When we originally built our farmhouse from the ground up, because that was already such a massive task, a lot of the fixtures that we put in at first were temporary. Slowly but surely, we have been going in to spice things up! We started with the backsplash, moved on to the floating shelf, and most recently we updated the range hood. The best part about our farmhouse kitchen is that we did it all ourselves. Come check out our DIY kitchen makeover!

Step #1 Stone Backsplash

This DIY kitchen makeover project was definitely the most extensive in all aspects, but also the most rewarding. We were looking for a modern-meets-old-world look in our DIY kitchen and we knew a natural stone backsplash would do the trick. We chose a product called Mill Creek Siena from Buechel Stone, which fit our design perfectly.

After installing a vapor barrier, stapling 10mil black plastic to the wall, and installing the metal lath, we were ready for the ‘scratch’ coat. We used basic mortar and a scratch coat scarifier to work the mortar into the lath completely and finish the scratch coat. We let the mortar dry and went to work on the stone.

We started laying the stones and used a diamond blade to cut a natural edge. We wanted it to look as natural as possible, so it was fine if the edges weren’t perfect. We laid down the wall and filled in any large holes with small stones and mortar. Once it was dry, we applied a sealant and our DIY kitchen is now fully equipped with the natural stone backsplash of our dreams!

Step #2 Floating Shelf

We love the idea of floating shelves in the kitchen, and this DIY kitchen makeover would not be well-rounded if we didn’t include kitchen storage. We love the idea of having open kitchen shelves as opposed to cabinets for several reasons. First, it’s a great way to display all of our beautiful cookware! It’s also useful for guests, so they don’t have to open every cabinet to find a glass for water. A long, wide, floating shelf is what I had in mind for our farmhouse kitchen design, and the temporary one that we had put there needed to be replaced.

For our DIY kitchen shelves, we chose white oak and used a table saw to cut the boards to size. We wanted the shelves to span the length of the wall, breaking for the range hood, and continuing on the other side. We then sanded all of the boards and stained them to the color that we wanted. We love spending time as a family doing DIY kitchen makeover projects!

One thing about DIY kitchen shelves, is you want to be sure that they are constructed properly to ensure safety both during and after installation. To ensure that the shelves were securely fastened to the wall, we used heavy-duty floating shelf brackets. These brackets are rated to hold much more weight than we plan to put on these shelves, just to be safe. One more DIY kitchen makeover project completed! Now on to the next…

Step #3 DIY Range Hood

The existing hood was a DIY project we did years ago to create a rich looking accent in our kitchen at a low cost. It consisted of framing a hood around an inexpensive Home Depot Range exhaust fan that created a shape and look we loved. As the look of the kitchen has changed over the years, we wanted a more old-world, timeless look to go with it.

To start, we removed the antique brass accents from the hood. We then covered the existing structure with cement backer board. Once it was covered, we used feather float ardex to float the whole thing into one cohesive piece using cement board mesh tape to tape the corners and seams, so no cracking would appear. After this dried, we painted on a lime plaster primer that contains sand and grit to create a better surface for the lime plaster to adhere to. After that dried, we put the first coat of lime plaster on. We purchased a premixed color hoping for a parchment or off-white look.

The first coat did the bulk of the work, creating the shape and look we wanted. The next coat allowed us to shape the texture and get better coverage on the corners. The lime plaster cures slowly and gets harder over several days. We are still undecided about sealing the hood, as we feel the aging look from stove greases etc. may add an element that we love. We decided against sealing the stone on our backsplash for the same reason. We absolutely love the way it turned out and love the look we were able to create for the cost involved.

What DIY kitchen makeover project would you like to see next? We may have some ideas in mind already, stay tuned!

Hugs,

Christina & Trevor