Apartment Kitchen DIY – 1 before and 1 after

Hellooooo, DIY friends! So it’s almost midnight here and even up until about a half hour ago, I had high hopes of editing photos and writing up a painting kitchen cabinets tutorial and Rusteoleum Cabinet Transformations review but my long work days have caught up with me and I can barely keep my eyes open so um, yea…not happening. I sometimes tend to get a little ambitious with trying to squeeze so much into one day. When I say DIY is my passion, I’m not joking. And I love blogging but I discovered some times there isn’t enough time for both. You’ve noticed that too, right? This past week and the next few days will reflect all work, no play, no blogging, no socializing but lots of rewards!

I plan to be up at the crack of dawn (or maybe a few minutes after that) to head back to the rental to work on some more DIY. You all know I love me some DIY projects and it’s a three day DIY weekend, friends! At least in this household it’ll be 3 fun days of DIY (although we may be persuaded to spend an afternoon with family, food and swimming one day because that does sound like a lot more fun than our summer: DIY apartment part 452, doesn’t it?).

So anyway, as I head off to bed for a few hours of sleep before heading back to DIY, DIY and more DIY, in place of sharing a full tutorial and review today, I leave you with this…

This is one area of the apartment that we started with…

apartment kitchen before

{and that’s the cleaned up version…see the scary before here}

and this is what it looks like now (still some more to reveal yet/coming soon to a DIY blog near you. There will be much more to this kitchen than this current state!)

DIY apartment kitchen after

{Rustoleum Countertop Transformations review & tutorial}

Well, that is what it looks like now minus the clutter of additional tools and materials and MINUS that smooth ceiling to the left because there was a leak in the bathroom upstairs (uh oh!) and after a major freak out minor breakdown where I had to walk away to cry before gathering my strength, wiping my nose and wishing desperately that I could just run away to somewhere tropical and never DIY ever again –  to return to clean up wet crumbling drywall and water. I may have ran out the door an wailed. Ask the neighbors. It wasn’t pretty. ::sigh:: The joys of DIY. Not always smooth sailing and according to plan. But, nothing to do but persevere and just clean it up and mentally make up a drywall patch check list because it won’t fix itself and a huge 5 x 2 foot hole in the ceiling to expose floor joints and the wood floor above isn’t going to make for a pretty reveal.

Sooooo…if you don’t see me around for a few days, I will be working on this list:

  • painting faux tileboard, ceiling, trim
  • grouting a bathroom floor
  • patching a ceiling
  • installing baseboards
  • fixing a painted accent wall
  • working on a few other *fun* DIY projects (YAY! Finally!)
  • installing a bathroom vanity, sink and faucets
  • installing a bathroom light
  • installing a toilet
  • staining/poly’ing hardwood floors

Again, with the ambition! I’m optimistic. I’ll be working my butt off to get as much done as I can. I’m not kidding myself. I know I’m not going to make my deadline of it being ALL done this weekend but we’re getting closer! What are YOU doing THIS weekend? If you’re enjoying one of those Pinterest inspired recipes…I’m so envious! Anyone else notice that busy DIY days = unhealthy eating?

HAVE AN AMAZING LABOR DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND if you’re celebrating!

If you’d like to see snippets of progress before it’s posted, I share updates on Facebook, Twitter and instagram. 

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Thanks so much for stopping by! I love company! If you’re not available to patch a ceiling or grout tile this weekend, I invite you to catch up on past posts, links from the DIY party or our home tourvisit links on our project page or to start thinking about inspiration for fall!

Did you know that if you subscribe by email (left side bar)…you can view the full post delivered right to your email? A great alternative to the truncated feed! 

DIY Project Parade Highlights – Room Reveal Round UP

One of my favorite type of links in the DIY Project Parade is when someone shares a room reveal I might have otherwise missed. Here are some awesome room makeovers definitely worth a look:

Jessie at Imperfectly Polished shared her master bathroom before and a look at the gorgeous reveal.

master bathroom makeover

I am loving the patio made from old doors at Shabby Love! She took an inspiration picture and created a beautiful version for herself. I believe this counts as a room reveal. Wow!

old doors turned patio

Did you see the beautiful porch ceiling at Not Just a Housewife? Stacy shows us how to create/paint a harlequin patterned ceiling with a great tutorial.

how to paint a harlequin porch ceiling

Brooke from Design Stash shared her pretty cottage living room makeover. I love her attention to detail and the transformation from before to after is a breath of fresh air. Beautiful job!

living room makeover

No budget for a new backsplash? Miranda from Pressing On shares my love of stencils {the impact adding design can make} – and created an awesome stenciled chevron backsplash. How beautiful is this?…

chevron stenciled backsplash

Cassie at Primitive and Proper shares her gorgeous master bedroom makeover. I love her comfortable style, mixing vintage and antique with beautiful navy and gold colors. Eclectic elegance…

master bedroom makeover

I think these master bedroom makeovers are so inspiring. (It’s on our list of things to do!) and the colors, texture, pattern and accents that Lisa from Diary of a {Wannabe} Domestic Diva are so soothing and pretty!

master bedroom makeover

I love a good before and after and the family room makeover at Totally Lauren Amber is just that – boring before with a beautiful transformation with so many details and so much to see! Gorgeous!

family room makeover

A big round of applause and praise for these girls and their amazing DIY talent. WOW!

Thanks so much for coming over to link up and join the party! We’d love to see your latest DIY project!

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Kitchen Remodel ~ It’s Overflowing {OPC Before & After Project Winner}

I browsed through 158 remodeling projects at

Supporting Habitat for Humanity
When Ethan from One Project Closer asked if I’d like to participate, I was thrilled. Ethan was one of the very first bloggers I met last year (here) and OPC started their before/after series contest 5 years ago to raise awareness which is something I support too! You can get more details by clicking the button above because there is still time to enter to win!
It’s always so hard to choose just winner from so many amazing DIY projects…I’m just a fan of DIY. Period. And throw in some pretty amazing spaces competing and I want to choose them all. But narrow it down, I did.

And now, {drumroll please}, the winner is…

Kitchen Remodel ~ It’s Overflowing

This is Aimee’s kitchen when they moved in. Outdated, for sure! But look at all of those cabinets and all of that space. Lots of potential!

kitchen before

kitchen before

This is Aimee’s kitchen now:

kitchen after

kitchen after

Wow, right?

The sunny yellow accents with all of the fresh white make this one happy space to prepare meals and gather…

kitchen corner sink and window

Love how everything looks so clean and bright…

subway tile

There is so much to see! Even a DIY cabinet housing the microwave and adding additional storage!

20 tips to a dream kitchen

I love beautiful materials Aimee chose and her DIY work in this kitchen:

  • white granite
  • subway tile backsplash
  • painting and framing the kitchen cabinets
You can see ALL of the details, more pictures and links to her DIY projects at Aimee’s Kitchen Remodel Steps post.
It's Overflowing
Congratulations, Aimee!
Now pop over to enter your DIY makeover for a chance to win!

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