Think you might have oversold SLIGHTLY. But removing that lame wall was definitely a good call.

Not so much "OMG" but more of "S'alright".

Yeah, not to minimize the delightfulness of this kitchen reno ... but I was slightly underwhelmed after all the hype

I have to agree on the oversold comment. It looks a lot better without that weird wall, but the cabinetry and colors are nearly exactly the same. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It looks really nice, it's just more of an alteration than a renovation.

Major oversell. The new kitchen is nice enough, but that is about all.

So lovely... I adore the vintage styling! Bravo!

I love the new one, but yes...the hype was a *bit* exaggerated. ^_^

I feel like a little girl watching Ferngully again. The movie was good (I LOVED Crysta) but spoiled by too much "Greatest Thing Ever!" before I saw it.

It looks beautiful but I also agree the "circus" or "informercial" hype was a bit too much.

Love the butcher block counterops.

I like the open feel now and the butcher block? counters. Also the new pantry. They probably have more usable storage space now having lost some of the uppers but replacing with deeper and taller pantry.

Knocking down that wall let the light from the windows flood both spaces making the room feel bigger just with that one change.

nice. definitely oversold. too many barstools, get rid of 2. and maybe you should have extended the butcher block to make a counter. it doesnt look like it extends... which would probably be uncomfortable.

You have moxie for taking down a wall like that...if altering the structure of the home, isn't really renovation, I don't know what is!

I think that overall, it is more airy looking and absolutely more "breathtaking" than before. I really dig those counter tops too. :-)

I was let down after the hype too -- but it does look great....I agree that there are too many stools as well

The before was good looking so I was waiting to be blown away and I wasn't. yep another comment on the oversold side.

It's OK...

I would have... not done that.

I think it looks great, but where do you put your knees when you're on one of the stools?

Manage expectations please

What a let down after that hype. Nothing wrong with their renovation just that you expect to keel over and then it is just a regular nice redo.

I'm missing the litany of OMG's. It's pretty, yes. But not, "OMG I HAVE TO DO THIS TO MY OWN KITCHEN RIGHTNOW ZOMGPONIES!!!!"
Too many stools, would have extended the counter so that it covers your knees when you're on one of the many stools to choose from. Love the floor though.

I think the kitchen has a gorgeous design but is severely lacking in color or personality. It's too stark white. Even the appliances are white! I think some color on the walls or cabinets might help.

I also don't understand why the counter wasn't extended out a few inches for the bar seating. Now people have to hunch over if they're going to eat there.

Good move on the wall coming down, but can some please explain where my knees would go if I sat on one of those stools at the counter?

breathtaking?

Those barstools are too dark. I agree, there are too many. As for breathtaking. Ah! It's lovely and practical but it's also quite pedestrian and obvious!

A great update. Nice and bright. Love the simple floors. Good job homeowner!

I like it!

Nice redo. OMG ? No not at all.

there seems to have been some mistakes made in the design of that kitchen. maybe second time around will fix them?

it's not my personal taste, so i can't comment on the style.

i think the biggest mistake is the lack of counter overhang for the stools to make sense. perhaps they were an afterthought?

Is it just the perspective of the photo, or is ther no overhang on the bar where the stools are? Where would people put their knees?

Nice clean slate - ideal to pull down that wall and the floors are nicely done.

But man - I was expecting something really dramatic and modern - black polished stone and stainless backsplash or something. Not just a nice(-er) white country kitchen.

damn yall are mean. it's a nice redo, can't you just leave it at that?

Have to agree that the hype was a little over the top here.

That's not to say that this kitchen isn't great - I think they did a fabulous job. The pics on their blog give a better feel for the details. I love the blue inside the open upper cabinet, the shelf across the window over the sink, and the very cute sink cabinet with fabric. The butcher block looks great.

I was expecting more shiny, but this is nice too. I just wish the lighting in these before pics was the same as the afters. Everything looks less desirable if it's badly lit.

I love it. The floors are beautiful. Definitely better.

And I think the "wow!" factor comes in because they didn't completely gut the kitchen and start from scratch. They utilised what they had. Anyway, it's great.

I am very, very partial to the 'beach cottage' look though.

And, I just want to say that not all "wow" kitchens need to be super shiny and modern. I think modern kitchens (modern anything, really) are usually ugly. But hey, to each their own.

The comments on this site are reliably harsh...makes me scared to ever submit anything myself!

That said, I like the changes a lot! I did immediately wonder why there was no overhang at the bar, but otherwise everything looks great! The floors are beautiful and the butcher block is great.

I'm underwowed.

wow...talk about a bunch of RUDE comments. ever heard of "if you have nothing nice to say"? or at least be a little thoughtful...if you put that much work into something!!!

God, there's so many snobs on this site. It makes me question whether I want to continue reading it. The kitchen is awesome and completely delightful. I'm envious.

@ oliviacharles, tullymama and monstergirl...
I don't any comments that are particularly harsh. The introduction led us to believe we would be seeing the most spectacular kitchen evah! Instead we see a nice kitchen, that is not to everyone's taste, with some OK features and some limitations like the lack of bench overhang.

