*EXTREME* DIY SMALL KITCHEN RENOVATION On A Budget

Hello guys, welcome back to my channel. I'm Alexandra and I'm very excited about today's video. It's a massive, epic

kitchen

transformation and you guys aren't even ready. Believe me when I say you are not ready. A big greeting. millinote for sponsoring today's video. I always say that one of the most important parts of designing a space is creating a mood board before you start purchasing products and many of you have been asking me what program I use and I'm so excited to share it. My new favorite milinet with you because it has changed the game when it comes to designing a space and keeping everything organized more on them later but wait before you start the makeover, if you haven't already hit the subscribe button . below and activate the bell so you always receive a notification when I post a new video.

Shocking statistic. More than 48 of you who come back week after week to watch these videos are not subscribed yet. It's the easiest thing to do. Just press that. button and I would really appreciate it, okay, really, let's get into this

kitchen

makeover, so Christy reached out to me, she and her partner just moved into a new condo, they own the condo, regardless of Whether you rent or own, I know all of you watching this channel want easy and affordable solutions to transform your space. Many Renault kitchens cost a lot of money, but if you're on a

budget

, there are ways to make it look really beautiful without spending a lot of money.

Hi Alexandra, it's Me, Christy, and as you know, my husband Chris and I recently moved into a

small

one bedroom, but the kitchen is very dated, it looks like it hasn't been touched since the building was built ago. almost 25 years. It has a kind of eat, pray, love. mediterranean style i spend a lot of time in my kitchen cooking and baking and creating recipes and meal ideas for my plant based christy instagram so i definitely need a kitchen that is functional but i would also like it to be fun and modern and a place. I'm happy to spend hours and hours helping.

I want to go over my ideas with you. What I'm thinking for this space. I'm using Millinote to keep all my ideas in one place. Let me show you. I used to use Photoshop and I also had like a million lists between me and Alanna and it was really hard to keep track of everything, but since I discovered Millinote, this is my new go-to for myself and my entire team when it comes to designing. a space because it allows me to keep my mood board, my to-do lists, my before photos, my measurements, like everything, all in one place, so this is what I'm thinking for Christy's kitchen.

I'm thinking of a teal color for the cabinets. thinking about details in gold and black hardware, one of my favorite things about millinote is that you can add an extension to the toolbar of your internet browser, so in this case I'm looking at Mitsy for a new light and once I found something I liked, I just hit the little milinet button and it imports it to Christy's kitchen board, so I go right to my mood board, drag it in and there's the beautiful new light. Another thing I love is that, as you can see here, Elena and I are. on the whiteboard, at the same time we send each other notes, we have a list of things to do, that way my team and I can work together seamlessly in one space, even if we are not in the office where we are.

Not so at the moment, we are all working remotely. The best part about all of this, besides being super organized and such an easy to use platform, is that this program is completely free, so head to the link in my description box to sign up. a free account and let me know in the comments below if you're using it and if it's changed the game for you as much as it's changed it for me, so now that I've mapped out the space it's time to head into it. makeover christy gone for a few days i'm so excited this is like the first step to creating your dream apartment i just looked at myself on camera and didn't realize it was recording oh hey guys so there's nothing like a Monday Morning Kitchen Renovation We've already run into a few hiccups, but they're all fixable, which is great, we didn't have enough countertops, the sink was too big, and we had a lot less room to paint than we thought, so usually when I do this. makeovers, if it wasn't covered I would go and do a scan with my team beforehand, but since we're doing all this remotely, we just walk into the space and think, okay, let's make it work. make it work so this is the state of the kitchen right now.

I've hired Isaac, my amazing contractor friend, to come in and help us with this kitchen

renovation

because the first part of this video is really going to be like a mini

renovation

and I would suggest that if you're not used to doing reno's or you like knocking down walls and countertops, then you want to hire someone to help you with this part. I've calmed down after a little bit of a morning, like, many, many obstacles and we. We're ready to go, so let's do this. We're going to start by cleaning everything in this kitchen and then removing the cabinet doors from the frames because Atlanta and I are going to spend the day painting them while Isaac does some of the more.

