

  133. Shannon Fox says

    I knew I would love it before I even looked 😉 And I was right! So many perfect little details… The aqua knobs, the open shelving, the rainwater island… and of course, the aqua pantry door. The cabinets look so good and I like the new wall color too. I am needing a living room color for my walls, and had been thinking of something similar. It’s nice to see it on your walls in real life as reference.

    Enjoy your GORGEOUS new space!!

  134. Laurie @ Gallamore West says

    Ohhh, it’s gorgeous!!! I love the colors you chose and those little pops of yellow are so cheery! Fabulous job… wanna come do mine now?!
    xo,
    Laurie @ Gallamore West 🙂
    p.s. LOVE your breakfast nook too!

  136. Heidi of Operation Organization says

    Sincerely beautiful! You did such an amazing job!! I love how the colors compliment the happy green in the next door room as well. I am such a HUGE fan of white kitchens – I love all the pops of aqua and yellow!! ENJOY your space!!

  139. Kelli says

    Jen your kitchen looks amazing! I love how bright the white cabinets make the room! My favorite part has to be the aqua door! It adds so much personality to the room! Makes me wish I had a door to paint in my kitchen:)

  140. katie s says

    AMAZING! Everything about it! I love the wall color. We have beige walls and they are driving me crazy! I must get to home depot and look at the gray choices!

  145. Amanda @ Serenity Now says

    I had trouble getting your site to load for me this morning, Jen, but it’s probably b/c you broke the internet with all this fabulousness. The Before and After shots are amazing. The old kitchen was very nice too, but the difference that white makes is huge. The room looks more spacious and open. I love it!!

  149. Christy Bott @ Simply Sane Organization says

    You never cease to amaze me!! Amazing, amazing, amazing! So clean and fresh! Job well done! Now, enjoy that breakfast nook, pour yourself a glass of wine, kick back, and soak up a job well done! Amazing … have I mentioned that yet … well, it’s AMAZING!!!!

  154. Shelley says

    Wowzer! The transformation is amazing, and I get over how much larger everything looks! Absolutely gorgeous 🙂

  157. Jan says

    An absolute beautiful kitchen. House Beautiful or any of the decorating magazines would have a field day with this kitchen!!! I don’t know if you have thought of entering it, but it’s just lovely. I certainly would love to walk into that kitchen each morning to get my morning coffee!!! WOW!

  159. Christine Aldinger says

    fantastic make-over it looks so open & fresh i love it……..the eat in area have you ever posted about that? i would love to do something like that in the near feature if possible i have 2 large pieces in my area that are family antiques that take up 2 walls i would never sell them but i could move to another room down the road….i am just loving the eating nook……anyways great job its beautiful!!

  161. Tracey says

    Love this kitchen. You did a great job and gave me some inspiration…I have to redo my kitchen this spring/summer…I can’t wait. You have lots of great ideas and I’m sure I can use some of them. I love the open cabinet space and the colors are wonderful. Like an ocean beach front home!! You did a great job and thanks for sharing with all of us!!

  162. [email protected] says

    What a dramatic transformation! I love all of the pops of aqua against the white cabinets, and the island color is just lovely. I have always loved that rainwater color. Well done!

  163. Bev says

    Jen – it is just gorgeous! The whole thing is just so clean and bright without being sterile. It looks like a place to come hang out and enjoy. What a beautiful job.

  164. Kelsey says

    LOVE LOVE LOVE
    We just bought a new house and the colours we chose for our kitchen cabinets are identical to your Before pictures. I have been rethinking our choice since we moved in a year ago, but it isn’t in our budget to change so we will have to make do. 🙂

  165. Sarah says

    Wow your kitchen is beautiful! It’s HUGE too! Amazing 🙂 I love the eat in area too with the sectional going around the table. Looks so comfy!

  168. charlotte says

    Jen-I’ve blog stalked you for a bit now, but I just have to comment on the beauty of this room. I love your white cabinets and the Island? Magnificent! It all looks so bright and yet warm and cheery at the same time. Enjoy your new space. A lovely transformation.

  169. Karla says

    Wow!! That looks gorgeous!! I love it. It’s so bright and happy. I can’t wait to get rid of my oak cabinets and dark walls.

  170. SArah says

    Looks great!! We’re thinking of going white with our cabinets, but would have to change the back splash tile. What kind of primer did you use?

  171. Carin says

    Wow! It looks fantastic! I wish I could convince my dear husband that we need to paint our kitchen units, but no such luck. Absolutely loving yours though, and the splashes of aqua.

  173. Chrissy Floyd says

    Wow! I have been loving aqua for about a year and I just love all of the aqua in your house. The kitchen looks amazing! And I love the aqua pantry door! 🙂

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