In honor of this week’s organization extravaganza, we thought this makeover was a great reminder that organizing and planning isn’t just about putting things in baskets or sorting your socks. An organized thoughtful approach to your home could help a dark and dated space become beautiful & functional with a little (or a lot) of planning, penny-pinching, perseverance, and perspiration. Morgan and her husband Kevin took their paneled den and turned it into a bright and modern kitchen. The transformation is, in a word, insane. And their planning tips are awesome, like scouring Craigslist every day in a nice wide radius to save serious loot – and rethinking the placement of a kitchen to make more sense of their floor plan. Here’s Morgan’s letter:
We bought our 1930’s bungalow almost four years ago and it was in need of some serious love, but we’re enjoying the renovation adventure as we work room by room demoing, designing, and constructing on our own. We built the new kitchen from scratch from what was previously a den or TV room in the back of the house. Here’s a look at the den before we moved in three years ago:
Now that space is a kitchen!
All in all we guestimate that we saved 50-75% of what a contractor might charge for the same kitchen if we had outsourced the work and bought everything brand new. Instead, we scoured Craigslist every day (in about a 500 mile radius) and scored a stainless steel fridge, viking range (drove over 300 miles to nab this beauty), range hood, dishwasher and sink for anywhere from 40-80% off of the original price.
Since our 1930’s home was built in traditional San Diegan Spanish-style architecture, our goal was to create a contemporary kitchen that would compliment the original design of the home. Beyond that, we wanted a space that was fresh and modern! And it was so rewarding to do it all ourselves.
So that’s the new kitchen! We know that we’ll enjoy this space for years to come and it was all well worth it. Hope you enjoyed it too! – Morgan
Thanks for sharing your amazing makeover Morgan and Kevin! And as if this den-to-kitchen transformation wasn’t enough, they’re actually doing lots of reconfiguring and redesigning at their house (like turning a bunch of closets into a bathroom), so head over to their blog to see more – including a full source breakdown of this kitchen. Update: It looks like their site has crashed due to traffic- oops! We’re hoping it’s back up for you guys soon. Now let’s all play the what’s-you-favorite-part game. Sherry’s all about that brown runner and the backsplash tile and I’m ogling those giant glass doors.
Sara says
Love the big blackish floor tiles and color of the backsplash. And the massive island. Love the modern update, and waiting patiently for their site to be up!
Amanda says
I think it is really awesome of you guys to link to other people’s work that they submit to you. Especially for those people supplementing incomes with their blogs, you guys are really generous. I appreciate seeing other people’s work too.
Anyway, it is almost as awesome as admitting to being on Fanatic (not just being on it, but actually admitting to it), but that is tough to top.
And I love the back splash and floor combo.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Amanda! We love to share the love! There is so much inspiration out there, and we love finding and sharing other awesome blogs and projects!
xo,
s
Karen says
Love that backsplash tile. It’s hard to believe it’s even the same space! Gorgeous job.
So….. how many websites do y’all reckon you’ve crashed by sending so much traffic their way? LOL Too funny.
YoungHouseLove says
Ack, we feel so bad! It doesn’t happen that often, but when it does our stomach drops because we totally know what it feels like to crash!
xo,
s
Mamaw03T says
OMG! Beautiful! LOVE the back splash tiles and the glass doors.
Wendy says
I have to say I’m a door-ogler with you, John. This is amazing!
Karen M. says
This space is amazing! In love with the tile back splash range hood, doors…just everything. Great job.
Jaime says
Gorgeous kitchen, LOVE the colors and I have got to hand it to them for all their hard work. Well done. But I have to say, they said they drove 300 miles for the fridge…even if that was round trip (not EACH WAY) that amount of time in the car is not worth it to me!! Haha. I guess I am at the point in my life where my free time is worth more than $$ and 5 hrs in the car and having to wrangle a fridge yourself tips the scale towards “rather spend the extra $ and have it new and delivered to my house and I can spend my time doing more fun/productive things!” Thats not a criticism, its just what works for me. To each their own though!
