Courtney’s New Kitchen – Before & After

Hey there! Yesterday, I shared a bunch of old photo consultations on my Instagram stories and it was so fun taking a trip down memory lane! (You can always find the list of them HERE, too.) Today, I thought I’d share a post about the most recent photo I’ve worked on. It’s my friend Courtney’s kitchen and she sent me a photo of the space a while back (shortly after she moved in) in hopes that I could show her what it would look like if she had her cabinets sprayed white. She had painters re-painting all the walls at the time, so she really wanted to make a decision before they left. I don’t really spend much time working in Photoshop these days because it ends up killing my wrist (carpal tunnel/palindromic rheumatism) but Courtney is a sweet Insta-friend, and I wanted to see what they’d look like lightened up too, so I couldn’t resist giving her pic a little presto change-o!

First, here’s a look at the before photo she sent me…

Isn’t that a great space? So big and bright, and I love those huge windows over the sink. And look at all those cabinets! She liked the wood, but was super curious about white, so here’s what I sent her to see if she wanted to make the switch:

I popped a few extras in there just for fun…bigger pendant lights, a runner rug, a barstool (I just pasted in one, but she has room for four there) a window shade, and a pretty pantry door. (She could also use one without a window, but I saw that kind, complete with seeded glass, on Rachel Parcell’s site and just had to give it a whirl!)

She ended up loving the look, and although she hasn’t snapped up updated photo of the whole room yet, I did get her permission to share a few photos from her Instagram feed:

Isn’t it pretty? Really makes the people who live there POP! Those pics were snapped right after they moved in, so the space has continued to evolve over the past couple of years. Keep your eyes on her Instagram stories and blog to see more photos of the space these days!

It’s been fun to see Courtney and her husband personalize their new place and I’m so glad the Photoshopped pic helped her to decide which direction they wanted to go in the kitchen. Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t work on folks’ photos professionally anymore, but I do teach people how to do it themselves over at TheLetteredCottage.co if you’d like to learn how. Kevin created a course called Room Makeover that allows viewers to learn how to manipulate photos by watching and listening to me do it step by step. It’s for beginners, so you don’t have to have any experience with Photoshop to sign up and learn. It’s a series of videos that you can watch at your own pace and refer back to whenever you want. Just throwin’ that out there because whenever I do a post like this, folks tend to ask if I’m still doing consultations. Oh! And Kevin is running a 80% Spring Flash Sale right now, so it’s only $19 right now!

Anywhoobs, off to finish painting the last two steps on our staircase. Yahoooooooo! The paint has held up great so far (most of the steps have been painted for 45 days) and I can hardly wait to start creating a family photo grouping on the right hand wall. I always love the way that looks and I feel like it’ll really make a personal mark on our home. I’m crazy about this one Missy shared on her blog Sapphire Diaries:

Such a subtle way to make a BIG statement! 😀

“See” ya on Wednesday, friends!

Layla