Tiny Home Kitchen Makeover: From Empty Shed to Finished Kitchen

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This kitchen started out as an empty shed. Not an outdated kitchen that needed a makeover—an actual empty space with no kitchen at all!

When we decided to turn the shed into a tiny home, we had to figure out how to fit a kitchen into the space. We wanted the essentials, including a real sink, stove, and refrigerator, without making the whole tiny home feel like one big kitchen.

There was quite a bit of work between that empty shed and the finished kitchen. Here's how it came together!

Our shed-to-tiny-home kitchen before and after.

Here's What We Started With

It's hard to believe this is the same space! When we started, there weren't any cabinets, countertops, appliances, or even kitchen walls ready to go.

We weren't trying to squeeze a new look out of an old kitchen. We were building one from scratch.

The empty space before the kitchen build.

All the Work Before the Pretty Stuff

Before we could start putting in cabinets, there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get through.

We framed the kitchen area, worked on the plumbing and electrical needs, added foam insulation to the walls, and put up drywall. The kitchen walls also needed paint.

I don't have a picture of every single step, but I didn't want to skip over all of that and make it look like we went straight from an empty shed to installing cabinets. There was definitely more to it than that!

From shed to kitchen: Framing, insulation, drywall, plumbing, electrical work, and painting were all part of getting this space ready for the kitchen you see in the after pictures.

Finally, Kitchen Cabinets!

After working on the structure and walls, it was exciting to finally get to something that actually looked like a kitchen.

Once the cabinets started going in, we could really see the layout taking shape. We still had plenty left to do, but this was a big change from that empty space we started with.

Installing the kitchen cabinets.

Adding the Countertop and Sink

Next, we worked on the countertop. This is another one of those steps that makes a big difference when you're starting with absolutely nothing.

Working on the countertop.

We added our kitchen sink and paired it with this kitchen faucet. Even in a tiny home, I wanted a proper kitchen sink instead of feeling like we had to compromise on every little thing just because the space was smaller.

Our White Backsplash and Shiplap

We went with a white backsplash for the lower part of the kitchen wall. I wanted to keep this area bright, especially since we were working with a smaller space.

Here's a look at the backsplash going in:

Installing the white backsplash.

Above the backsplash, we added shiplap. We still had to paint the shiplap and finish the surrounding walls, so there was more work to do before this area would look like the after picture.

The backsplash after installation.

We Went With Apartment-Size Appliances

I knew I wanted an actual stove and refrigerator in here, but full-size appliances would take up a lot of our available space. Apartment-size appliances made more sense for this kitchen.

We chose this apartment-size stove and this refrigerator. That gave us the essentials we wanted without filling the kitchen with oversized appliances.

The apartment-size appliances in place.

And Then Came the Finishing Touches!

This is the part I love seeing in a renovation—the point where all those little details you've been waiting on finally get added.

Once the shiplap was painted, we added the open shelves using these shelf brackets. We also finished the cabinets with cabinet handles.

For the kitchen area, we added this small light and decorative ceiling tiles. Those details gave the kitchen more personality than plain walls and a basic ceiling would have.

Here's the Finished Kitchen!

And here it is! The same space that started out as an empty shed now has cabinets, a countertop, a sink, a stove, a refrigerator, and open shelves.

I especially like how the white backsplash, painted shiplap, and shelving look together. The shelves were one of the last things we added, and I love seeing them in the finished kitchen.

The finished tiny home kitchen!

It's amazing how different a space can look when you compare the very beginning with the finished project. This one was definitely more than just a little kitchen makeover!

Watch the Before and After

Want to see the transformation in video? Here's our tiny home kitchen before and after:

More of Our Tiny Home Projects

The kitchen wasn't the only part of this shed we worked on! You can also see our tiny home bedroom before and after and the tiny home outdoor makeover.

Would you ever turn a shed into a tiny home? And what do you think of our little kitchen?