Decor

My modern country style kitchen makeover

Having spent many hours looking for kitchen decor ideas on Pinterest, I can finally share my country style kitchen remodel with you lovilees, what a hectic past few weeks it has been, but I am so proud of the end result.

Modern Country Style kitchen makeover

Inspiration behind my kitchen makeover

When we moved into our house just over two years ago we knew that we would like to update the kitchen somewhat. The cupboards and countertops were dated and a bit wonky. There was also clear signs of damage to some of the cupboards that could not be fixed without having to remove some of them all-together. There was also an entrance to the kitchen where the fridge stood on its own that I wanted to turn into a full on pantry.

There was no doubt that I wanted to go with a modern country feel for the kitchen that suits the overall feel of the home. I wanted to accentuate the features of the room that includes our lovilee Oregon wooden floors.

We worked with Ludolf from Inspiring Kitchens on the remodel and redesign. He did a phenomenal job and I am totally chuffed with both the design and the quality of the cabinet doors. The kitchen countertops are the Caesarstone ‘Sleek concrete’ top that were perfectly installed by Primo Marble & Granite.


Must-have items for a country style kitchen

1. Bold and contrasting colour kitchen appliances
I initially though of sticking to grey / silver appliances, but soon realised that I needed something to pop against the grey cupboards and Caesarstone countertops. I then started looking at black options. The journey started off looking for a vintage-looking black oven. I was initially interested in a SMEG but eventually decided on a vintage ELBA stove from Lategan & van Biljoens in Pretoria. Read my review on the ELBA Vintage range cooker.

Black Elba vintage range stove
White le creuset stove top kettle


LG NeoChef™ microwave oven with Smart Inverter – Convection Oven
LG NeoChef™ microwave oven with Smart Inverter – Convection Oven
LG NeoChef™ microwave oven with Smart Inverter – Convection Oven

2. Butler kitchen sink
The butler sink was a must-have item that I found at Orejen in Linden. I fell in love with the symmetry of this double butler sink and really liked the fact that it was made from resin and not the standard ceramic. The price on the kitchen sink was also the best that I could find anywhere else. They even have black and grey ones in stock!

Modern country style kitchen with butler kitchen sink

3. A striking tap
I have been in love with the black tap trend and had been pinning away some lovilee ideas on my kitchen board when I visited Decorex earlier this year. I purchased the black tap at a bargain from a company called Velvet Moon in Midrand.

Bijiou Black kitchen tap and butler sink
Bijiou Black kitchen tap and butler sink
Kitchen herbs photographed by Hello Love Photography
Kitchen herbs photographed by Hello Love Photography
Kitchen herbs photographed by Hello Love Photography

4. Pendant Lighting
I strongly dislike flourescent lights!!! Whilst I fully understand their functionality the look of the old kitchen lights give me the hibby gibbies, so I replaced them with some stunning upside down pendant lights that I purchased online from Superbalist.com.

Modern Country Style kitchen makeover
Superbalist pendant light

5. A kitchen table
The kitchen table was a find at a second hand shop a few years ago. I just updated the tables’ legs with a dark grey to match the kitchen tops and it now looks almost new! Having a table in the kitchen not only creates additional counter space, but we use it daily as a family instead of the dining room and love having friends have coffee and a chat around it.

Modern Country Style kitchen makeover

6. Country style knobs and handles
The black cupboard door knobs and drawer cup handles from Orejen. I am a huge fan of updating handles as it is the little details that brings a whole project together perfectly.

LG NeoChef™ microwave oven with Smart Inverter – Convection Oven

Kitchen makeover tiling with Saint-Gobain Weber tile adhesives

The kitchen had the exact same square tiles before but with an almost 1cm spacing behind the tiles. I decided to stick with this look as I loved the grid-like look, I just opted to reduce the spacing to 2mm for a more modern and clean look. I loved collaborating with Saint-Gobain Weber on the tiling part of the kitchen.

I used a Charcoal grey grout to accentuate the grid look on the tiles and also for practical reasons as I wanted to use the tiles behind the oven as well instead of a traditional kitchen backsplash. (It used to have a black slate tile thingy). Read the full DIY on how I made the actual backsplash here.

DIY country Kitchen backsplash
DIY Kitchen backsplash
DIY Kitchen backsplash

I would love to hear what you think of my modern country style kitchen makeover! Leave me with a comment below.

Modern Country Style kitchen makeover

A big thank you to Dominique from Hello Love Photography for the images!

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Karen Kelly is the founder and editor of lovilee.co.za. She is a creative at heart and passionate about all things DIY. Learn more about her here and connect with her on social media on the links below.

6 Comments

  1. Kim Santini

    IT IS GORGEOUS. wish this bad boy was mine. May I please ask where you bought those gorgeous salmon pink mugs? x

    • Kari

      They were from Cotton On believe it or not, about 2 years ago. I really wish I had bought some more though

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