Maybe we should start a fund to pay for the therapist you all obviously need to get over the tremendous disappointment that the overselling intro caused? You poor things must be beside yourselves. Post traumatic stress has surely set in. In fact, maybe we should get attorneys for a class action against Apartment Therapy for manipulating our emotions like that. It's awful. Let's talk about it some more! It's really too much to even bear. I'm grieving over my disappointment that this was NOT an OMG kitchen, and I don't think I'll ever recover from this.

i like the changes, especially getting rid of that dated wall (which to me, seems like the only MAJOR difference, they didnt even change the cabinets)...but it WAS a letdown after all the hype.
i think someone was overcompensating for something because the post wasn't all that fantastic. just another kitchen reno with minimal changes.

I think most people are taking issue with the author's presentation more than the renovation itself.

April, you bring up a very valid point. Someone there is clearly overcompensating for some type of slight that they've received, or maybe they aren't happy with the quality of assignments that they've been given by apartment therapy and they're foisting off this unexpressed anger on US! It's an abomination. I am outraged.
I really hope that we can discuss this for the next ten or twelve hours, because clearly this is the most important thing that will happen ALL DAY and I for one am livid and overjoyed simultaneously for having something to bitch and moan about.

@ Braisen Woman, You are a very astute individual. It's the presentation that's the problem. This was presented to us, a non-paying, non-captive audience as something that would literally BLOW OUR MINDS and it just didn't live up to that. Instead, we were forced to live in the squalor that this post has created. In fact, this may be the watershed moment of a new 'ism'. Post Modernism has now become Post Apartment Therapy Oversell Letdownism. Life will never be the same.

lol, as soon as i read the "breathtaking" and "you're gonna OMG!", i sort of thought this would be a let down. AT needs a new rule about keeping exclamatory words out of post headings. nice kitchen btw!

It's a *wonderful* renovation that isn't going to get its due here because of the hyperbolic intro. The only thing I would have done differently is to have the return counter be wider so that when you're seated on the stools you can put your legs under it.

Yes, @Jess, it IS a letdown. A terrible, terrible letdown. I am now preparing a Manifesto to be presented to the Staff of Apartment Therapy so that this type of occurance never again ruins everyone's day, and life. Number One: "There shall be NO exclamation point in ANY heading, as they might possibly build expectations to such a height that someone might get overstimulated and suffer PATOL", which I think we all understand is a very dangerous condition. I've cleared my calender, and intend to dedicate myself to this Manifesto for as long as it takes.

I like the addition of the pantry. A nice personal touch. Amazing what pulling a wall down can do for any room.

I clicked on the link also, and there are some good details there, making changes more obvious. I love this space.

I love the cabinet around the fridge! And the flooring is beautiful. I think there may be just a tad too many shades of white though.

Really, for those of you think the post was over-hyped, please go on their website and look at those ceiling beams that they did themselves. Just gorgeous!

I LOVE that pantry doors....

Love it! My parents have similar barstools and they're so great.

The floor, counters, bar... all beautiful.

i like! but, honestly I had to look at the photos again to see what the changes were.. when something is giong to "wow" you, it should be pretty darn obvious.

I love how you left the kitchen. What I like is that apparently invest little money and the result is quite remarkable, is more spacious your kitchen.

Congratulations.

breathtaking? No, nice and subtle reno? Yes.

Better but very white---would love to see a little color!!

Those floors are amazeballs.

yes, they oversold the reveal. but, it's a nice change, less cookie cutter/mc mansion than previous. i actually really like the floors too.
and everyone who's hating on them for so many chairs... if you click through to their blog, they do have FIVE children, so it makes more sense to have lots of chairs, unless half the family should eat on the floor :)

i don't think it's the simple overselling of the redo that was a letdown. i honestly think it's a mediocre kitchen.

the pantry hardware is very lonely, it doens't work with the rest of the hardware. there are some very "country" elements in what is supposed to be a beach house.
there is nothing else in the kitchen that plays off the nice new counter color. it isn't all tied together in a way that says "i'm finished"

it's great that they obviously put a lot of work into what they are doing, but just knocking down a wall doesn't mean wow.

even if i hadn't read the oddball intro to be let down by, i still wouldn't be omg'd by the pics.

Wow, the floor is gorgeous! I really love that floor. ::drool::

I like what they've done with the space very much. Don't mind all the white as much as others. I think if the stools were a lighter wood, the white wouldn't come off as overwhelming. Maybe the same color as the countertop?

Overall, great space! :-)

"I think most people are taking issue with the author's presentation more than the renovation itself."

Agreed. I expected something out of the ordinary and not a kitchen that looks similar to many other kitchens posted on the site. It doesn't mean I don't like it; just I expected the reveal to live up to the hyperbole.

Gee green_planner... so busy with your sarcasm you didn't leave room to actually comment on the kitchen.

In the words of Louis CK, "How quickly you feel the world owes you something you didn't know existed 10 seconds ago."

