Hi There! If you are new here, welcome! I’m Janet, an interior designer and blogger from the Boston area, and this is the first post of the Fall 2023 One Room Challenge.
The One Room Challenge (ORC for short) was conceived over a decade ago as a way to join together and stay motivated to complete a space in just 6 weeks. The supply chain issues from the pandemic expanded the timeline to 8 weeks, which is where it remains (thank goodness!).
The ORC happens twice each year and now has hundreds of participants around the globe. Each week of the event everyone posts a link to their progress report via blog or IG on the ORC website.
This will be my 5th time participating in the ORC, and this is week 1 of this round.
For this challenge, I hope to be completing the loooooong overdue refresh of my woefully dated 80’s kitchen.
Redoing a kitchen in 8 weeks is optimistic, to say the least. But since we were allowed to start early, and that was going to be necessary for me to even get some of the pieces delivered in time, my little refresh is happily a little bit underway - you can see the pre-ORC progress here.
In desperate need of disaster relief were…
Very dated honey oak cabinets with cathedral arched doors
Stained and delaminating counter
Leaking faucet
Faux tile painted-on placeholder backsplash (which has been place-holding for more years than I care to admit)
Demon-possessed appliances. Seriously. We’ve named the microwave “Karen”. And that’s only one of the appliances on the ‘needs an exorcism’ list.
Recipe for Renewal: ORC Kitchen Refresh
serves: 10+ years to life
Ingredients:
New larger window
Painted cabinets with new hardware
New counters, sink, and faucet
New appliances
A new decorative range hood
New (finally!) tiled backsplash
Directions:
Relocate some upper cabinets
Remove some doors to create open shelving
Add spacers and trim to properly align cabinets and build new refrigerator alcove
Schedule electrical work (new outlets, new line for stove, move switches to make room for window, additional lighting)
Order and schedule a new window to be installed
Replace counters, sink, and faucet (schedule plumber to disconnect/reconnect)
Purchase new appliances
Design and order custom hood
Replace, upgrade cabinet inserts
Prep and paint cabinets and hood
Replace cabinet hardware
Design and tile backsplash
Install new hood and appliances
Paint remaining walls and millwork
Optional Garnishes, if budget allows
Add decorative brackets and shelves
Add trim to bring cabinets to ceiling and paint to match
Create beadboard and coffered ceiling
Refinish floor
Enjoy!
Phew. That’s a lot for a short time, and every one of those steps involves logistics, or research, or hard labor, or all of the above. And I still have to manage the rest of life like everyone else. But the end result will be so worth it…eyes on the prize.
You can see more embarrassing before pictures and the history of the design iterations of my current kitchen, along with some of my preliminary plans here. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I promise no matter the state of YOUR kitchen, these pictures will make you feel better about it 😂.
Anyway, I love to cook and entertain and I spend a great deal of time in my little kitchen. And I have an unholy amount of *stuff* in those 120 square feet. Making a small kitchen live large is a special talent and it requires well thought out organization (and incredible packing skills to fit everything in!)
I’ll be using all my design skills, some elbow grease, and possibly some divine intervention to pull off a complete transformation on a very limited budget.
My goal is a dramatic, classic, elegant kitchen that is a pleasure to be in! Welcome to my Recipe for Renewal: ORC Kitchen Refresh.
To see what the other ORC participants are up this week click HERE
Check in next week to see where we are!
For our other ORC project reveals, check out these posts:
Vintage Diva Glamour Den: ORC Bedroom Reveal
Overdue Office Overhaul: ORC Home Office Reveal