As a heavy demonstration, I noticed that Christy has all of her cookbooks here, so we could leave this door completely undetermined. Oh well, I mean it's one way to remove the door, painting cabinets is a very inexpensive way to improve your space, but I You should know that this can be a little daunting because cabinets obviously come in tons of finishes and you should make sure that you are using the right product, so since there are like a million cabinet finishes on the market, you want to make sure you always use them. a primer that primer depends on what material your cabinet actually is so I would suggest going to the hardware store or if you have a contractor friend you can call I would ask them what they recommend but the hardware store should be able to help you. so we chose the Benjamin Moore paint line to paint these cabinets.

They sent us a very heavy duty primer specifically for cabinets. One thing I will say is that you want to make sure you have enough space. We have turned the living room into a painting station. So the cabinets that are drying are there and then Elena is working on painting these ones here. Everything is happening. Painting cabinets is pretty complicated, so you have to apply a base coat of primer and then you have to flip the cabinets once that side is up. dry paint the other side, let it dry and then apply two coats of paint.

As you can see, we are working in a fairly

small

space. We got it working but it took us longer than anticipated so make sure you have a system in place before you start painting your cabinets because it's not a difficult task but a little bit of homework ok the sink is leaving to make way for a new countertop. Let the demonstration continue, of course, the first time you hit it. a faucet with a hammer is my first time installing a faucet on YouTube. It's like a real cooking demonstration that you see on all those shows.

You know, okay, so the cooking demonstration is basically over. It's all here. We are still. waiting on an additional countertop from ikea to be delivered today so in the meantime we're going to finish priming all the cabinets and then elena will start priming the back of the island here and the side because all of this is going to be painted the same color as the cabinets, it's a little chaotic, folks, but it will all come together. This primer is mold resistant, covers stains, and is called a fresh start, which is appropriate because we are literally giving these cabinets a fresh start, but I love it. primer that has a stain blocker like this because no matter what condition your kitchen cabinets are in, this will just help cover any imperfections before you actually apply a beautiful top coat of color.

I definitely painted my forehead, the cabinets are primed, they are Drying, the drawer fronts around the stove have also been painted. The side of the island and then this side of the island is coming together. This is like the reality of filming in a small space. You know, we just make it work. It is my phone. it sounds no it's just james it's literally james every time my phone rings it seems to be james this is the peel and stick backsplash we're using I don't know if you can see it but the problem is the tile sticks out from the wall because before the counter had a lip so what we're going to do is just put a piece of wood over here and then use the peel and stick tile on top that we could have covered like underneath and just painted everything white with something like that. some super paint that sticks really well, but I thought that's not really realistic.

Tips for tenants. I mean, I know we've torn out half the kitchen, so this isn't a completely raptor-friendly video, it's not at all. but i think removing tiles from the wall and then putting them back is another skill set, whereas the things we are doing are quite doable if you have someone like isaac who knows what he is doing and helps guide the process and We only have three days to do this makeover, so I think the solution we came up with will really work. Now it's time to paint the cabinets blue. The color is called dragonfly.

I'll show you, but it's like a teal. I think it will look so good. I'm very excited about this color, it's like a hunter green but it has a little bit of blue like a dark aquamarine, yes, yes, I like that dark aquamarine, I love it, it's very rich. Okay, I'm going to take a step back, Roni, it looks so good, it looks so good, okay, so the next thing we're going to do is just paint a first coat on all of these cabinet fronts and then tomorrow we'll do the second side, but yeah we have to paint them all in the next hour, what a day it feels like there's green paint everywhere, most of the cabinet fronts have been painted and tomorrow we'll flip them over and do the other side.

I gave them two coats, most of them we'll see early tomorrow for another epic day. This is a big makeover, but we're doing it. Good, see you tomorrow. Hey guys, it's the second day of this. makeover and it's a little chaotic, I won't lie, I'm kind of freaking out a little, there's green paint like everywhere in the living room, but Isaac is here again and we're going to start on the countertops, I can't emphasize this enough . If you are doing a cheap kitchen renovation use ikea, they have tons of materials like this that look like stone but are actually made of laminate so you can cut it, this is the product I would recommend using if you are doing this. yourself because you can cut the holes you need for the sink and faucet to size and it's amazing quality at a really great price.

