On Valentine’s Day my fiance and I officially moved into our new home. We are so happy and excited to be homeowners and have a house we love. From the moment I saw a photo, it was love at first sight, and I had a feeling it might be the one. We both wanted an older home with lots of character and that is what we got. Our little dream house.

There was much work to be done and Dan and I busted our butts to get as much done as possible. Being a designer you can imagine the plans I had for the house and the excitement I felt to actually get started. This is the first post in my Home Sweet Home series where I will share our journey discovering the layers of our 1929 home and redesigning the space from inside out. I hope it inspires some great ideas of your own and gets you amped for some new projects you may have been planning to do around your own home. So lets get started!

The kitchen was one of the main rooms we had to do a lot of work to. It had blue tile board on half the walls and the rest was wallpaper. This was definitely coming down. The cabinets were built by the father of the family who lived here and are in great condition so they just needed a fresh face.

We also had to deal with an old hood above the stove that was way too big and super dirty. Taking this down was a pain in the ass because it was connected to an outlet that was hardwired to the wall fan underneath. We like the look of the fan but really have no reason to use it so we just closed it up for now. We also had to get the washing machine pipes moved and reconnected downstairs in the basement. Thank god for plumbers!

So, the day we ripped down the walls was a glorious day. Layer by layer, and there were many, I could see my vision coming alive. It was nice to start with a clean slate. We were happy the floors weren’t so bad because we had a whole list of things that had to be done and it was a relief the floors weren’t one of them.

After I cleaned and painted the cabinets and added new hardware, they looked fresh and new. Their 50s style shined a little bit brighter after I was done with them.

We had wide plank paneling installed with crown moulding on the walls and that totally gave the space a facelift. I wanted a modern country feel with rustic accents and the new walls helped that idea come alive. Once we painted and put up the new curtains I could see it all coming together perfectly.

Our table and chairs played an important role as they carried out the wood tones I needed for warmth. The darker laminate floors also helped anchor the room.

We purchased 100 year old barn wood on Etsy and used it for the backsplash which further added to the rustic feel I wanted. We bought it in strips so putting it up was just a matter of nailing them into the walls.

A new sink was in order so once that was installed along with our new faucet, the counter area looked much more cleaner and brighter. Because we plan on ripping everything out down the line, we decided to keep the countertop for now. Especially since it goes with our vintage theme.

The last thing on our list is the lighting which we are working on now but I have to say we transformed the space into something magical and beautiful. It may not be perfect yet but I love our new kitchen.  This was all done on a budget and pretty much a DIY project all the way through. We are happy we got the help we needed for the paneling because we just couldn’t do it all.

After all our hard work, this is what we created. I wish you all tons of luck on your home projects. I always say, the harder you work and put your heart into something, the payoff is extremely satisfying. Do it yourself and be proud of what you created. I know we are!

{Shops I purchased items from: Target, Ikea, Lowes, Etsy, Home Depot, Kmart}