Your Pre-Weekend Dose of Serious Eye Candy: 10 Reader Before & After DIY Kitchens

When I hear the words “kitchen renovation,” my first thought is always, “my god that’s a lot of work…and money.” But when I hear “DIY kitchen renovation,” I basically want to immediately take a nap because that my friends is A LOT of work and makes me tired simply just imaging it. This coming from someone who by no means “renovated” her kitchen but did attempt a couple of sizable DIY upgrades. Those were even nap-worthy. But aside from the guaranteed exhaustion, renovating your kitchen, a space where you spend SO much of your time (I mean your precious food is in there) is nothing if not completely worth it. We have proof.

So with all that said I am here to present to you some #ShowEmYourDIY badass readers who took on their old kitchens themselves and created something they could (and should) be extremely proud of. It’s time to see the dark, the purple, the magical painted garden kitchens hit the road and indulge in some serious “after” eye candy. It is Friday after all so bring on the sugar…

Let’s start with the less “gut the kitchen and start from scratch” and more “a little refresh”. While creating a completely new space is most likely everyone’s dream (i.e. Emily’s Mountain house kitchen that still makes me short of breath whenever I see it) not everyone can or wants to build something from nothing. That may be because it’s a rental, or money is an issue or a light refresh is all you really actually want.

Here we have Kendra Murphy’s adorable little kitchen. This kitchen SPEAKS to me as a long-term renter.

All Kendra did was give a fresh coat of paint to her cabinets in Behr’s Granite Boulder, switched out the cabinet hardware, added that cute light and restyled the shelves. She did just a beautiful job and didn’t have to do an insane amount of heavy lifting to transform her wonderful updated kitchen.

Would you believe me if I said this next kitchen is for a family of seven? Jana Robertson and her husband want to eventually tear down this home and start from scratch to better accommodate their big family. So instead of pouring a bunch of money into something that will be someday demolished, they refreshed the heck out of it for a temporary, more livable situation.

Down with the outdated wallpaper, new paint, counters, sink and appliances (which they could reuse) and they have a totally new feeling kitchen. Hope you get to see the whole new space someday.