We are cutting candle lids in the condo. There are things everywhere. Elena and I were Talking about how we'll probably never do a kitchen renovation like this again in three days it's a learning curve and I know it must look so beautiful just getting there is causing me a little panic but yeah everything It's okay because look. with you and you are like a perfect set surrounded by all the green, I will tell you that because the paint adheres so well to the primer, I think it is oil based, so it just dries with a little streak if you don't apply the right amount of coats, so we'll have to keep adding coats to this, I think three coats, but this is drying really well and with the marble countertop it looks so good, so now it's time to add.

This beautiful black sink also from IKEA. I decided to go with black instead of stainless steel because I think black is a really great color for a faucet or sink because it elevates the kitchen a little bit and makes it look really sophisticated. the black one with that green cabinet color chef's kiss i never get chef's kiss right it's like that in all the videos no it's busy you get the idea chef's kiss this looks so fantastic the sink is on the stove it's underneath this too It's drying really well around here what a whirlwind is all I'm going to say now that I'm starting to put some of these tiles over the old backsplash.

I've used these peel and stick backsplash tiles a lot because I love them. Do they work. I've had them in my kitchen for a little over two years, I think, and they haven't warped. They haven't changed one bit since I installed them. They look real. People often ask if those are real pink ceramic tiles. No, they peel and stick. They're completely renter-friendly and obviously much easier than removing an entire ceramic backsplash when you reach for an outlet. The best thing about these tiles is that you can just cut them and that way, when you put the cover on, yes, it looks totally perfect and perfect,let's move on.

The other thing I love about these tiles is that they are so easy to install that you only need scissors to cut them or an Exacto knife, but scissors work just fine and yes, you can put them over existing tiles. You will notice that the previous tiles have a wavy texture and these ones didn't work when you put them on, they fit really nice and flush, you wouldn't really know what's under them which is awesome finally on the last cabinet you need. to paint they're all drying ready to put in the kitchen and then they need a second coat so I'm so happy it feels like I've been painting cabinets for the last two days which I have been yeah.

We're almost there Hello guys, it's the third day. I don't know how we did it, how we got to this point, but we did it first. What I'm going to do is start putting the cabinets back, putting the drawers in, they look great. I'll add knobs in a second. This one is not painted and some of the trim still needs to be painted green as well. but i'm waiting until we're done basically because the cabinet doors need touching up too, so there's going to be some hectic stuff tonight, like I'm going to say team, it's just elena and me tonight, we're just going to roll around and touch each other.

Oops and we painted all the trim that is still primed. We're trying to reattach the cabinet faces and it seems like it's a lot harder than it was to remove them, that's all. I am going to say that this image change has been a very intense learning experience. curve, but we're here, sometimes DIY projects are hard, sometimes you just have to try again, we're not sure how, but it looks good, it looks good, so next up is the hardware, you know, I always say knobs make a big difference, even if you're not going to paint your cabinets, just change the knobs and that will elevate your kitchen, I promise, so I'm going to put these on the drawers and I'm also going to put the hexagons on the doors.

I've already done them. here and they look so good these look so good ah they are so good they are so striking and bold the easiest thing you can do in a rental to make it look stylish no matter what room it doesn't matter if I'm painting or making other changes by changing those lights of the roof. Thanks to Mitzi for this beautiful ceiling light. It just enhances the game, changes this whole space and I love it. Next step I'm going to finish gluing these tiles that I started yesterday. We're lifting up the bottom where the tile meets the countertop so you don't have to worry about getting the edge super perfect because it will be hidden, so I'm just lining up the pattern and then looking at exactly where I am.

I'm going to have to cut, I'm just going to cut a straight line, okay, now I'm just peeling off the back, lining it up again, gluing it like this and then when you get to the end, you just want to make sure that you're pressing it all the way down and it's going to bend a little bit. , but that is the piece that we are going to cut with a knife and then we will go to the bottom. Now that you've cut one out, you can use this. As a template, just place it on top of the next tile and then you'll know exactly where to cut, so when you get to a corner you'll want to do exactly what you were doing before lining it up.

