Renovation time–Countertops & Sinks… Kitchen update…

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The time has come to make some changes.  We have been in this house for almost 9 years.  I LOVE THIS HOUSE.  The first time that I walked through it, I knew this was the house for me US.

It has five bedrooms (four for us and one guest bedroom), an office, a formal living room, a formal dining room and a killer kitchen/family room combination.  The best part was the downstairs.  It is professionally finished with a great room, a large playroom, guest bedroom and a full washroom.  There is a large storage room, a small storage room and finally a cold storage area.

Hideous Kitchen Sink and Countertops_DownshiftingPRO

The kitchen was beautiful with only the cabinet pulls and the light fixtures having to be replaced.  Pretty minor stuff if you ask me. The only thing that I have wanted to change for the last 3 or 4 years has been the countertops.  They were fine when we first moved in, a nice neutral beige laminate, but now, I want a new sink, a counter top and a backsplash. 

The time to search for these items has come and I want to be able to put the whole package together. 

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Where do you go but to your local hardware store to figure this out.  No reason to go anywhere else when you have Rona near by.  So off I went to see what options I could have to complete a mini makeover of my kitchen.  Here is the check-list and a quick link for me to remember where I found the items I liked.

  • look for kitchen counter tops
  • look for backsplash
  • look for sinks
  • look for faucets
  • Brink one of the drawer pulls and a cabinet door (no easy task)
  • take plenty of pictures of the layout
  • measure the countertops
  • measure the back splash 

The biggest item has to be the countertop.  Once you get that figured out, you can make the rest of the pieces fit into the puzzle. Or so I thought…The sales associate at Rona reminded me that I needed to look at are my existing cabinets first.  Since I am not replacing that or the floor, everything has to match up to those two items. 

My kitchen cabinets are solid oak with a pickle wash that makes them almost look like maple. The handles on the cabinets are black wrought-iron inspired.  Very simple but they do stand out. Our large fridge is stainless steel with black accents and we have a matching black stove and black dishwasher.  I know it sounds very eclectic but in fact, it looks very nice.  I was not interested in having all stainless steel appliances. AT ALL.

What we need to ditch are the counters and the sink (a white porcelain monstrosity that is a killer pain to clean).

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When I hit Rona, I was pretty surprised at the amount of countertops that they had.  They also had a well illustrated three step process on how to start a countertop project. 

Rona_Countertops_Renovation_Kitchen_DownshiftingPRO

I have to admit, I am drawn to the look of natural stone but not the cold, hard feel of it.   I am not a big fan of granite countertops but it seems if you want the joint to look classy, that is what you need to get.  Personally, I find granite to be too busy.  I an not opposed to man-made stone products but I really want to stay away from Arborite or laminate.  My husband (the cost conscious/practical one) would probably go with those two value choices. I think we will come to some sort of compromise (we usually do Winking smile)

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There are a few things that would make this small project more cost effective, countertops that are not natural stone, faucets that are useful without costing an arm and a leg and sinks that are stainless steel. 

I have to admit, I LOVE stainless steel sinks.  They are easy to clean and don’t cost an arm and a leg.  Thought that French country-apron-front porcelain sink is my favourite, I will never permit a porcelain sink in my house again! Very hard on the dishes (they break easily if you drop one) and high maintenance.  I saw these two options… good… but now exactly what I want.

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Then there are the faucets…. the back splash… oh… those will have to be for another post maybe two or three I think…     

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Wish me luck on my dream project… o.k. little dream project.


Disclosure: this is a sponsored post however, it has kicked my butt into gear about considering this project for the summer.  I would love to find a full sponsor that would help me with the faucets, sinks, countertops & backsplash.  Delta, Moen, Wessan, Any takers?

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Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.

7 thoughts on “Renovation time–Countertops & Sinks… Kitchen update…”

  1. WOW! So many color choices! I don’t know how I would ever choose! We have a kitchen that needs some major updating. But we are only renting, so that’s not something we will be putting in. But I wish I could have updated counter tops and cabinets.

    • Amber. In my last house I painted my counter tops with melamine paint and they looked awesome. Ask the landlord to see if they’ll let you do it. Just make sure you use a sponge roller and have some mineral spirits nearby to smooth out any bubbles or bumps. EASY PEASY…honestly!

  2. We just built an addition, so I know how expensive it is! Now we have to furnish it! I, too, love the look of granite and stainless. So pretty!

  3. I love all the options they have available these days for renovations. I’ve been thinking about redoing our kitchen so I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

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