So it took me forever to get the studio projects going but now I’m on a roll and super excited to share the kitchen makeover with you. My studio space has a ton of character but you definitely had to have a bit of an eye and imagination to see it all when I looked at it. Luckily I have both which I think also helped in securing the place because once they fixed it up a little and gave it a fresh coat of paint it would’ve been scooped up in a second, I’m sure. 

This makeover has two before stages. Here’s what the ‘kitchen’ looked like before the ink was even dry on the lease. This is the BEFORE before photo. This is what it looked like when I went to see the place. Describing it as a hot mess is being kind.

And here’s what it looked like after they installed a new kitchenette, touched up the floors and gave the whole place a fresh coat of white paint. Already 1000x better but still pretty blah. It didn’t even have handles!

After a little elbow grease, questionable electric skills and some styling touches it’s now a bold and bright space that’s perfect to keep me fuelled up, host my guests and potentially make some great recipe videos.

It’s still not totally done – I have future plans to get a stove back in there and add a small island up front but it’s perfect for now thanks to my friends at Wayfair and Home Depot!

Just when I think I’m done with DIY projects something will come along and I find myself at Home Depot…..a lot. For this project the plan was to add a tile backsplash and some floating shelves for a more finished look and some extra storage.

I went to go check out my tile options and there were so many great choices. You may recognize the one from my recent studio bathroom makeover and they look great! I really loved all these options for the backsplash but I kinda fell in love wit the simple but unique geometric pattern on the bottom right. Part of the deal breaker was learning from my past kitchen tiling experience I knew that those nice straight edges were going to make my life significantly easier. See, you really do learn from your experience. I think they call it getting wiser.

So I loaded up my cart with all my tiling necessities I could find including adhesive, pre-mixed grout, snippers and don’t forget the trim so your edges look nice and neat. Like it or not, I’m sorta becoming a pro at this tiling thing. Because I didn’t have to deal with cupboards or fancy design plans this was pretty much as easy they come. My friend told me to check out tiling bristol who would do the tiling for me but somehow I managed to do it myself without it looking awful! I’m pretty proud of myself!

Before I knew it, I had a backsplash!

Life would be too perfect if the tiles fit exactly the length of the space but a pair of these inexpensive tile hand cutters do the trick for simple porcelain tiles like these.

If you get all fancy and decide to go with marble then that’s a whole other ball game and you’ll need a wet saw and some patience.

A little ‘wash on, wash off’ with the pre-mixed grout and you’re done!

So after the tiling was done it was time to start the real fun part, the decorating and styling! I had a crazy hard time choosing colours for this. I knew I wanted to do colour blocking but I just couldn’t decide, I was all over the place….really.

I kept going to Home Depot to buy paint but then change my mind and come back with more paint chips instead. Funny enough (and by ‘funny’ I mean mostly annoying) I didn’t even go with any of these colours. I wanted something really fresh and settled on this great colour combo. The blue is Snowmelt and the green on the ceiling is Water Park, both from Behr.

I’m so happy with the colour combo. It really makes everything against it pop including this new industrial style pendant from Wayfair. Here’s a quick before and after of the light….and yes I changed it myself and lived to survive it. However, I don’t recommend doing it yourself if you really have no clue what you’re doing. Just sayin’. Don’t sue me.

Next up was to hang a few hanging shelves then pull the look together with some great accessories from Wayfair. My plan was to play up the bright pops of colour with copper accents and of course I had to throw in a vintage piece or two.

Overall it’s bright and modern with a few unique touches that fit perfectly with my style and the rest of the space. I know it’s not a professional kitchen but it’s so nice to have such a welcoming focal point when you walk into the studio rather than just a sad looking coffee cart in the corner. Also, my apologies for showing off the toilet bowl when talking about the kitchen but look how freak’n cute that bathroom is?!

For those that are curious, the salt shaker photo was a past photo experiment of mine that was printed on acrylic, similar to this. I didn’t really have a space for it at home but it’s totally perfect here. A few vintage & thrifted pieces aside, if you’re loving this look you can visit Wayfair.ca (or Wayfair.com for US readers) to make it happen.

SHOP THIS LOOK WITH WAYFAIR: 1. White Industrial Pendant Light / 2. Kent Youngstrom Tray by DENY Designs / 3. Copper French Press by Bodum / 4. Copper Accent Stemless Wine Glass / 5. Copper Salt & Pepper Holder / 6. White Canisters (similar) / 7. Copper Pineapple Jug / 8. Black Metal Flatware Set / 9. Tea Towel by Ferm Living / 10. Acrylic Nesting Mug

Stay tuned for the full studio reveal!