Our Easy Kitchen Refresh with Big Impact
Iโve always believed that your home should reflect how you want to feel and when it came to our kitchen, I was craving a space that felt a little more like us. I didnโt want to do a full renovation because I love our cabinets, countertops, and flooring. But I did want to bring in the modern, romantic, cottage vibe that I love so much.
The Before:
I focused on a few key changes with the help of our interior designer, Karlie of Well Styled Interiors. We focused on changes that would deliver the biggest impact: painting our island, adding new cabinet pulls, updating our lighting, and a beautiful, functional faucet swap. These simple upgrades made such a difference and completely transformed the overall look and feel of our kitchen.
Painted Kitchen Island
One of the biggest changes (and one of my favorites!) was painting our kitchen island. It was originally a cool-toned grey that never felt quite right, so we warmed it up with Natural Cream by Benjamin Moore.
Itโs the perfect soft, creamy neutral that instantly brought warmth and depth to the kitchen, tying in beautifully with the new gold hardware and pendant lighting. It feels more inviting, more lived-in, and completely aligned with that romantic, modern cottage aesthetic I was going for.
Cabinet Pull Refresh
One of the easiest (and most effective) upgrades we made: new hardware. I replaced our black cabinet pulls with these brushed gold style that Karlie helped us source. They instantly warmed up the space. The finish feels timeless but modern, and adds that romantic touch I was looking for. Karlie truly went above and beyond and pulled several options for us to choose from, making the process so much easier!
Itโs amazing how something as small as cabinet pulls can make such a big visual difference, they truly helped bring together that soft cottage charm with a clean, elevated edge.
We ended up getting these pulls from Etsy (also love these ones from Amazon) and I love them! Hardware can get pricey but I found so many amazing options on Etsy that are a fraction of the price.
Other Hardware I Love:
Pendant Light Swap
Next up: lighting! I knew I wanted pendant lights that added a sculptural element without overpowering the space. These new lights feel soft, minimal, and bring in that perfect mix of cozy and curated.
They give off a beautiful warm glow in the evenings, and the simple silhouette adds to the romantic-meets-modern look I was after. Lighting might not seem like a major change, but it can truly shift the entire mood of a room.
Function Faucet Upgrade
For the final touch, I swapped out our faucet for something that felt cleaner and more aligned with the other updates. Our new faucet from Speakman (we went with brushed brass) is sleek and modern but still blends beautifully with the soft, classic tones in the space.
Itโs super functional (we use it constantly, obviously!) but also feels like a design moment. This little change helped tie everything together and gave the kitchen a polished, refreshed look.
This easy kitchen refresh completely exceeded my expectations. Our team did such a wonderful job helping us with a few thoughtful updates that had a big impact. Our kitchen now feels like a reflection of our style: model, romantic, and warmly lived-in.
You donโt need a full renovation to create a space that feels special. Sometimes it really is the little things that make the biggest impact.
You can watch the full transformation over on my Instagram!