Morgan says
Hi Jaime! Don’t worry, we were on our way to my parents house (made the trip just for the fridge;)) so the car ride played double duty. And we saved almost $3K which was well worth the $100 we paid in gas :).
~Morgan
Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats says
Wowza! How is that even the same room?? Looks like two totally separate places. I hope their site come back soon…closets into a bathroom sounds intriguing. I’m with Sherry on this one, backsplash all the way!
Savanna says
I’m loving the glass cabinets and the open shelving to show the pretty blender :) I rarely use my blender, but it’s fun to show off! Classic and functional . . . sometimes :)
Lisa says
Love the range hood and the open storage spot for small appliances UNDER the counter! That is a great idea…super easy to grab (not stuck down low and back in a cabinet), but not on the counter taking up space. Also, if they wanted to, they could throw a door on that spot and it would look just fine, but I think the open part looks just fine too.
Morgan says
Yes, we’ve been thinking about a drop down door on hinges! We love the cubby.
~Morgan
Melanie says
Gorgeous! I like my kitchen, but this one makes me jealous. I LOVE the large format floor tile.
Jennifer A. says
The Floor! My eye was instantly drawn to that stunning tile! Love it ALL!
Megan says
Wow! That is a ridiculous renovation. I think that rectangular tile floor may be my new favorite thing. Also, I now think my kitchen is seriously lacking a runner rug…
Beth says
Oops, drooled on my keyboard. That kitchen needs to come live with me. :)
Lindsay says
Backsplash is beautiful and I’m in LOVEEEEEE with that rug! I can’t wait until their site comes back up to find out where they got it!
Jill says
I actually said, “Holy crap” out loud when I saw the after picture. They really did an amazing job.
Vivian says
I love it all but that sink and the Viking range have to be my favorites!
Becky says
Holy moly I love this kitchen! The tile is my favorite part, both floor and wall, but it’s all amazing. Great job!!
karen says
realllly nice! love the hood!!!! the colours fit beautifully.
One thing. the white outlet cover is sticking out like a soar thumb!! i would change it up for a stainless or something dark.
Morgan says
We totally agree :(. We actually have long term plans of attaching a little breakfast table and seating area there (perhaps a high upholstered bench and a couple of bistro chairs?). It should cover up the outlet so that it’s not the first thing you see when you walk into the room!
~Morgan
Nicholin says
I’m lusting after the Viking range! *laugh*
Sierra says
Oh my GRAVY! I had an eyegasim over that green backsplash tile. Wowzers. This might be my fave Reader Redesign yet! …until you post another one. ;)
Thanks for sharing!
Rachel says
I love the big open shelf under the counter to store what would typically be counter-stealing appliances! So smart!
Caralyn says
Beautiful! I love everything in their kitchen.
And I’m sorry but the English teacher in me has to say this but “guestimate” is not a word. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I’m guilty of using that too! It’s such a good hybrid. Haha. And it sounds like “a slightly more random estimate” – haha.
xo,
s
Morgan says
I know, I know! I use it all of the the time knowing it’s not a real word :). It’s sure to be in the urban dictionary soon!
~Morgan
Meagan says
What did they do with their old kitchen?
YoungHouseLove says
They renovated it into an office I think!
xo,
s
Joanna says
Wow! I think the best part was their dedication to buying premium quality products for extreme discounts. It must have taken a lot of patience. I have to agree with Sherri, the backsplash tile is my second favorite part.
ERae says
YAY for a make-over with wood cabinets! I love the white look myself, but my husband re-did our kitchen a year before I moved in, and he loves his cabinets. I keep showing him more “inspiration” pics and all he sees is the white cabinets in so many of the re-do’s.
Jannell says
I love the color scheme, new doors and crazy Craigslist dedication! Congrats Morgan and Kevin =)
FYI Sherry, I just Googled “painted concrete floors” and one of the first few pics was of you painting the sun room floor in your old house. I thought, “oh yeah, they painted their floors let me check that out again!” Except your pic came up on some weird site. =/ Sure it happens all the time to you guys, but kinda creepy.
http://www.bolderfloorsandmore.com/floor-paint/
YoungHouseLove says
Ugh, yeah – we can’t contact anyone on that odd site. Thanks for the heads up! Someday I’m sure we’ll get it down. So weird that it has been there for years but there’s no contact on that site.
xo,
s
S @ keepitneat says
I love how fresh and light and clean it looks – without being all white! I love white kitchens but sometimes think I get stuck in that rut because it looks cleanest. Not true! This kitchen is amazeballs.
