Before and After 1930s Kitchen Transformation

Nine days to renovate a kitchen during peak rental season. What could possibly go wrong? (And why do we find ourselves saying that a lot right now?)

Even after hours of sanding, none of the kitchen cabinets would close fully. That was the moment I looked around at the layers of paint, the chipped sink, the outdated fixtures, and said, "We've got to fix this."

We were one month out from our first Yellowstone rental season, which runs from May to October, and our 1930s house had a kitchen that looked like it hadn't been updated since the '70s. Technically, everything worked. But nothing worked well, and nothing felt (or looked) good.

So, naturally, we decided to renovate the kitchen in the middle of our very first rental season. This is the story of our nine-day sprint, one crushed cabinet, and a few very dramatic royal blue after photos!

Let’s Set The Scene: April 2024

By April, we had a lot in motion. We made it through our first guest (and our first guest emergency). Another guest came and went in March, and our first full rental season was set to begin in May. Bookings were rolling in. Excitement was rising. So was the pressure.

We had a long list of goals and a short window of time.

We wanted:

A renovated kitchen in the main house
A finished bathroom and laundry room in the main house (both were functional but still raw)
To raise the first wall (aka start building) a bathroom onto the dry cabin
A clear backyard that didn’t entirely look like the construction zone it was now

All before May of 2024.

We had made a key decision early on that we didn’t want to have any active construction during guest stays.

It just didn't feel fair to the people coming here to unwind and experience Yellowstone. We were upfront that parts of the property were under construction, but once someone checked in, we wanted peace and quiet, not hammering and sawdust. That meant every project had to happen before the season, between stays, over the off-season, or during extremely tight windows we carved out mid-season.

A Quick Recap of the Madness 📆

To help you keep track of our chaos, here's how things were unfolding after we bought the property in November.

December & January: Line up contractors, finalize plans, work on interior projects in the main house

February: The Great Cabin Purge! Demo Day, first guest arrives, hot water crisis averted

March: Excavation surprises, new foundations & retaining walls, second guest arrives. We begin finishing the bathroom and laundry room in the main house.

April: Final touches for the bathroom and laundry room. Prep for kitchen remodel. Everything still feels like a construction zone, but progress is visible.

May: Rental season officially begins… and our kitchen renovation gets delayed due to a crushed cabinet.

June: We block off 9 precious days mid-season to complete the mid-season kitchen renovation.

Meanwhile… The Bathroom & Laundry Room Addition

While we were sweating over kitchen deadlines, we were also finishing the bathroom and laundry room addition.

At this point, we were just ready to complete something. We basically told our contractor, “Please finish it, however you can, as quickly as you can.” We did pick out the paint and trim colors for both rooms, but otherwise, we kept it simple. The previous owners had already installed the bathroom flooring, it just needed to be patched in a few spots. We choose the flooring for the mudroom ourselves, since that was concrete previously, and love how it turned out.

It wasn’t fancy, but it was finally functional, and that was the goal!

Behind the Scenes of Hosting Season #1

At the same time that we were juggling renovation timelines, we were also building our entire guest experience from scratch.

House manuals.
Welcome guides.
Cleaning protocols.
Communication templates.
Automated messages.
A local travel guide.
Thoughtful touches for check-in.

It was a whirlwind of backend prep and our very first shot at being real, live hosts.

We knew we weren't offering a perfect product, but we were determined to offer a great experience. We priced the property accordingly and were radically upfront about what was and wasn't finished. Then we did everything in our power to make each stay special.

And it worked! People booked. They were kind. And they left reviews that kept us going.

The Kitchen Renovation: When Plans Go Sideways

Back to those cabinets that wouldn’t close.

We’d been planning the kitchen renovation for weeks. We ordered every piece in advance and scheduled a trip around it. Jon flew in from Dallas, rented a truck, and drove the 90 minutes from Bozeman to Gardiner to pick everything up from Home Depot.

Everything was lining up for a pre-season upgrade until one of the most important pieces—the sink base cabinet—showed up crushed. Damaged beyond repair. And because of how the kitchen was laid out, our contractor couldn’t start without it.

