DIY Kitchen Remodel: 70s Kitchen Remodel Before and After

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Today I am sharing the amazing 1970s kitchen transformation at my childhood home. This DIY kitchen remodel is a complete transformation from the dark, outdated kitchen of the past. In this post, I’ll guide you step by step through this 70s kitchen remodel before and after with lots of photos & tips to help you with your own!

It’s hard to believe that after all the dust, dirt, debris, and more dust and dirt this kitchen appeared before our eyes.

Holy smokes, I never thought we would see this day, but oh my, the transformation is amazing. I won’t bore you with a lot of words and details because if you are like me, all you want to see are pictures.

DIY Kitchen Remodel: Complete 1970s Kitchen Remodel

Here is it! Can you even believe how different this light and bright modern kitchen looks compared to the kitchen I grew up with? This wasn’t just an update: this was a total kitchen makeover!

From the cabinets to the floor to the kitchen island to the countertops…everything has been changed, and we truly couldn’t be happier! This white kitchen is like a dream come true. Honestly, it feels like a totally new kitchen!

The pendants are from Restoration Hardware / Harmon Collection (here is a link to similar ones if you are interested in buying a more affordable option)

70s kitchen remodel before and after

If you’re new to the site, our kitchen has gone through two transformations in the last five years. Five years ago, this is how the original kitchen looked. A 1960-70’s outdated space with dark stained cabinets.

For those of you who were adults in the 60’s and 70’s, you know this was in style and considered “the kitchen” to have. At least, that is what my parents tell me. I am not sure I believe them.

The kitchen below is the one I grew up in, and have so many memories in this space. The kitchen is the most important room in the house for a reason, right? So many memories!

The new kitchen with white cabinets above is night and day from our previous 70’s kitchen.

What went into this 70s kitchen remodel

This kitchen saw 2 updates. The first one was a cosmetic makeover and then finally, a few years later, we gutted the kitchen adding new cabinets and the works!

One of the first things we did was paint the existing cabinets painted white to freshen up the space. (As you can tell, I still love white cabinets all these years later!)

We installed new countertops and added a backsplash. Here is how the kitchen looked prior to this recent renovation.

Our old kitchen was about 220 square feet. That makes it a pretty small kitchen: it was a simple, small L-shaped kitchen. We kept the old laminate flooring, which saved a little money, and we were able to hide some of it with a large rug.

1970s Kitchen Remodel

This quick refresh was really lovely (see below – this was the first kitchen update), and I was happy with it at the time, but we always knew we wanted to give it a total remodel eventually. It took some time, but we finally gave it a complete overhaul. Now, it’s our dream kitchen!

Then we tore down this wall below, opening the kitchen up to over 500 square feet.

After wall was torn down:

After:

Kind of nice, right?

The cabinets are stunning and coordinate perfectly with the super-white quartzite countertops. They totally make this DIY kitchen remodel!

The Xback counter stools can be found on Amazon and are sold as a set. 

I love how the wooden tray from HomeGoods looks on the quartzite counters.

I love how the classic cherry color of the counter stools warm up the space.

I used a blue/green paint color called Drizzle by Sherwin Williams on the walls.

The paint is actually a little bit darker than what you see. The sun was beaming through the windows which makes it a bit lighter.

This was a complete kitchen remodel project: pretty much every single element of this kitchen had to change! Whew!

What our 1970s kitchen looked like before

Let’s take a walk down memory lane again. To help you understand exactly how much this DIY kitchen remodel changed this space, here’s a reminder of what our old kitchen looked like before.

Here is the view from the old dining room that was lined with metallic mirror! This is what the dining room looked like almost 35 years ago!

Here is a shot that shows the wall removed opening up the dining room into the kitchen. 

Here is another shot of the kitchen after we just painted the cabinets white four years ago.

Here is the same angle with the newly installed Diamond cabinets and the wall torn down.

Now, the kitchen has completely entered the modern world of design and is open to the dining room and family room. We are loving the open concept!

Isn’t it crazy what tearing down the wall did for this space?

We also installed 10 new recessed lights which made a huge difference in lighting at night.

As my dad says, the light shines off the top of his bald spot on his head. ha

The complimentary faucet is from Symmons and is called Serrano.

I love how our spray painted hood came out.

Here is one sneak peek of the inside drawers. I will be dedicating an entire post to the storage features soon. You can find my favorite pull out kitchen drawers, organization trays and more on our Amazon Storefront.

Be sure to check out the full gorgeous mudroom makeover featuring pull out drawers for hats and mittens and coat hooks behind closed doors!

I absolutely love these barn doors! It’s such a nice way to separate the spaces, and the warmth of the wood balances all of the white really nicely.

Isn’t it crazy what tearing down the wall did for this space? Open kitchen layouts like these really add a modern look and make the kitchen so much more usable and enjoyable to be in. Doesn’t the kitchen look taller, too?

We also installed ten new recessed lights, which made a huge difference in lighting at night.

As my dad says, the light shines off the top of the bald spot on his head. Ha!

When I was writing this post and editing the pictures, it was funny because my dad said, “How come the kitchen isn’t that clean now?” I would need to kick everyone out and forbid them from entering the room for that to happen again.

Update: See Kitchen Mudroom Wall

Although this DIY kitchen remodel took a lot of work and time, it’s been getting a lot of use! I’m just so thrilled with how much this changed the whole floor plan of this house. Before, it felt like such a cramped space, but now it’s light and bright.

Honestly, all this hard work is worth it when you love the look of your kitchen. I’m so glad we were able to finish this project, and hope it helps you with your own 1970s kitchen remodel!

Disclosure: Our DIY kitchen renovation series is sponsored by MasterBrand Cabinets. I did receive complimentary product; however, all opinions and words are 100% my own.