Kitchen Update: Our DIY Remodel Progress After 6 Months

DIY, Home Remodel, Kitchen

Published February 7, 2026

Kitchen update time: this remodel started basically the moment we got the keys, because apparently moving into a new house with five kids wasn’t chaotic enough. We jumped straight into renovating the entire first floor at once, and while TV makeover shows make it look like you can demo a kitchen on Monday and host a dinner party on Friday, real life doesn’t work like that. When you’re DIY-ing a remodel while living in the mess, progress is still happening; it just takes a little longer.

Today’s post is a realistic update on where our kitchen is right now. It’s not finished, but it’s already a completely different space, and I’m honestly proud of how far we’ve come in about six months.

Wide view of my DIY kitchen remodel in progress with dark green cabinets, a plywood island base, marble-look countertops, brass pendant lights, and the range hood and backsplash area still unfinished.

Table of Contents

Before Our Kitchen Update

Let’s start with where we were “before” our kitchen remodel.

Originally, our house was staged with a family room and kitchen; the two spaces were separated by a peninsula. It made the kitchen feel closed off, and it didn’t really work for how our family lives day to day.

Our kitchen remodel plan from the beginning was to shake up the layout.

  1. Move our dining area into the space that was previously the family room
  2. Relocate the fridge
  3. Swap the peninsula for an island
  4. Tear out a few closets to gain floor space
  5. Open up the flow so the kitchen feels connected, not cut off
Wide shot of the open concept first floor space.
Dated room before renovation with beige raised-panel cabinets, stainless refrigerator and over-the-range microwave, white beadboard peninsula with three barstools, gray walls, and tan tile flooring.

If you want to see the full before and get the best feel for the layout of the entire house, I have a full walk-through video tour in this post: New House Tour: A First Look at Our Fixer-Upper

Making a Design Plan (And Using ChatGPT for Help)

Before we even moved in, I was dreaming up design plans for this kitchen update. I used ChatGPT to create the prettiest artist-style renderings and help me map out the vibe for this kitchen. It helped me experiment with colors, cabinet style, layout ideas, shop for an oven, and more.

If you want to try this for your own home, I wrote a full post on exactly how I did it and the prompts I used: Using ChatGPT for Interior Design Help

AI kitchen design inspiration I made with ChatGPT featuring deep green cabinets, brass hardware and dome pendants, a marble-look backsplash and countertops, and a large island styled with white flowers.

Removing the Old Floors as a Family

Next up in our kitchen update was flooring. The first floor had a mismatch of laminate and tile, and I wanted one continuous floor throughout the entire space. The whole family helped pull up the old flooring and haul it out of the house.

The tile was not a “grab and go” situation, unfortunately. We ended up breaking out the jackhammer just to scrape it up. And then we got a fun surprise underneath.

One of my kids helps with demo by pulling up pieces of the old tile flooring and adhesive while we load debris into a wheelbarrow.
Using a demolition hammer to break up old tile and thinset, leaving a dusty strip of exposed old linoleum.

Under the tile was linoleum.
Under the linoleum was 1/4-inch plywood.
And that plywood was attached with approximately one million staples.

There is a point in every DIY remodel where you get personally offended by whoever owned the house before you. Hammering in all those staples for what felt like 37 years was that moment for us.

Rolling up the old sheet vinyl flooring during kitchen demo, showing the transition from patterned vinyl to bare subfloor as the flooring gets removed.

Cutting Off the Peninsula and Creating an Island

Once the old flooring was out, we started rearranging the layout. The first big change in our kitchen update was cutting off the peninsula and swinging those cabinets to the center to visualize an island.

I’m just going to say it. A peninsula cuts off a kitchen. An island gives you flow. The traffic pattern is better, the space feels open, and you don’t end up trapped in a corner while everyone walks through the same two-foot opening. This one change alone made the kitchen feel bigger.

Wearing safety glasses and ear protection, we use a circular saw to cut through the old kitchen peninsula countertop during the demo before our kitchen renovation.
After cutting off the kitchen peninsula and removing the old flooring, the room is down to bare subfloor with the former peninsula cabinets moved to the center as a temporary island during demo.

Tearing Out the Pantry and Closet for More Floor Space

To make room for the island, we needed to gain some floor space in this kitchen update. On one wall, we had three doors.

  1. A small closet
  2. A pantry
  3. The stairs down to the basement

The basement stairs weren’t going anywhere, but the closet and pantry absolutely could be taken out. Once those two were gone, it was shocking how much more space we gained. It opened up the kitchen and gave us room to build something way more functional than what was there before.

