Pink And Blue Small Galley Kitchen Remodel

If you’re wondering if pink and blue go together in a kitchen, the answer is definitely yes! In this fun small galley kitchen remodel, we went with a mix of cheery colors that make for a happy space. Whether you’re dreaming of your very own pink and blue kitchen, or just want to get some ideas for your next project, you can find some inspiration from our before and after pictures.

If you’re ever done a kitchen remodel, you know that they’re one of the most disruptive renovations you can take on.

They usually take months to complete.

And you have to live without the use of at least some of your standard kitchen amenities for part of the time.

Not to mention that the stuff that used to be in the kitchen is spread out all over the place.

So you’re living in a mess and can’t find anything.

And you may be asking yourself why I would decide to take on such a project at this stage in my life. Well, let me tell you.

Why do a kitchen renovation?

My small galley kitchen was close to 30 years old and the main structural elements hadn’t been updated since I moved into the house.

The wallpaper had been changed, the cabinets had been painted and I put down new floor tiles not that long ago.

But the rest of the kitchen needed some help:

• The cabinet doors were showing signs of wear, as was the countertop.
• I had grown tired of the grooved door design (it’s hard to keep clean!).
• The backsplash was dated.
• I needed better organization in my cabinets.
• There wasn’t enough storage space in general (it’s a very small galley kitchen).
• The backdoor to my house (which you use to get to the garage and the garden) is in the kitchen which means coats and outdoor shoes tend to accumulate there. So I needed a better way to store them.
• And of course, I wanted to update the color to satisfy my need for something different.

With everything that needed to be updated, I figured I may as well go all out and get what I wanted, rather than just patching what was there.

The color scheme

I still loved the wallpaper.

It is cheerful and in good shape. (It’s pattern #441-5618 from the HGTV home Color Pizzazz collection by Sherwin Williams – which unfortunately is no longer being manufactured).

I also still liked the brightly-colored pink stripes on the ceiling that go with the wallpaper. (Not to mention this ceiling is difficult to paint so I really didn’t want to do it over again.)

And the dark teal floor tiles (which also go) aren’t that old.

So I decided to use the wallpaper as the inspiration for my color scheme – mainly pink and blue with some yellow in the background.

And keep the floor and ceiling as they were.

That made all of the other color decisions a lot easier.

I took a swatch of the wallpaper everywhere I went and could immediately tell if something was going to fit in.

The Layout

The first thing we did was make a list the changes necessary for better functionality and appearance. (That’s the list above).

Then, we designed the new layout.

To keep the costs down, we kept most of the cabinets in the same location.

But I wanted to remove the appliance garage. It takes up a lot of counter space and isn’t that easy to use.

At the end of the kitchen, I decided to replace the countertop / sitting area across from the door with some tall pantry cabinets. These would provide a lot of extra storage as well as an area to hang coats and my vacuum cleaner.

And since there was about a foot of space left on the end of the pantry (beside the door that leads to the rest of the house), I chose to add glass front cabinets that face the walkway. These would act like a built-in curio cabinet, where I can put my china dishes and crystal glasses.

On the other side of the walkway is an alcove beside the stairs where I had a little chest that stored odds and ends. It was too small to hold much and had a lot of unused space around it.

So I decided to replace it with a base cabinet and countertop that would fill the area. And provide a great out-of-the-way place to store shoes.

cabinets

With the layout design out of the way, it was time to start picking the finishes.

First up were the cabinets.

The cabinet doors

Since the existing cabinets themselves were still in good shape, I decided to save some money and only replace the doors for the part of the kitchen that wasn’t changing.

I ordered these online at kitchendoordepot.com. They have a choice of door design and finishes, and make the doors to your specifications.

I picked the plain pillow top door design (no more grooved doors to clean!) and saved more than half off the price by agreeing to paint them myself.

To make sure the doors were the right size, I used the measurements of the old doors. I also taped the sizes of each door inside the corresponding cupboard, which made installing them much easier since we knew exactly where each one should go.

Paint

I decided to go with a lighter pink on the upper cabinets (Sherwin Williams ‘Irresistible’ SW6562).

And a dark teal (Sherwin Williams ‘Sea Serpent’ SW7615) on the lower cabinets.

To make sure the paint would stick, I painted everything with an alkyd emulsion primer.

Then to get a hard, smooth finish for the top coat, I used Benjamin Moore Advance paint (tinted to match the Sherwin Williams colors) in semi-gloss.

It goes on really smoothly and levels itself so you don’t see any brush or roller marks. However, it is a little thinner than most latex paint, so you may have to do 3 coats (I did).

New hardware

The finishing touch for the cabinets is new hardware. It’s like the jewelry that completes an outfit.

I was lucky and got a deal on lovely pearl silver handles. The clearance price was reduced from $15 to only 90 cents each!

New cabinets

For the part of the kitchen that was being replaced, I went with off-the-rack cabinets.

They are less expensive than custom cabinets and usually have less lead time for delivery.

And finishing them with the same paint colors, doors and handles as the other cabinets made them all blend in.

Two tall IKEA pantry cabinets created the large storage area beside the refrigerator.

The first pantry has 5 drawers that hold tea towels, wraps, etc. as well as shelves for other supplies.

The second one became the utility closet for the vacuum, step stool and cleaning supplies, as well as providing hanging space for a few coats.

Three upper cabinets (from Home Depot) were stacked on top of each other to create the dish cabinet by the walkway.

Because I like the look of glass-front cabinets (I think they open the kitchen up), I had reeded glass (a splurge) installed in the door frames by a glass company.

