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A White Kitchen With Butcher Block And An Apron Sink

We figured during the week of our big kitchen reveal it was only fitting to share a reader’s kitchen makeover as well. And this kitchen redesign comes from a male blogger who goes by “Beard” (he has a female sidekick in the form of “Pigtails” – the daughter that he’s a single dad to). Beard’s blogging style is quite entertaining, and the kitchen makeover, well, it’s awesome. Here’s his letter:

I recently gutted and rebooted the kitchen on my 1950’s brick ranch (using inexpensive materials like Ikea cabinetry and reclaimed wood for a bench and table setup).

Beard Before

Goals for the reboot:

  • Be smart with the available 100 square feet. Kill clutter and chop it down to the basics.
  • Open things up by reducing the number of cabinets, shrinking appliances, and deleting the soffit and ceiling fan. Recessed lights for a smooth finish up top.
  • Install a robot that cooks and mops up messes, a.k.a. Rosie.
  • Move the dishwasher from the random corner to a slot beside the sink.
  • Build a slim table to fit the space without dominating.
  • Create a warm look that’s different than what I typically see out there.

It turned out just right, hit all the goals but one.

Beard After 1

Beard After 2

Yeah, the kitchen will never be this clean again. Ever.  – Beard

Beard Pigtails Reading

Be sure to check out Beard’s blog for more of the story on the makeover (there’s a cool tale behind the table). And thanks to Beard for bringing some testosterone to the reader redesign this week! Virtual fist bump. Petersik out.

Psst- We announced this week’s big Crate & Barrel giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.

Comments

  1. julie g. says

    First, thanks for posting early this afternoon – now I can concentrate on my work! Second, this kitchen is perfect and such a great use of space – can’t wait to check out Beard’s blog.

    Reply

  4. Allyn says

    Oh I love that! So simple and clean. Love that table. Way to go, Beard! I have nothing but respect for super involved single dads! And Pigtails is adorable.

    Reply

  7. Vanessa says

    Love this kitchen- its an amazing transformation. Thanks for sharing this blog. Its so sweet to see a daddy and his daugther!

    Reply

  8. Jenna says

    I absolutely LOVE the kitchen, the backstory, and the blog itself. But Beard’s writing style is sooooo hard to read! I need full sentences! With subjects! And articles!

    Reply

  9. Danielle says

    WOW! Love it! Double wall ovens, gorgeous hood – all I’d want to add would be more counter space. Rosie the robot needs more space to roll out cookie dough! ;)

    Reply

  10. gina says

    I LOOOVE it! I especially LOVE all the crisp subway tiles!
    Love, Love!!

    Now I am going over to check out the rest of your blog! <3

    Reply

  12. Emma says

    Wow! The kitchen looks great! I hope the Rosie the robot is forthcoming. That is a a *great* kitchen floor!

    Reply

    • Beard says

      Was hoping to gift the cabinets, but after 50 years sticking to the walls, they had to be pried off with a bar. So ended up not being in good enough shape to share.

  17. Bree says

    Hahaha, I love the aliases Beard and Pigtails.

    What a wonderful make-over! I LOVE that table and can’t wait to head over to Beard’s blog and read about it!

    Reply

    • Beard says

      The table was the trickiest part of the rebuild to figure out. Ended up going with a custom-cut barn board design, I’m happy with the results!

  18. mp says

    That reno is flat-out awesome. Also good to see those IKEA cabinets out of the catalog — I’ve been considering them and Beard’s use of them has raised their chances a notch.

    Reply

    • gk says

      i also think the renovation looks great!

      but can i chime in on these cabinets? i have them in my kitchen (i think they were installed 5-10 years ago by a previous owner). while i like the way they look, they have not held up well in my kitchen. the foil finish (particularly around some of the raised panels) has warped and chipped. they’re also stained. by what? how? i don’t know. you don’t notice these defects unless you look closely, but it looks terrible to me. it’s possible the previous owners really abused the cabinets. it’s possible ikea uses better techniques to make these doors now (i had ikea cabinets in a previous house that i loved so ikea’s not all bad!). but just had to share my two cents, fwiw.

    • Beard says

      I was impressed by the ease of assembling the IKEA cabinets. The hidden hinges, soft-close drawers and metal silverware separators are icing.

    • gk says

      oh, i agree. ikea cabinets in general are awesome. loooove the soft close drawers. just haven’t had luck with the 5-10 year old version of these doors.

      also, beard – your responses to comments on your blog crack me up. pay no attention to the people who request full sentences. overrated.