I think sometimes it's easier to line it up. put it on the side first, like this, these are super forgiving, so if you make a mistake, just pull them back and then when you get to the corner, you'll literally want to push it into the corner, like peel and stick wallpaper. I just want to smooth it out and this is how you put it in one corner, the next one we're done. I can't say enough about these tiles. I love them in my kitchen. I love them in this kitchen and it was just an easy fix for that horrible backsplash that was here before, so the next thing I'm doing is wallpapering her white refrigerator with peel and stick wallpaper.

I made this at my house so many of you loved it if you want an in depth tutorial. How to do it step by step, I will link the video here. This wallpaper is from lavettes. I'm obsessed with le vets right now and feel like this brushstroke pattern is perfect for this kitchen and brings in those black and white accents. They are everywhere so the first thing I'm going to do is remove the handles so this is what I did for my refrigerator. I left about a half inch on this side so I can fold it over, but I'm going to cut this to Size First because it's quite long and I love this pattern because it will really look continuous.

In fact, you could take it out of the refrigerator and cut it here. This is always the most challenging part of peel and stick wallpaper, oh my goodness, that shows. Very cool, this is the easiest trick, although the key is that you obviously want to line up the wallpaper and then when you get to the bottom and the sides, you just fold it. I'm going to take a macaroni step and reveal it. To me, how cool and beautiful this refrigerator is now. If you're looking for an upgrade to your refrigerator handle, you can find replacement refrigerator handles on Wayfair and Amazon, but I didn't think about that until now, so we don't have time. do that for this makeover, but I still think it's going to look nice, it's like the black and white ones that I like, yeah, I'm going to keep this cabinet open like it's a little open shelf.

Christy has so many amazing cookbooks that I think you should. It will be on display and I'm thinking about putting a hanging plant in here, so yesterday I patched the holes with just a little putty. I'll do it on this side too. I just wanted to see how the putty would hold up. It looks incredible. and then I'm also going to prime all the edges here because the outside of the cabinet is going to be the same green color. I thought about painting the inside of the cabinet but honestly it's going to be really hard and the clock is ticking but I think just having the outside green will be enough.

These holes are usually standard on Ikea furniture. I just think it makes it look a little incomplete if we leave it open so I'm just plugging the holes and then when this dries I'm going to sand it and paint it with just white paint so it all blends together so when it comes of the game, I have decided not to paint the frame of this shelf the same as the cabinets, I think it shows. like it's floating, which is nice, which is what I want and to be honest, we're down to the wire right now and I just don't want to have the chance to mess this up and wait for it to dry out and get dirty.

So I leave it white, I think it works, it's time to style it, so since Christie's kitchen is smaller, it's a condo, there is no designated pantry area, so I had the vision of just lining the counter with glass jars filled with dry goods. products these are my favorite jars from ikea. I like them because they have a bamboo wood lid, so I'm going to start pouring dry goods in here and lining them up against the back. It will look great, a functional and stylish tip for you. guys, cut out the expiration date on your dry goods, put them at the bottom of the jar that way you'll know when things expire once you take them out of the package.

I love vintage art and I love that they have art for every room. the house, so I wrote kitchen art and this beautiful still life appeared now I really want to put this here, it looks like it belongs here, but it's not practical, there will be things splashing all over the flames, so I'll just go. to hold it here so everyone can see what I really want to do. Instead, I'll hang it right above what looks like a phone jack. I don't think they're going to use this and I'm just hanging up. with 3m command strips, just a couple of finishing touches and then it's time to reveal the space to Christy.

Okay, I want you to imagine what your kids are looking for. Okay, pretty dated mosaic, pretty lived in the three can. I want you to open. your eyes one two three oh my god this is like a completely different house I can't breathe I'm legitimately surprised this is amazing the light looks so good the refrigerator like I'm going to burst into tears the knobs are so swollen I love them This thing is so great, I love it, thank you, you're welcome, thank you, I'm so happy with how much Christy loved this kitchen, what an amazing project, so satisfying to see the before and after, it was a great task, it was a great experience learning. for me, but I am very proud of what we were able to achieve on a limited

budget

and in a time of limited time.

I think if I can do this, you guys can definitely do it too. Thanks to Millinote for sponsoring today's video. Millinote is available for free, there is no time limit, use the link in my description box and let me know in the comments below what design project or DIY project you are planning next. I'd love to know what you're up to and as always, I'll see you next week. bye