@green_planner: You are a very rude individual. I get the source of your sarcasm, but I feel it's misplaced. No, we don't pay for the site. Such is the case with blogs. But that doesn't mean readers can't express opinions about the quality of the writing. Also, I don't think anyone went as OVER THE TOP as you seem to think. No one threatened mutiny. No one dared to stop reading the site. We're all nice people in real life, I'm sure, so let's nix the nonstop sarcasm and insults.

I really love the removal of the wall, and the addition of the counter top. The fridge surround is really unique. I'm glad you added the crown molding to the cabinets. It's the little touches that matter.
Love the floor!
(I'm glad I'm not an author for Apt therapy) The comments here are really mean.
gail

I must say though, I kept looking at the before picture and then looked at the after picture and looked again, I thought maybe I missed something.
The after is nice though.

a one sentence intro to a renovation post = big deal and highly influential to people's opinions apparently ;)

that aside, the reno is fantastic. i could make unfair comparisons to other people's renos and remark on what i would or wouldn't have done based on my own style... but all i'm thinking about are ugly formica counters and guessing what bland and dated furnishing might have been behind the wall, envisioning my own kitchen mostrocity, and seeing these photos and going "bravo"! i feel so cramped in closed off kitchens. the rustic touches are nice without it being too over the top. i would gladly prepare supper in a place like this any day.

No matter if it's "good" or "bad" or over-/underwhelming, it is what it is: someone else's home. You don't have to like it but you don't have to degrade it either. It is a home that is beloved to it's owners and that is what shines through. We should all love our habitats this much, in whatever manner of attention-giving is best suited to our personal quirks and foibles.

Comments ruined this post for me...as per usual.

This kitchen reno is a huge improvement.It is also a 'real' life reno.As someone who has been doing renovations to a house built in 1852 for over three years now,I can truly appreciate this article.

This IS Apartment Therapy,I get it...people who live in apartments.Comments made here regularly,often make me wish I could drop a house needing renos on the more nasty commentators,via the Kansas,OZ method.

Any ya-who can improve a rental.Enough said because I do have tenants.I've seen it with my own eyes.

What they don't do is upgrades or improvements.Fair enough,they don't own.However,I do and sincerely wish I didn't have to cover faux finishes and ruined counters every other day of the year.

This kitchen reno deserves every exclamation point it got.If you don't believe me...make the investment in a property and do a kitchen reno.

OZ's grand style doesn't come cheap.

Oh my goodness!! I don't know what y'all haters are talking about.....the kitchen is amazing! It is a perfect example of how to renovate without having to start from scratch. And why are so many of y'alls panties in a bunch over the stools and no counter overhang? They have 5 kids...hence the five stools! Sometimes practicality trumps the decorating "rules". I admire that. :) The kids won't care whether there's an overhang or not....big whoop! Definitely was NOT oversold. Way to go Beth and Lee!

Breathtaking? Really?

Calm down people--enough with the negativity.

Great job! I think the removal of the wall makes a huge difference. The kitchen is beautiful!

It looks nice but I do see one big problem: In order for the counter to be useful to the people who will occupy all those many stools, there needs to be some overhang of the counter.

There appears to be a doorway,leading to outside,directly lined up with the stools.This might have made an counter overhang difficult.I can see clearly why they didn't do that.I wouldn't have moved the door either!

The counter would be better butted up to the door moldings?I don't think so.The stools are practical for this family.Remove them and it makes perfect sense to me that there is no overhang.

Now if they had moved the door opening,some here would I suppose,then reused their cabinets,imagine the AT comments then.

Decoration and renovation are separate pages of the same book.

Most people do not need seating for 5 children.Most people would not block a sight-line or path to a door.I'll be constructive with this comment and keep in mind a true life costing,the overhang for seating in the space,as I see it,should be at the end off the existing cabs.Far away from the door.

I still think this is an excellent true life reno.

I think the kitchen looks very nice, they are some mean comments on here and it is not necessary they didnt ask for their kitchen to be feature on here, some people criticize so much it might not be your style but it looks nice....

This is wonderful. Go look at the photos of the beamed ceiling and you'll see more of what they did to the cabinets. It looks delightful. Being in advertising, yes, we do tend to oversell a lot...but that's what gets all the suckers in to buy. I love to leave work at night and see the parking lot full of customers clutching their dog-eared ads and running into the store as if what they want wasn't there a week ago and probably at the same price. Beth, you should have had one of those "Keep Calm and Carry On" signs or some molded plastic chairs with the wire legs and then everyone who looks at this site would have been happy! Love it, love it, love it and wish I could see more your your beautiful home.

@ swetiee28: um, i'm pretty sure they had some input on their kitchen being posted here.

anyways, i just want to thank everyone for the HILARIOUS comments on this post, totally made my lunch break today!

and really, it's a fine kitchen :)

I think it’s beautiful and hope they are proud of themselves for the hard work they obviously invested in this project. Kudos.

Hope the magnet-clutter on the refrigerator can go. Often a source of unsightliness even in renovated kitchens. Clutter needs to go, then sometimes, the kitchen doesn't need anything else. . . .

I love the new look...so so nice