Kitchen before renovation showing the side closet and pantry next to the old peninsula cabinets turned temporary island, with flooring removed down to the subfloor.
Same kitchen view after demo with the closet and pantry removed, drywall and ceiling opened up with exposed wiring, and the space opened up around the temporary island during renovation.

Closing Off an Opening for a Wall of Cabinets

Between the old pantry and closet was an opening into the formal dining area. That formal dining space is becoming our library/homeschool room, and we decided to move our dining table to the space right next to the kitchen, which used to be the family room.

To make the kitchen update layout work and allow for a full wall of cabinets where the pantry and closet used to be, I framed in that opening and closed it up with drywall.

Framing in the old opening between the kitchen and dining room with studs and a drill, closing it off to prep for a new cabinet wall.
Attaching drywall to close off the kitchen doorway to the dining room so we can build a full wall of cabinets in its place.

Installing the New Flooring

Once we were done ripping out walls and reworking the layout, we moved on to installing the new flooring. It’s click-together flooring, and it was honestly super beginner-friendly. Having a good tool for cutting pieces made the process so much faster and cleaner.

We are using the Stoneform flooring from Hewn. It’s waterproof, it looks like wood, and it’s way more durable for real family life. We’re already obsessed with it.

Installing wide plank flooring in the kitchen over the plywood subfloor, with our family helping line up and tap the planks into place during the renovation.

Installing Cabinets in a Kitchen Update

Now for the fun part of the kitchen update. Cabinets.

In our last fixer-upper, we used stock, unfinished cabinets from a big-box store and upgraded them ourselves with paint, trim, new doors, and hardware.

On our current kitchen update, we opted to buy cabinets from a local cabinet maker, and I’m so glad we did. To make delivery easier and save a little money, we decided to assemble them ourselves.

Bad choice.
It took FOREVER.

We absolutely should have paid the few dollars per cabinet and had them dropped off fully assembled. But we survived, and now we can say we built the cabinets too, I guess.

Assembling a new kitchen cabinet with a power drill while wearing a baby in a carrier, building the cabinet boxes during our DIY kitchen renovation.

The Pantry Wall and Appliance Storage

The first section of cabinets in our kitchen update went on the wall that will act as our pantry and hold all of my small appliances, like my Bosch mixer, Instant Pot, toaster, and microwave. All the things that usually live on counters and make a kitchen feel cluttered.

Building the Kitchen Island

Next we moved on to the island.

The perimeter cabinets are green, but the island is going to be stained a dark wood tone. And I’m not doing an eating bar at the island, because our table is literally a few feet away and I’d rather have storage.

So we’re doing:

  • Deep cabinets with drawers on the front
  • Narrow cabinets with bonus storage on the back

If you want the full tutorial on how I built our island during this kitchen update, you can read it here: DIY Kitchen Island: Easy Beginner Build

Laying out and assembling cabinet boxes to create a custom kitchen island during our DIY kitchen renovation, with the old kitchen still in the background.

Moving the Fridge as Part of a Kitchen Update

The last big layout change in this kitchen update was moving the fridge. Originally, the fridge was over by the garage door. We’re moving it to the other end of the kitchen where the peninsula used to be.

I built a small wall the same depth as the fridge, and we had to reroute the floor vent and move light switches, but it’s worth it. This change makes the whole kitchen feel more intentional and less like everything is shoved into random corners.

And the best part.

We scored an amazing counter-depth Sub-Zero fridge on Facebook Marketplace for a fraction of what it would have cost new. Once the panels are painted to match the green cabinets, it’s going to look so built-in and so fancy.

New panel-ready refrigerator set in place during our DIY kitchen remodel, with wood cabinet panels and framing prepped for surrounding cabinets.
Installing drywall on the new fridge surround wall so our panel-ready counter-depth refrigerator looks built-in.

DIY Countertops (Our Go-To Process)

After cabinets came countertops, and if you’ve been around here for a while, you already know this kitchen update is not our first rodeo with DIY counters. We’ve done this in our last three houses and love them!

At this point, I have the process down. We built a plywood base, next, I did a faux marble contact paper, and then we poured epoxy over the top.

They look amazing. They’re durable. And the cost is almost laughable compared to real stone. The entire kitchen cost less than $600 for everything. That still blows my mind.

If you want the full tutorial, I’m linking it here: DIY Countertops That Look Like Marble Without the Cost

DIY plywood countertops installed and cut for the sink opening, ready for faux marble contact paper and an epoxy topcoat.
Pouring and mixing epoxy in a measuring cup on faux marble contact paper countertops, preparing for a clear epoxy seal coat.

