Modernizing Our Farmhouse Kitchen – Week 4 of the One Room Challenge

I can’t believe it’s already week four of the One Room Challenge! This week marks the midpoint of the challenge and I’m sharing the progress made in the last week. In this post, I share how I’m modernizing our farmhouse kitchen and the incremental steps I’m taking to move towards more modern décor in our home. I still love the farmhouse style, but I’m taking things in a fresh, modern direction. We don’t get to experience everything in life, but we can certainly experience different décor styles and looks in our own home. I’ve never stressed about paint colours or hair cuts because they are completely changeable.

In case you missed my first three posts of the One Room Challenge (ORC), you can find my posts here:

A Modern Kitchen Update – Week One of the One Room Challenge

My New Favourite White Paint – Week Two of the One Room Challenge

Step-By-Step Lined Roman Shades – Week Three of the One Room Challenge

Here is the before photo of the old light fixture. It was a $12 IKEA fixture purchased when we first moved into our home and needed something inexpensive and functional.

And here is my design board for the entire One Room Challenge kitchen update.

New Lighting Fixture

When I envisioned what I wanted to achieve with this One Room Challenge, the three things that came to mind were new Roman blinds (see last week’s post here), a new hood fan (coming soon!), and a beautiful new light fixture for above the sink. This is the second kitchen wish of mine to be fulfilled. I fell hard for this light fixture, the Arren from Crate & Barrel, when I first saw it. The mix of milk glass, gold and black and the artistic, organic arrangement of the pendants made my heart beat a little faster. It was the first item I ordered months ago when the ORC was just an idea in my head.

Installing The Fixture

It was a pretty quick and easy install with the help of my husband, who happens to be an electrical engineer, and my 15-year old son, who apparently doesn’t mind holding heavy objects above his head when asked. I had just gotten my Covid vaccine and was feeling weak, so I got to just sit and direct the work for once. The only tricky part was the adjustment of the cord lengths. Seeing the Crate & Barrel images, I had assumed that the cord lengths were fixed. In reality, the lengths are adjustable and required a fair bit of finagling to make the fixture look like the images.

I’m really happy with the scale and quality of this light fixture and it’s exactly as I had envisioned.

Plant Display

Originally, I had planned on making a plant stand for my plants, but in the past few weeks, my Monstera plant has shot up and no longer needs a stand to make an impact in this space. Thank you, Monster (we name all our plants) for making my life easier. I placed this beautiful plant in a cotton basket and this little corner of our kitchen is now complete. With all the time I saved not making a plant stand, I was able to accomplish a couple other goals for this space.

Hood Fan

Our new hood fan insert is now installed and I’m working on the design for the hood fan cover. This is the most challenging aspect of the project for me and I’m predicting it will come down to the final week for this one. The hood fan is functional though and I’m in awe at how well it works. When it’s sunny I can sit there are watch it suck dust out of the air.

Family Room

I know this is the One Room Challenge, but our kitchen is open to our family room, so it’s turning into a Two Room Challenge or maybe we could call it the Open Concept Room Challenge? Two weeks ago, I painted our kitchen Swiss Coffee (75% strength) and this week I extended that colour into our family room. The final change for the family room will be painting the fireplace surround (including the shiplap extension) a deep blue-grey colour. The colour I have chosen is Benjamin Moore Flint, as shown on the paint chip I’m holding up in this image. I’m going to order the paint right now and will hopefully get around to it this weekend.

Plan For The Coming Weeks

• Make and install the hood fan cover
• Paint the bar stools and make new slipcovers
• Paint the fireplace surround
• Create a wreath or other piece of artwork for the kitchen
• Consider replacing the light fixtures above the island
• Add artwork, runner, and accessories to complete the look
• Make mocktails and a charcuterie board to celebrate

Modernizing Our Farmhouse Kitchen

Since I’m in the process of simplifying and modernizing our farmhouse style kitchen, I wanted to share some of this process with my readers. I think modernizing is all about simplifying and choosing new finishes, textures, and patterns. If you choose any two décor styles- imagine a slider that connects the two styles. You can move along the slider towards either end of the spectrum. It doesn’t have to be a complete transformation. Most styles are compatible with each other, and you can create your own custom blend.

Blank Slate

The first step in modernizing a kitchen is to remove everything that can be removed- countertop appliances, wall décor, rugs/mats, dishes, and random stuff. This is also a really good point to do a deep cleaning of the kitchen. Now you’re all set to envision your new look.

The Major Components

If your cabinets are a dated wood colour, then consider painting them white, navy blue, or black to modernize them. Bleached and subtly stained wood cabinets are also modern looking and on-trend. A solid white or grey quartz countertop is the perfect complement to a modern kitchen. Wood, stainless steel, or concrete are also great options. There are many backsplash options for a modern kitchen, from classic options like subway tile or penny tile to graphic tile patterns and unusually shaped tiles.

The More-Easily Changed Components

These are the things I am changing for this One Room Challenge. The types of things that fall into this category are light fixtures, faucets, cabinet hardware, hood fan, window treatments, wall colour, and décor accents. Because these things are easier and less expensive to change, it’s less risky to embrace something different, modern, and even trendy.

Modern Colours

White, cream, and black are very popular modern neutrals right now. Other popular colours include navy blue, deep green, and muted greens and beiges (think earth tones). Changing the wall colour or adding a dramatic accent wall can modernize your space.

Less Farmhouse, More Modern

If you’re trying to shift away from the farmhouse style or if you want a more modern farmhouse style, then you can make a big change with accessories. Farmhouse style is associated with chippy wood finishes, wood signs, ruffles, florals (real and faux), cute displays/vignettes, and in general, lots of stuff. I’m trying to minimize the amount of stuff I have on display at any one time. Here are some modern accessories to use in moderation:

• Modern artwork (bold abstract art or more traditional looking paintings)
• Black and white textiles (drapery, rugs, upholstery)
• Plants, branches in a vase, and one-flower-type arrangements
• Rustic, textured lamps, vases, and planters
• Large scale coffee table books
• Solid or textured pillows in neutral tones
• Graphic accents like chain links or sculptures

Summary

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post, Modernizing Our Farmhouse Kitchen. Thank you for reading and for coming along on this challenge with me. For more inspiration and to see what other challenge participants are working on this week, visit the main ORC page here.

To see week five progress: Bar Stool Slipcover Tutorial – Week 5 of the One Room Challenge