  19. Michelle says

    Love Beard’s new kitchen, thanks for sharing with us! We also just redid our tiny kitchen with Ikea products and couldn’t be happier!

    Reply

    • Beard says

      Agree, smart design! IKEA is Swedish, most homes in that country are diminutive, so their catering to smallish spaces works well for tiny-room rebuilds.

  20. meghan says

    It is a fabulous kitchen. Love everything about it.

    We are gearing up to redo our kitchen and I will be saving these images for inspiration.

    Reply

  21. Kim says

    Awesome! I’d love to send you pics of our “kitchen reboot” (love that!)! We aren’t 100% done but we’ve come a long, long way!

    Reply

  23. Ainhoa@ALittleBite says

    I love the floors and the cabinet doors he picked! Also, I’ve been eyeing that light-fixture from Ikea for a while now, especially since it’s crazy cheap and I’ve seen people who’ve spray-painted them with great results.

    Reply

    • Beard says

      Hadn’t considered painting the jumbo hanging light, but can see how that would be a simple way to jazz it up in the right setting.

    • Beard says

      I was hesitant to pay a few extra bones for the stealthy dishwasher panel. But once it all clicked together, was glad I did.

  25. Leslie says

    Sweet re-do Beard.

    Is anyone else slightly bothered by the odd space at the ceiling? It seems sorta triangular, like the ceiling is at an angle.

    Reply

    • Mahal says

      I had a look at the original blog, and that’s because it is! there’s ceiling structure or something under there :)

    • Beard says

      Yeah, we hit an “uh-oh” during the demolition phase with the ceiling rafters. Dave the contractor worked around the snag and made it work. Despite the odd wedgie at the top, the new cabinets were installed higher up, which opens space below by the counters.

  27. Tracy K says

    Ha ha! I stared at this kitchen for a lot longer than I should have trying to figure out which goal was missed! :)
    I got it now btw.
    Heading over to check out the blog.

    Reply

  29. Emily says

    I love love that he used drawers on the bottom instead of cabinets. Whoever did my kitchen only did cabinets and I wish I had all drawers after living with them!

    Reply

  31. Betsy says

    And I have to add, FWIW, the kitchen before was super cute. Not that I like it better, but it was a nice “before we get to redo the kitchen” kitchen.

    Reply

  33. WendyMI says

    Love it!! Everything from the floors to the open and airy feel. Nice touches! Will definitely go to the blog.

    Leslie, I think the slightly slanted roofline right above the cabinets is only magnified for you because of the nighttime shadows. =)

    Reply

  35. mp says

    My only concern is that now I’m gonna have to buy one of those farmhouse sinks. I hate them — no reason, I just do — but Beard has built a kitchen just like I want, countertops and all, so I’ll have to join the Church of the Farmhouse Sink, because they seem to work better with butcher block countertops.

    Reply

    • Beard says

      The only thing with these big honkin’ farm sinks is they are made of porcelain. So you gotta be careful not to crack it when washing cast iron pans.

  37. Kate says

    Nice!! I clicked over to Beard’s blog and realized he lives in the same city I do when I saw the West End Architectural Salvage reference and saw some of the downtown photos…small world.

    Reply

  38. BrookeJ says

    Thanks for sharing this. The built in seating is amazing–really makes the space unique and unexpected (always love the unexpected!).

    Reply

  39. Kristen @ Matt and Kristen at Home says

    Can’t believe the similarities here! We are almost finished completely gutting and remodeling a small kitchen, and that it the same IKEA cupboards, countertop and sink we used too! (And is that subway tile? That’s what we plan on using eventually.) Now I’m excited because hopefully our kitchen will be looking like this soon ! :) And maybe I’ll submit it for a Reader Redesign (if you guys aren’t sick of kitchens by then…)
    Oh, and my boyfriend also has a beard. Just another similarity…

    Reply

  41. Sarah says

    Great job there. Like the wood surfaces with the white. Also, the unusually honest blogger confesion that it only ever gets this tidy for photos :-)

    Reply

  42. Mara Smith says

    We have the same counter tops and cabinets (different hardware) from Ikea! Love the butcher block look and the self closing drawers. Well done!

    Reply

  48. Stephanie says

    “Virtual fist bump. Petersik out.” made me laugh way harder than it should have. I think I’m going delirious from too much allergy meds & should just go home.

    Also, that kitchen is awesome.

    Reply

  50. Val says

    “Chop it down to the basics.” That is so masculine. Only a dude would talk about a kitchen remodel using bike shop language. I love it!

    Those floors are really great. Excellent work, sir.

    Reply

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