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Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge The Before

 

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge

The Before

 

If you follow me on Instagram then you know that today I have a huge announcement to share!

SO…with that said…what I am about to share is really EXCITING!!!

I have been selected along with 11 other Designers to participate in the

Jeffrey Court Spring 2021 Renovation Challenge

as part of Jeffrey Court’s 30th Anniversary celebration!!! 

As most of you know, Fletcher Creek Cottage is a DIY new build home that my husband and I built with our own hands from the ground up for only $70K!

Building on such a tight budget meant we had to get creative and just incorporating just the basics into our home. When we built the kitchen we actually just used leftover lumber to build our cabinets, open shelving, and brackets, as well as our DIY shiplap walls. We poured concrete countertops, sewed curtains for the cabinets, and called it good.

 

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

 

It looks okay and kind of cute…but it also looks unfinished and let me tell you, I have been dreaming about what our cottage kitchen could be ever since!

 

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

 

About Jeffrey Court Tile

Jeffrey Court has a huge selection of absolutely gorgeous tiles that are exclusively available at The Home Depot. Jeffrey Court was founded by Jim and Janice Lawson 30 years ago and was named after their children. Their family business was born out of their love for hand-painted tiles they eventually were able to bring their titles to the mainstream and are now helping DIYers and homeowners achieve a high-end, beautiful design in their homes with their stunning and affordable tile. Their tile selection is really incredible!

What Space I’ll Be Renovating

SO…as you may have guessed… I’ve chosen to renovate my kitchen and I couldn’t be more excited to get started!

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

Even though it’s not a large kitchen, it has SO MUCH potential.  I have envisioned this space having so much more character and interest than it has now for years! I’ve been dreaming of adding beams to my ceiling, tiling the entire kitchen wall with mosaic tile, adding really custom storage, building wood-framed cane cabinet doors, adding in beautiful hardware, lighting and really making this space reflect my design style!

Of course, I’ve also been dreaming of not just making it more beautiful but FUNCTIONAL…with things like a pullout trash can or maybe even space for spices closer to my oven…I mean why not, right!?!

Before Pictures of My Space

Before I share ALL my ideas and plans for this space I want to show you the BEFORE kitchen photos and what we are starting with on this renovation. Like I mentioned, we built everything in this kitchen just using leftover materials from building our home …so I am thrilled to be able to be a part of this Renovation Challenge and finally make this space everything it can be!

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

After living in our home for 3 years, I have been able to really hone in on what is missing from our kitchen and what changes we can make to make a BIG difference in the way our kitchen looks and functions.

Current Kitchen and What We’ll Be Changing

My kitchen currently has only three (really 2.5) kitchen cabinets and 6 sections of open shelving. We currently use an antique pie cabinet for our pantry and a small old side table for our microwave. It works okay, but it’s definitely not ideal. I LOVE the open shelving and the cabinets we built are in good condition, but we need to add some major storage/countertop space to my kitchen.

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

 

When we first moved in. we had built a very small kitchen island on wheels. It was too small so I replaced it with this beautiful antique work desk…and that worked great except we really wanted to be able to add seating to the island. We also realized that we have enough space to actually add a larger Island complete with bar seating.

 

Old kitchen island

 

So, I’ll be designing and building my own kitchen island. Also, the kitchen cabinets I have could use some doors. The curtains are cute, but they are not easy to keep clean. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to wash them this winter due to Hot Chocolate spills! LOL! I’ll be building doors for those cabinets that coordinate with the new island doors and finishing them with new hardware.

 

kitchen curtains

 

Next up, walls… we love the wall behind the sink that had DIY shiplap, but the wall behind the stove and open shelving are in desperate need of some help! It’s currently just drywall painted the same color of white as the open shelving and it’s super plain and honestly, it’s just drab. We don’t have a backsplash behind the stove either so it’s been really hard to keep it clean. I have been wanting to tile that entire wall ever since we moved in guys…it’s TIME! That wall is going to be a thousand times better when I get finished with it!  I’ll be tiling the full wall using Jeffrey Court tile and guys…it’s my DREAM tile so it’s going to completely make this space exactly what I had envisioned!

 

Jeffrey Court Renovation Chalenge- Week #1

 

Of course, when we built, we were on a major budget, and can/recessed lighting was our best option. It does the job, yes, but gosh it’s NOT pretty. Since I will be building a much larger island, I’m going to take the time to move a couple of can lights and swap them out for two pendant lights centered on the island.

 

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

 

Because I have to move those lights and patch the ceiling drywall, prime it and paint it…I may as well add one more thing to the renovation project…WOOD BEAMS!!! This actually is where we need to start. Before I can do anything else, I’ll need to get the ceiling done!

 

Jeffrey Court Renovation Chalenge- Week #1

How To Follow Along On This Renovation

In the weeks to come, I will be sharing every step of the renovation including the demo, vision board, what materials I’ll be using in the renovation, and all the ins and outs of this renovation leading up to the FINAL REVEAL!

To give you a little sneak peek into my design ideas…the vision board below is a glimpse into what direction I’m going with this space. I’ll be using Jeffrey Court Carrara Constellation Mosaic Tile to complete the look!

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

 

OH…and did I mention I have a timeline?! YEP, we have only six weeks to completely renovate one space in our homes and YOU will have an opportunity to VOTE daily for your favorite renovations every step of the way!!! The designer with the most votes WINS the grand prize…so please, vote, vote, VOTE!  Voting will begin on April 14th and remains open until May 16th at 11:59 pm EST.

 

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge-kitchen renovation

I will be sharing weekly updates on the kitchen here on the blog and daily updates over on my Instagram feed and stories so be sure to follow along @fletchercreekcottage on Instagram!

Week #2 I’ll be doing an Instagram takeover for Jeffrey Court too so be sure to be following @jeffreycourthd on Instagram for all the behind-the-scenes and step-by-step renovation updates from me and all the designers!

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge- Week #1

I am so ready to get started making this space everything it can be and I am thrilled to be a part of Jeffrey Court’s 30th-anniversary celebration, Spring 2021 Renovation Challenge!!! Thank you to Jeffrey Court, Sinkology, and Frog Tape for sponsoring this incredible renovation challenge!

 

I am so excited to be a part of this challenge and honored to be participating with all the following designers/DIYers!

Be sure to click HERE to meet all the designers participating this season and remember to follow all our amazing sponsors @JeffreyCourtHD , @sinkology , @frogtape over on Instagram for more design inspiration!

 

So here we go…the clock is ticking! It’s going to be a wild ride READY, SET,…let the RENOVATION begin!!!

 

 

 

 

  1. Lori says:

    This is so cool! Looking forward to following along!!!

    • Dena says:

      Thank you so much for following along! I’m beyond excited and I appreciate the support so much!

  2. […] Check out my design board and kitchen renovation plan HERE  […]

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