The Design Chaser’s small kitchen update with big impact
If you’re short on time and budget but still want to give your kitchen a refresh, we have the perfect quick kitchen update for you!
We recently partnered with Michelle Halford, interior stylist and founder of The Design Chaser, who created her dream kitchen moodboards combining our latest kitchen trends range with kaboodle’s most popular neutral shades for a designer but affordable look. If you love the vibrant tones in our trends range but are unsure how to incorporate these into your design, you’ll want to discover Michelle’s colour pairings.
In the creation of these moodboards and after styling our Auckland Home Show set (click here to discover Michelle’s top styling tips), Michelle fell in love with the warm, textural and grounding effect of walnut. So much so, that she wanted to incorporate the warm woodgrain into her own kitchen.
“I love how warm and textural it is, and I’ve been slowly introducing darker wood finishes throughout our home, so this felt like a natural progression. This kitchen is part of an open plan space with our dining area and main living room. Last year we repainted the entire area, changing it from a cool white to a warm stone colour. I knew that the walnut would work beautifully, not only adding more warmth, but also creating cohesion throughout the space”, explains Michelle.
small update with big impact
Michelle’s kitchen cabinets were still in good condition so she wasn’t after a full kitchen renovation just yet. Instead, she opted to refresh her space by replacing just the doors on her wall cabinets above her oven and her kitchen island back panel for a small kitchen update with big impact.
“I’d been wanting to inject some warmth into our all-white kitchen for some time that we built over 10 years ago. While it has endured well, it was feeling tired and in need of a refresh”, says Michelle.
If you’re short on time and budget but would still like to refresh your kitchen, or you’re looking to gain some D.I.Y. confidence before committing to a full-scale reno, then this update is for you.
Michelle was able to completely transform the look at feel of her kitchen into a cosier, more inviting space.
how to achieve the same look
Because Michelle needed a custom cabinet door height and width to achieve this look, she first accurately measured her current cabinet doors and island back panel, and then ordered walnut panels to the exact size to get the perfect fit.
Installation note: Because these cabinet doors were achieved using cut to measure panels, they did not have pre-drilled hinge holes. These will need to be drilled by you or your installer to suit your existing cabinets.
Michelle found the process of cutting her hinge holes straightforward. She used her existing doors as a template by measuring the distance from the outer edges of the door to the hinges, and then measuring the same distance on the new panels so she knew where to drill the hinge holes.
“My husband tackled it, and he did a great job! He managed to repurpose the hardware from our old cabinets for our custom kaboodle ones. Installing them required a special cabinet hinge drill cutter, and he had to be careful to ensure the hinge holes were drilled accurately. As for the island back panels, they were straightforward to pit into place with just a bit of sanding required to slot them into place and they look completely seamless,” says Michelle.
Installation disclaimer: It is advised that your island back panel should be fixed to your cabinets with glue and screws.
If you only need to customise the width of your cabinets and/or doors, check out kaboodle’s customisable range. We can modify the width of selected cabinets, doors and panels and benchtops to ensure an exact fit without the cost of a fully custom kitchen.
Customisation is available across all door and panel colours in the modern profile.
If you’d like to achieve a similar look in your own home, book a consultation with a Bunnings Kitchen Design Expert. They’ll be able to help you with your design using the 3D kaboodle planner and place your order.
We hope you’re inspired to complete a small kitchen update for big impact! For more ideas and inspiration, visit our design blog or follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
