Before & After: Smart Updates for a Generic Kitchen

Here’s a thing that’s bound to happen when you’re house shopping: you see a place where the previous owner has replaced the kitchen (or bathroom), ostensibly as a selling point, but the new kitchen or bathroom already looks incredibly dated. It’s especially frustrating if you really like the place otherwise, because then you find yourself in the position of either living with a kitchen that you really don’t like, or ripping out one that’s brand-new. Faced with this particular conundrum, Nikkia and Daniel took a middle way: they bought the apartment and then went about making small but significant changes to transform a kitchen they didn’t love into one that they did.

They kept the old (new) cabinets, but made a few changes that completely transformed their look. The heavy molding on top, which made the cabinets look clunky and old-fashioned, was removed, and the cabinets got a coat of Benjamin Moore’s ‘Simply White’ inside and out. New, more modern hardware provides the finishing touch.

The appliances stayed, but the laminate countertop was replaced with a grey quartz that complements the newly painted cabinets.

The couple’s contractor also installed a new subway tile backsplash, a new faucet, and a deeper, more durable sink.

Another neat change to the new kitchen is the bit of cabinets (including a tiny breakfast bar) that was added to the space to the left of the window. This spot was previously occupied by a kitchen cart and shelves, and the new cabinets make it look much neater and give the entire kitchen a lighter, more cohesive feel.

Nikkia and Daniel found their contractor, Paul, through Sweeten, an online resource that connects New York-area homeowners with architects, designers and contractors. You can see more photos and read more about the renovation on the Sweeten blog.

Re-edited from a post originally published 3.21.16-NT