Carrie Waller Creative: DIY Kitchen Reveal {Part 2}

And we’re back for the final installment of my first foray into home styling at the Cook house. If you missed the first part of this story, click through to yesterday’s post explaining how we got to our final product. By way of a refresher though, we went from this…

…to that. As you now know, we began by choosing a fresh new shade of yellow for the walls, as well as new white chalk paint for the cabinets. Aside from these bigger details, the removal of a couple of cumbersome cabinets to make room for open shelving was the biggest game changer in this project. Next we added a couple of simple DIY updates, like a new valance for the window and new spice storage by the oven. And finally, we spent an entire afternoon styling the space to suit the needs of this on-the-go family of three.

Although it ended up being a big source of pattern and interest in the space, the window valance was one of the simplest projects to execute. All I needed was some hem tape and a handful of clip-on curtain rings to tackle the to-list item. In order to give it a little bit of personality, I created pleats in the fabric by clipping the fabric from the back every few inches. Looping the last ring on the outside of the cafe rod kept the curtain stretched out to its full length – no bunching here!

On the opposite side of the room, you’ll see that we spent a good bit of time organizing Liz’s collection of everyday ingredients, mixes and beans. Although each is housed in a different size jar, the unified glass and silver finishes help tie the collection together.

You may remember that Liz’s microwave was inoperable. Well we took care of the issue by removing it and installing a new streamlined hood over the cooktop instead. This provided the necessary lighting and ventilation that Pure Airways recommends, and also gave some breathing room above the appliance that they do use everyday.

Did the spice jar storage catch your eye? It’s one of our favorite projects from the room overhaul. Check back tomorrow for the full DIY tutorial! The addition of hooks and clear rubber pads on the wall just to the left of the stove top for Tommy’s cast iron collection was another big hit with the family. And I loved it because it made sense of the black appliances and accessories on the opposite side of the room…Everyone is happy.

All in all, this project was a joy to work on. I learned a lot throughout the process (I can’t wait to add open shelving to our own home now) and I hope I speak correctly when I say that Liz learned a thing or two about DIY as well. Click through to her blog for her own super sweet perspective on the project. Thanks again to Liz and her family for letting me raid the house every other week and thanks to Liz for the fabulous pro shots of the completed room. Here are a couple of fun “Before and After” photos to leave you in little doubt of the transformation…

It never ceases to amaze me how far a little hard work, a little money and a little creativity go. Carrie Waller Creative is off to a great start! Thanks SO much for following along.