Even though we’re (almost) done with our kitchen renovation, we still love finding little nuggets of style inspiration. When this awesome budget-friendly kitchen renovation came across our inbox, we were floored. It wasn’t just a “little nugget” of solid and inspirational design. It’s an absolutely awesome kitchen at a fraction of the cost you’d probably think. Without further ado, here’s Jesse’s email:

We absolutely adore your kitchen renovation and thought your readers might enjoy ours as well. We bought a 1950′s ranch a few months ago, and with the approaching birth of our second baby, we knew we had to kick it into high gear to get it ready. The kitchen was in desperate need of some love, with linoleum floors, laminate counters, dated cabinets and the original 18′ oven (not the cute kind, ha!). We completely gutted the entire space down to the bare studs and even removed a few enclosing walls. My husband is an electrician and quite the handyman, so he re-wired and re-plumbed the space. We hung new drywall, laid new hardwood flooring, installed new cabinets, a subway tile backsplash, and DIYed a butcher block island. We penny pinched on nearly every aspect (spent just under 10K) to get the kitchen of our dreams and even saved enough to splurge on soapstone countertops! After two months of late nights and weekends spent renovating we were finally able to move in… Just three days after coming home with new baby! With all the hard work we’ve loved every minute of it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Nothing compares to a space you’ve built on your own from the ground up! Hope you can enjoy this space as much as we have!

(Keep those recipes coming. We’re loving them over here!)

Jessie

 Are you ready for this kitchen renovation awesomeness?!

To open up the space, they took down a wall between the kitchen and living room. So smart! They also reconfigured the layout of the appliances to make for a more functional kitchen.

We’re really digging the dark soapstone countertops and the butcher block island. For the butcher block countertop, they purchased maple butcher block from Lumber Liquidators, cut it to size, then stained it using Minwax Dark Walnut (our personal favorite as well!) followed by Minwax Water-based Polycrylic.

To add some color, they brought in cheerful green and yellow accents. Like with most all-white kitchens, they can easily change up the color-scheme later down the road if they wish, simply by changing accessories.

They also brought in a white and yellow striped rug. We love having rugs in the kitchen (we’re thinking about bringing one into ours down the road). It gives the kitchen a nice, cozy feeling, and it’s a great way to bring in more color.

For the roman shade above the sink, Jessie took a mini blind, fabric, and glue to make a no-sew roman shade (using this tutorial). Genius!

I really like how the black window frame pops against the white subway tile and cabinetry. It also ties in the dark lighting hardware.

We’re huge fans of industrial lighting, and these are 100% total awesomeness. They add yet another darker element to a light kitchen, and add some visual interest to bring your eye to the great DIY butcher block counter.

Now that’s great before and after, right? For more information about Jessie’s renovation, including a source list and full budget breakdown, check out her blog, Cape27. Ashley loves the dark countertops and the addition of the runner and I’m really digging the industrial touches in the lighting and barstools. We still need barstool for our kitchen, maybe we should add these to the maybe list?

By the way… Do you have a home project, house tour, or DIY project you would like to have featured? Email your submission to submissions@7thhouseontheleft.com. When sending your submission, include up to eight photos along with a description and important details (paint colors, materials needed, instructions, budget, etc.). By sending us your submission, you are giving us permission to post it on the blog – don’t worry, we won’t post your email address or any personal information. That’d be bad. Please Note: Not every submission will be published. If we decide to publish your submission, we will send you an email letting you know when it will be on the blog.