Scandinavian inspired galley kitchen renovation | greenville, sc

When we bought our house three years ago, the kitchen was the one space that I knew would need a lot of love. The cheap laminate floor with the bright blue tiles – it was just a lot. Before we moved in we redid the floors but the ultimate goal was to do a full renovation.

While I loved the blue tile, it was very unsanitary and a pain to clean. The cabinets were also 28in deep, versus a standard 24in, which made our 19ft galley kitchen feel even more narrow and cramped.

Here are some photos from the day we closed on the house in 2017!

Defining my style was something I really struggled with. We wanted to be sure to honor our house – a 1930s brick cottage – while also designing something that is timeless.

The result is what I’d call a utilitarian-Scandinavian kitchen.

I wanted something different. Something with neutrals and industrial. Natural elements with metal. We needed white cabinets because we felt like dark cabinets in a galley kitchen would be too dark. Y’all, I spent way too much time on Instagram and Pinterest trying to figure out what the heck I like.

I’d love to tell you the whole thing went seamlessly but that would be insane. The first issue we had was, well, COVID. We had originally planned to do the demo and a bulk of the renovation while we were in Europe in April. Then that trip was canceled. And because of the uncertainly surrounding COVID, we put off the renovation and decided to start July 13.

Then we found out our cabinet order never went through. Y’all – DO NOT USE CLIQ STUDIOS. While the final product was beautiful for 4 weeks our order was “just sitting in the queue” – it was never sent through. So happy $10,000+ was just chillin’. We had to pause for them to actually process the order and I was not impressed with how they handled it.

Then my husband (who was in charge of all the construction details and who did a fabulous job!) forgot to place our countertop order. Bless. So another 2 weeks we were delayed. But Merl’s Countertops in Abbeville went above and beyond! Cannot sing their praises enough!

We stuck with a basic palette of white, black, and brown. We kept our stainless steel appliances and chose butcher block counters. My husband’s company had these stunning hand-poured Turkish tiles that we picked for the floor. We added color using my cookbooks, by getting a runner, using my grandma’s old Tupperware, and (of course) plants!

All in all we were at about 6 weeks. There are still some things we are working out – like new chairs for the dinette – but overall I have loved cooking in my efficient and beautiful kitchen!

A couple of things I want to point out:
1. We got a convection oven microwave since we didn’t have room for a double oven. I also wanted it in the cabinets since I’m 5ft tall & I don’t love over the stove microwaves.
2. We decided to get a filtered water faucet for our sink and it was so worth it. The filter and faucet were $100.
3. We picked a garbage disposal button – our electrician actually suggested it and we love it!
4. I realllllly wanted an industrial look so we went with the Kungsfors shelves from Ikea.
5. I hated how “cut off” the kitchen felt with the fridge on the left so we flipped it to the right and added a pantry.
6. We decided on butcher block because…. well… I don’t like the look of granite or quartz.
7. The knife bar – where have you been my whole life??
8. I didn’t “need” the pot filler since the sink is so close but I’ve always wanted one and the cost was minimal. Plus – LOOK AT IT.
9. Our dinette table is from a soda shop in Fountain Inn from the 1940s!
10. I didn’t include enough space to store all my cookbooks, which is the biggest fail of the reno. haha.

I’ve tried to link everything below but if you have questions feel free to leave a comment! Links at bottom!

A big shout out to Renovation Greenville (specifically Sergio!) for helping us bring our dream kitchen to life!

NuLoom Marisela Tribal Runner – we have the 12ft
Countertops – Hevea – Merl’s Countertops
Shelves – Ikea Kungsfors
Drawer Pulls
Under sink water filter
Pot Filler
Garbage disposal button
Faucet
Water faucet
Backsplash – The Tile Shop – Color Market Santorini
Hood
Convection Microwave
Nespresso Essenza Mini
Ruvati – 32in Workstation Sink

Dinette light – Opalhouse – Bargain Hunt find
Pendant – Lowes (shade and pendant kit)
Bread box – Goodwill
Plates and Bowls – Ikea
Floor Tiles – private purchase from a local dealer.
Butcher block piece – Macy – one of a kind
Bullhead basket – I am so sorry, but I don’t know. My mom bought it.
Glass jars – Old Time Pottery
“Hobbit” sign – I made


Cabinets – CLIQ Studios – I did like their design service, they were wonderful. Production and customer service after we committed and paid was awful.