Jackie Toye says
Beautiful
[email protected] says
Wow. 300 miles? I wonder how much of a good deal it was vs the cost of gas. :)
YoungHouseLove says
She had mentioned to us that it turned into a fun little road trip, not just a really long errand. :)
-John
Meg @ Revamp Homegoods says
Love that green subway tile, but I’d have to say that those wood cabinets look damn good (and I am usually more partial to white cabinets.) And one more thing…VIKING RANGE! J.E.A.L.O.U.S.
Kacie says
Wow… that’s amazing!!!!!!!!! I’m shocked. It’s just beautiful!
Kacie
http://acollectionofpassions.com/
John@RemodelingBIBLE says
I think I’ve come across one of the best combinations of old and new in one solid package. The range hood just brings it all together!
Heather says
I just found something you might love, given your bee/honeycomb thing…
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=23610496&navAction=jump&isProduct=true&parentid=MORE%20IDEAS&isProduct=true&cross-sell=true&guide-bn=true
Not the cheapest but I thought it was gorgeous!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes I love that! So funny, I actually pinned that a while ago. So in love!
xo,
s
beth says
Love that hood.
heather says
I would LOVE to know where that tile is from. Their kitchen is very similar to the type of kitchen I have in my head (wooden cabinets, dark or wood counter tops) and I have been dying to try and find a very similar subway tile. I am having the worst time. Things are either too opaque or the wrong color and this NAILS it!
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s hoping Morgan will drop in with that info!
xo,
s
Morgan says
Hi Heather! We found our backsplash tile at Arizona Tile (there are lots of showrooms around the US), it is from the Skylights collection and the color is kiwi: http://www.arizonatile.com/SKYLIGHTS-GLASS-P776C141.aspx, Glad you love it as much as we do!
~Morgan
LauraElle says
Their site is still down. Boo!
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry LauraElle! I know they’re working on it! Here’s hoping once this post isn’t at the top of our page (as others pop up) fewer people will be trying to access that page at the same time and it’ll come back up!
xo,
s
Suzanne says
This is insanely cool. Thank you so much for sharing!
Lesley says
This may be my favorite reader redesign yet! Love it!!
Mel says
Oh my gosh just STOP IT! This might be the most BEAUTIFUL reader redesign I’ve seen yet! I’m completely smitten with every bit of it. My favorite detail though is that the plants (sage maybe?) in the red pots look like little apples with leaves still attached. =D
The Distilled Review says
Love what they did!! It’s amazing of what you can do!
Tomi Ann says
Wow, that is just fantastic!
Natalie says
Holy cow, it looks amazing! And I love that they did it on their own and were so resourceful!
Thanks for sharing! :)
Alex says
Wow! What an amazing transformation!
It really shows what you can do with a space with a little hard work and some bargain hunting skills!
Cheryl Thornton says
I am new to your blog and love it – however, I have signed up to receive updates by email and they are not being sent…any idea how I can fix that???
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry- that’s just a plug-in we use so we’re not sure why it would be glitchy. I would recommend un-signing up and re-signing up to see if that helps!
xo,
s
Andrea says
Hey Sherry and John,
Just wanted to let you know you two are destroying my life!
I am a freshman in college (so I am in finals right now) and I just discovered your blog and I am OBSESSED!!
Keep up all the awesomeness, but if I flunk out of college, you two better plan on adopting me!
<3
Your new(er) fan.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we’re so glad/sad. Haha. Thanks so much for reading! But don’t go flunking out of college young lady! Haha. Although we do have a spare room…
xo,
s
Jenny says
What’s the paint and subway tile colors? I’d love to copy them!
YoungHouseLove says
I think you can click over to their blog for that info!
xo,
s