So we waited. And waited. And then we had to reschedule the whole thing.

What was supposed to be a nice pre-season upgrade turned into a mid-season scramble. We ended up blocking out nine days in June (a lucky gap in our calendar that hadn’t booked yet) and crossed our fingers that everything would go smoothly.

Fortunately, we hadn’t told anyone the kitchen was getting renovated, so none of our early season guests would know something was off. It was going to be a surprise. A really good one… if we could actually pull it off.

Nine Days & No Room for Error

From the contractor’s perspective, it was a sprint.

Everything had to come out of the kitchen. Old cabinets removed. New ones assembled and installed. Butcher block countertops cut and sealed. Sink installed. Appliances hooked up. And once the work was done? Everything cleaned, staged, and restocked before the next guest arrived.

From our perspective… watching the whole thing unfold from 1,200 miles away in Dallas… it was equal parts thrilling and terrifying. We had guests checking out on Saturday, June 15th, and new guests arriving the following Sunday, June 23rd. That gave us nine days with no margin for error. Once the old kitchen was demolished, the new kitchen had to be put together (and fully functional) before our next guests walked through the door. They might have been expecting a renovated kitchen, but they were definitely expecting a kitchen.

There were last-minute drives to Bozeman. A couple of parts that didn’t show up and had to be tracked down fast. Minor plumbing surprises. Paint that refused to cooperate. More than one “please let this all come together” moment.

It came right down to the wire, but somehow, it all got done. And when we saw the finished space?

It was so worth it!

The Transformation: From Dated to Delightful

Where there had once been worn laminate and sticky drawers, there were now fresh countertops and cabinets that soft-closed like a dream.

The royal blue lower cabinets pop in the morning light, and the brass hardware (antler-shaped, as a nod to the many game trails that weave around the property) catch the sunlight just right. We chose butcher block counters to add warmth, because we didn’t want the kitchen to feel trendy or sterile. We wanted it to feel like a happy surprise… a bold, colorful contrast to the rest of the house, which had leaned too white for too long.

And yes, there’s a dishwasher now! A luxury I wished for during every previous visit ☺️

One guest checked out a few weeks later and sent this message:

“Good morning! We just finished checking out. We had an amazing time. My expectations were far exceeded with our stay. I think you have made improvements since we made the reservation several months ago? I think I got a great deal and could not have asked for more. Thanks for everything. You’re the most fun Airbnb host we’ve had :)”

Best review ever? Maybe. But it also confirmed what we hoped the kitchen would do—surprise and delight.

Kitchen Renovation Pictures: Before & After

The Details

Kitchen Renovation Duration: 9 days

Biggest Delay: Crushed sink cabinet

Best Feature Added: Dishwasher (closely followed by soft-close drawers)

Most Dramatic Change: Royal blue cabinets against the butcher block counters

Biggest "Oh no" Moment: Realizing we were still missing parts halfway through

What We'd Do Differently: Schedule additional time for an entire kitchen repaint (we ran out of time!)

What We're Proud Of: Hosting a full season while building behind the scenes… and still making it feel like home for our guests

So… What's Next?

That kitchen renovation was one of the biggest swings we took all season—and somehow, it worked. But it was just one chapter in what turned out to be a wild, wonderful first year as hosts.

In the next post, we’re recapping everything:
✨ Whether or not we achieve our goal of hitting Superhost status
🛏️ Guest reviews we received in the second half of our season
📘 The travel guide we’re so proud of
📖 7 lessons we learned in our first year as hosts
🚿 The off-season bathroom build
🏗️ And the beginning of our third unit (!)

We’ll also finally introduce the main house properly and show off all the changes we made over our first year, from the showstopper wall mural to the personal touches we snuck in between guest stays. Lots of before-and-afters, lots of little surprises, and one big look at how far we’ve come.

Keep Reading: (#7) Cabin Chronicles: One Big Recap & 7 Lessons from Our First Year as Hosts