Upgrade your home or beach house kitchen for a fraction of the cost

One of the most expensive upgrades your home will ever get is a kitchen remodel. Most of us don’t have that kind of money laying around, so we let our kitchens live well past their time. I’d like to share my budget friendly kitchen remodel and hopefully, inspire you to get that new kitchen!

The pandemic set many of us back financially.  We tightened our spending.

My husband was laid off from his job, so he decided to take an early retirement. Needless to say, hiring a contractor, whipping out a credit card, and purchasing all new appliances for the kitchen was out of the question. 

My job requires travel, so being grounded, due to COVID, gave me some time to do something new with the kitchen. By doing the work myself,  using my own simple beach design ideas and spending very little money I finally transformed my kitchen into a beach house dream.

I started with the kitchen island. My countertops were a butcher block pattern laminate. I purchased the SpreadStone Countertop Refinish Kit by Daich for around $139 from Lowes.  I did a little research first to see which would be the best for painting/refinishing countertops that were not a “stone” material.

I also purchased an electric orbital sander since I knew hand sanding would be very time consuming.  I believe I paid under $45 for it at Lowes.

The steps were easier than I thought they would be.  The refinishing kit came with everything I needed to do the job.  I started by lightly sanding the laminate to scuff it up. Then I applied two coats of a primer paint from the kit using provided rollers.

Next, I rolled a material that contained stone chips that glistened like sand!  I rolled it, spreading it to get the look I wanted.  I was going for a white beachy sand look.  Once dried, I was able to sand with the orbital sander until I reached the smooth surface I wanted.  I wanted to have the feel of stone.  Just a little bit for a natural feel and look. I then finished with a few coats of a clear protective glaze. I worked quickly to prevent any bubbling.  

Then I decided to take the leap and paint the island a blue to compliment my old white appliances. It gave me a beach house feel!

I coated the cabinets with Kilz first to avoid sanding. I hate to sand and did not want the mess since my kitchen is open concept to the living area.

Here are a few more photos of the finished island.

I eventually decided to decorate the front of the island with peel and stick wallpaper. 

I liked the look, so I moved on to the rest of the kitchen counters and cabinets

To finish the look of the cabinets, I ordered cabinet handles and drawer pulls from Amazon.

I love the new look!  I had already painted several walls, including the kitchen a light gray and what a difference it made brightening up the home. 

I added new curtain valances, a few gray and stainless kitchen items and of course a colorful rug to add that beach themed pop!  

I love my new beach house kitchen remodel! Even though we live a short distance from our favorite family vacation spot – Surfside Beach, Texas – I get to enjoy the seaside vibe every day.