Kitchen Update Priorities: Function First

One of my biggest goals with this kitchen remodel is making this a functional space before I worry about making anything look pretty.

So no, I don’t have a backsplash yet. But yes, everything in this kitchen already has a home. From my glass containers, our cutting boards, my pots and pans, spices, and even the trash cans. I’ve already started building custom organization pieces and inserts so the kitchen works for our family right now, even while it’s still a work in progress.

You can see all of those kitchen organization customizations here: 7 Kitchen Organization Ideas for Cabinets and Drawers

Woman smiling and pulling out a custom drawer organizer filled with neatly stacked glass food storage Tupperware containers and lids in a green kitchen cabinet.
Woman pulling out a custom slide-out drawer filled with neatly organized pots, pans, and lids in vertical slots, showing the finished DIY pots and pans storage organizer inside a lower kitchen cabinet.
Front view of a DIY double trash can pull out installed in a kitchen cabinet, featuring two lined gray trash bins on a smooth plywood drawer box with side-mounted full-extension slides.

Building a DIY Range Hood Cover

My most recent big project is the range hood.

In our last house, I built a giant stone range hood that became a focal point for the entire kitchen. This time, I went with wood to match the classic trimwork we’re adding throughout the first floor.

I’ll probably paint it to match the cabinets eventually, but for now, it’s built, it’s installed, and it’s doing its job. We also used the same hood insert we loved in our last house, and yes, we bought it again for this one because it was that good.

Here’s the full tutorial on how I built this range hood: How to Build a Wood Range Hood Cover (Step-By-Step)

Attaching 1/4-inch plywood to wrap the DIY range hood cover frame over a stove, using a nail gun while the vent duct and hood insert are in place.
Wide view of an in-progress DIY wood range hood cover framed above a gas stove, featuring an arched bottom trim, plywood center panel, MDF side panels, and white crown molding between dark green kitchen cabinets.

Living Through a Remodel (And Still Hosting!)

Even though this kitchen isn’t finished, we’re still living and thriving here. We even hosted a few times at Christmas, and none of our guests cared that we’re still a work in progress.

Living in the space definitely makes the remodel take longer, but it’s also the only realistic pace for us. We’re making progress, we’re making it livable as we go, and honestly, that’s a win.

Family baking Christmas cookies around a DIY kitchen island with faux marble countertops, green cabinets, and brass pendant lights, with kids wearing Santa hats and cutout cookies on a baking sheet.

What’s Left in Our Kitchen Remodel

I’m already so happy with how the kitchen is looking. The green cabinets and “marble counters” look just how I pictured, and the brass lights over the island look amazing with the brass faucet, the cabinet knobs, and the cabinet pulls.

Here’s what’s coming next:

  • Paint the fridge panels to match the green cabinets
  • Take the cabinets to the ceiling
  • Add a backsplash
  • Add a pot filler
  • Finish the kitchen island details
  • And a bunch of other little things that will make it feel complete

If you want to follow along with the entire first-floor remodel, come hang out with me on Instagram.

Current kitchen remodel view with dark green lower cabinets, faux marble-look counters, wood-look flooring, and the fridge panel area in progress near the island and range.
Current DIY kitchen remodel progress showing dark green cabinets, faux marble-look countertops, brass pendant lights, and an unfinished plywood island base.

📌 Save This Kitchen Update for Later

If you’re dreaming up your own kitchen update and want to follow a realistic DIY timeline (you know, the kind where kids still need dinner every night), pin this post so you can come back when you’re ready to start.

Kitchen Update FAQ

How long does a DIY kitchen update take?

It depends on how big the changes are, how much you’re doing yourself, and whether you’re living in the house during the work. For us, we’re about six months in and still moving forward in phases.

What should you do first in a kitchen update?

Start with a plan. Even a simple layout sketch and a design direction will save you from decision fatigue mid-demo. Once you know the direction, demo and layout changes usually come first, then floors, then cabinets and countertops.

Is a kitchen island better than a peninsula?

For traffic flow, yes, an island usually wins. A peninsula can make a kitchen feel closed off, while an island keeps walkways open and makes the space feel more connected.

Can you DIY kitchen countertops and still have them look high-end?

Yes. We’ve DIYed countertops in multiple homes and have a process we love. With a solid base and the right finish, you can get a durable, beautiful look without spending thousands. Tutorial posted here: DIY Countertops That Look Like Marble Without the Cost

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