I was afraid the big bank of cabinets would make the kitchen look smaller. But it really doesn’t. And I love all the extra storage space.

Finally, one base cabinet was installed in the alcove.

Sundry small items, like keys, the garage door opener, remotes, tape, a flashlight, portable screwdriver, etc. are stored in the drawer.

The bottom doors open to reveal a metal pull-out shoe rack, which holds gardening and outdoor footwear.

There is lots of room beside the rack to store my purse.

countertop

My original countertop was laminate and was showing some wear. So I knew it needed to be replaced.

I have always wanted a stone countertop and decided it was now or never.

This would be the major splurge for my kitchen. (I think every room should have one splurge item which helps to elevate the look of the whole space).

I found a wonderful quartzite called ‘Tiffany’ (at Olympia Tile International in Toronto) that has teal, black and white veining tinged with pink.

It goes perfectly with the cabinets and the wallpaper. (And it was definitely an extravagance!)

backsplash

For the back splash tiles, I went to several places and finally settled on a random glass mosaic, called ‘Crystallo Taupe’.

Its teal, white and gray glass carry the colors of the countertop up onto the wall.

And I found it in the clearance section at Olympia tile (the same place where I got the countertop). A very happy discovery because I saved oodles!

The combination of the cabinets, hardware, countertop and backsplash definitely gives the kitchen an updated look compared to before.

Organizers

Since my kitchen is so small, I need to make the most of all the space I have.

So I bought and installed organizers for the inside of the cupboards.

There are pull out shelves for cans and spices, racks on the doors for cleaning supplies, and 2 wonderful kidney-shaped organizers that rotate, in one of the corner base cabinets.

I also made and installed a DIY under cabinet utility storage carousel.

Then grouped like things in clear plastic containers and labelled them.

Many of the organizers were a little expensive, but they make the kitchen so much more functional. They were definitely worth it!

Which means I can put away all of the stuff that used to clutter up the countertop, and easily find what I’m looking for.

So my countertop looks like this.

Instead of like this.

Stay tuned for a post on all the kitchen cabinet organizers I used (there’s 26 of them!)

New appliances

Prior to starting this remodel, I had already replaced the dishwasher and stovetop.

And the refrigerator is still working just fine.

So as part of the renovation, I just had to put in a new oven and over-the-stove microwave.

As you can see the new oven is definitely a big improvement!

The one thing I didn’t realize was that the new microwave is much wider than my old one and sticks out past the edge of the cabinets.

This prevents the corner cabinet door beside it from opening properly (small galley kitchen problems).

So my carpenter turned that it into a bifold door which makes it much more functional.

(Although I still don’t like the way the microwave sticks out, so that may be something I change at some point in the future).

Plumbing fixtures

Because of the size of my kitchen, the cabinet that my sink fits in is smaller usual.

Which means I have no space for a double sink.

So I compensated by getting an undermount sink that is much deeper than I used to have. Along with a tall faucet and a soap dispenser.

This makes cleaning up pots and larger items much easier and eliminates the soap dispenser that was always on the counter around my old sink.

lighting

I wanted the kitchen to be bright with the option of ambiance.

To achieve this:

• I got strip lights for under the cabinets and over the sink.
• Rope lights were installed on top of the cupboards for a soft night glow.
• A beautiful, crystal fixture with a retractable fan was ordered as the main ceiling light (in the picture above)
• A second and much cheaper glitzy, glam pendant was put up at the end of the galley where it has always been dim at night (in the picture below)

All of these light fixtures plus my skylight (which was there previously) make sure there is a lot of light in this space.

Curtains

Last year, I purchased a natural colored cotton/linen blend fabric to make window and door treatments.

It is a little heavy for my liking.

So, sometime in the future, I will be on the lookout for a more translucent, lighter weight fabric for these windows.

The finishing touches

With all of the main kitchen elements out of the way, all that’s left at this point are the finishing touches.

I chose two matching runners with a pretty floral pattern for the kitchen floor. One for inside the patio door and a longer one to line the galley floor area.

It’s amazing how an area rug makes the room feel so much cozier.

Then I placed a small silver table beside a painted wooden chair near the door, which is convenient for putting on shoes.

And I don’t think any room is complete without some art, like the miniature painting, stained glass picture and female head sculpture (by the Polish artist Rynkiewicz) I hung on this wall.

The side of the built-in dish cabinet is the perfect place to put up a decorative clock.

When I have time, I like to put out a bouquet of pink hydrangeas and/or a bowl of yellow pears to compliment the wallpaper and paint.

The side project

Like many renovation projects, this kitchen remodel didn’t just stay in the kitchen. I also decided to makeover the stairwell that goes down to the basement.

It was pretty dark and the carpet on the stairs needed to be replaced.

To brighten it up, I painted yellow and fuchsia vertical stripes on the wainscoting.

The stripes are bright and cheerful and coordinate with the wallpaper and the ceiling.

When the stripes were dry, I painted the woodwork the same color fuchsia.

Then I had new carpet installed on the stairs.

The light pink patterned runner, called Moroccan Blythe pink, fit the steps wall to wall and made the whole stairwell light and airy looking.

The finished blue and pink kitchen

I am super happy with how my kitchen turned out.

It looks fresh and more modern while still feeling warm and cheerful.

With the extra cabinets and organizers, I now have space to store everything I need.

And I love how much easier the cabinets are to clean now that the doors don’t have grooves.

Well that’s it for my blue and pink small galley kitchen makeover. I hope you got some inspiration you can apply to your own home.

Have comments or questions about our pink and blue small galley kitchen remodel? Tell us in the section below.

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