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cs929

Tiny, now functional, IKEA kitchen - before and after

last month
last modified: last month

An astonishing EIGHT YEARS AGO I first posted here seeking advice for how to renovate my little kitchen. I have finally been able to get it done. I decided for different reasons that I couldn't do some of the more extensive work that some people suggested, but it was still much appreciated. I'm so grateful for the free advice offered here, and I've learned a lot just by lurking.

It's quite a bit more humble than many kitchens here, but it's mine. 😊















And a few before shots:





Some sources:

Cabinets: IKEA Enkoping white

Counters: Leathered Virginia Mist granite

Range: Cafe double oven induction (I got that as part of a separate project - it replaced a gas range and I love it)

Fridge: Fisher and Paykel RF170ADUSX4 N (scratch and dent, purchased earlier)

Dishwasher: Kitchenaid KDTE334GPS (scratch and dent, purchased earlier)

Range hood: Zephyr Gust

Sink: Elkay ECTRU21169 Crosstown 22-1/2" x 18-1/2" x 8-3/4"

Faucet: Delta Leland Touch2O in Chrome

Flooring: Marmoleum click tiles in Oxidized Copper

Backsplash tile: Ivy Hill Crux in polished white (Home Depot)

Grout: Laticrete Frosty

Drawer pulls: Ellis from Rejuvenation

Drawer knobs: Amerock Edona

Walls: BM Weston Flax (a touch more lemony than I was hoping. May change to Hawthorn Yellow or Concord Ivory)


Light above sink: $17 find from an architectural salvage place near me ❤️

Comments (18)

  • last month

    Very nice.....light and pretty ......you took care w all your selections. beautiful granite counters....love those. whats great is the kitchen will stand the test of time. Hope you really enjoy it.

  • last month

    Sweet! Congratulations on a good job, well done. Bon appetit!

  • last month

    PS - I like the wall color as it shows on my screen.

  • last month

    Very nicely done! I especially like your counters and the louvered pantry door, I grew up in a house with a pantry door just like it.

    The wall color is nice but I can see why you may want to make it a bit less yellow yellow. Maybe consider Safari by BM, they call it a "sandy yellow".



    cs929 thanked s m
  • last month

    Looks great - congrats! LOVE the counters and the light!

  • last month

    Beautiful! I have the same countertops and love that granite!

  • last month

    Very nice! You did a good job with the space you have and the window location constraint.

  • last month

    Tiny kitchens don't get enough love. Having lived with a tiny, tiny kitchen for many years, its amazing what you can do when you are mindful of cabinet clutter and what you really need.


    Yours looks great. I particular like the pantry door.

  • last month
    last modified: last month

    You are all very kind, thank you! Buehl, for various reasons i decided that I couldn't move the sink completely off the window as several folks suggested when I posted about this several years ago. But just having that additional 14 inches to the right of the range has felt like a gamechanger, compared to the 0 inches of landing space I had before!

    Re the pantry door -- there was never a door in that pantry! I have lived here for 10 years with just a big open space. The door has to be one of my favorite elements of this whole thing. That, and a real range hood that vents to the outdoors 😍

  • last month

    Well, I think it is perfection!

    I love a soft yellow kitchen. Mine is BM Cream Yellow, which might be a little too yellow for you. My front hall is BM Hepplewhite Ivory. I saw it in a friend’s house with similar north-facing sidelights, and it doesn’t read as yellow so much as sunshine streaming in. These colors are from well over a decade ago (WELL over a decade. I painted the kitchen 18 years ago, and if/when I redo the kitchen I might go with the same color, or maybe the Hepplewhite Ivory) so I don’t know if the names are still in use.

  • last month
    last modified: last month

    I will look for that color! I would actually like a richer yellow -- not "brighter," necessarily, but something maybe more on the golden side. I definitely want it to read as yellow, not cream. Yellow is hard!

  • last month

    Yellow IS hard! I have Hawthorn Yellow and love it. Possibly not golden enough for you, but worth a look.

  • last month

    Lovely - your ability to semi build in the fridge makes such a HUGE difference in how finished the space is! Well done!


  • last month

    Great Job! Small spaces present their own special challenges where you are looking for every inch :)

  • last month

    Very nice! I always enjoy a white cabinet/black counter combo done well. I now have countertop envy again -- I LOVE Virginia Mist! That's what I initially was going to get but made a last-minute change, I still pine for it when I see it.

  • last month

    My back hall is Popcorn Kernel, a richer yellow that seems to work better in a darkish hall than the Cream Yellow. But it was too dark for the kitchen.

  • last month

    Where do I start? Your choices are so smart - cabinets to the ceiling, a backsplash that matches the cabinet color, a glass front cabinet to give more of a sense of depth, an incredibly well inserted fridge, counters with texture that don't smack you in the face with wacky veining. This kitchen is a master class on smart design for more modest spaces. (Yours is hardly tiny.) Thanks for posting. We need to see more of these kinds of spaces.


    Enjoy your new exterior vent, space between the range and sink, and use it in good health!




  • last month

    Oh my gosh, that is really, really nice, thank you! Like I said, I've learned a lot by lurking here over the years. I should call my garbage disposal airswitch the Gardenweb airswitch since I would not have known such a thing existed if I hadn't heard about it here! (the switch that used to control my garbage disposal now controls the light over the sink)