We built on and renovated our home almost ten years ago. There were definitely some trends we fell for in the process! If you were an avid Fixer Upper fan like me, you know full well that I am rocking barn doors, ship lap, subway tile, and white cabinets. Don’t get me wrong I’m still in love with the decisions we made; they’ve made our house a home. But I cannot help but dream of a few revisions in my head every time I walk by them.
updating old trends
The beauty of home projects is that oftentimes you can update an outdated trend fairly easily with just a few tweaks. For instance, we have a kitchen with subway tile and a farmhouse esthetic. We are starting to outgrow the choices we made. Rather than scrap the whole kitchen and spend thousands on a whole different esthetic we can easily make a few easy changes to update the space and give it a more modern vibe.
UPDATING A FARMHOUSE TREND
Above is our kitchen. As you can see ten years ago white subway tile, white cabinets, grey walls, and barndoors were a very popular trend. The farmhouse style has expanded over the years and there are so many variations that no longer entail just grey walls and white cabinets. Luckily, this is nothing a few coats of paint and a couple trips to the hardware store can’t fix. Subway tile is still very classic and pretty, as well as white cabinets! Here are a few options we are considering in our kitchen update, inspired my Pinterest pins.
Fixing The Things you don’t like – highlight the things you do
I would use this pin as inspiration. One thing that has bothered me over the years, is where we chose to end with subway tile. It has always felt unfinished to me. I love how this Pin has a backsplash in similar height to our subway tile. The pegged shelf gives the backsplash the perfect stopping point and makes everything feel cohesive! The bead board above the shelf gives the wall texture and makes a great statement. If you are like me and not looking for a huge amount of money and time spent, there are other inexpensive as well as simpler ways to achieve the texture on the walls without the hassle.
Like the Pins above a simple coat of paint above the shelf is just enough to make a big impact. Another fun and easy way to add texture to a wall is to plaster over it. For some reason that sounds like the less intimidating option. The brand Meoded makes very handy wall plaster kits that are also waterproof and perfect for bathroom and kitchen use.
Above is one of the many options of wall plasters Meoded has to offer. I chose this as an example as this plasters texture and color go great with the brick tones already in our kitchen. This could be a great option to add into our kitchen update. You achieve this look by troweling a thin coat of plaster on to the walls. This technique is also used in bathrooms and kitchens to trowel over outdated tile.
Lone Fox used this technique in his bathroom renovation, and I’ve been obsessed with the idea ever since. I can think of so many reasons why someone might need to plaster over their tile. Whether it’s rust stained from country water, or chipped tile that we never get around to fixing this could be a very pretty and easy solution.
Budget always plays a roll
I hope we are relatable in the fact that we pay very close attention to budget and workload. It is very easy to get carried away on Pinterest and want to gut the entire house and start over, but that is not necessary and not realistic. I want to inspire you to look at a Pin and think outside the box. If you love the look, what are some small things you can do to achieve it? How can you simplify it into a home project you are able to complete on your own and not hire help? In my case it may be using the wall plaster kit to create wall texture instead of installing beadboard. I hope you are inspired by a few examples of simplifying a project to achieve the same goal! Check back in for some kitchen updates!
