I liked it better before. The cork floor is an improvement.

I'm sorry, the "after" is not as cute as the before. I do agree with Danica that the floor is an improvement. But the tile was so pretty! Ugh

It's a shame that the old tile couldn't have been salvaged somehow since that color was so lovely - but it's understandable since I know that vintage tile installations are so rock-solid...

...but I'm in love with the color history being brought into the new kitchen through the concrete counters (I've never seen such a color outside a swimming pool - It's great!) and the paint on the backs of the open shelving. I'm also loving the cork floors and the plyboo counter - even the cabinets (I'm guessing custom?)

Could we get more detail on the materials and protective finishes used since these are so unusual?

The "before" was a darling aesthetic. Without knowing whether the tile was cracked or whether those cabinets could be righted (doesn't look like it) I won't second-guess the choice to gut it and start over. But, aside from the floors, the "after" is lackluster. There isn't much counterspace and yet they did bits and pieces of it with different materials, which looks patchy. The white painted shelves really don't go with the modern-style wood and design of the lower cabinets. And the seafoam green accent paint with white walls and burgandy from the next room looks both patchy and like a Christmas tree.

SUCH an improvement from before! I guess people aren't noticing the giant wall they knocked out from the before picture. Love the bar! And the green. Very smart choice for the floor!

Looks gorgeous! Yeah, the original tile backsplash is darling, but that tile appears to be the countertop as well. If you've ever tried to roll out pie dough over grout...yuck. Not fun. I love original cabinets, too, but those clearly weren't well cared-for over the decades. Old drawers aren't charming if they're so uneven and sticky that you can't properly use them.
Great work!

great job!! I think it's a fantastic improvement; can't believe there's so much nostalgia for the "before," which was ok, but nothing that special.

This looks bright and fresh. love the farmhouse sink and warm wood against the greenish counter top.

While I think the color of the tiles are cool...
It looks as if the old counters/cupboards are only one foot deep. Not very functional in my book. I see a great improvement from before to after.

The only thing that was worth saving in the before was the tile. I think this is one of the best before and afters I've seen on AT in a long time. The kitchen is still charming, a little bit quirky, and colorful. Nice!

Ick... why would anyone roll pastry out over tile grout?!

I loved the before... it's a shame the tiles couldn't be kept... they would've looked lovely with the new benchtop.

Great re-do though. It seems like a much brighter/warmer space.

design snobs. sigh.

Great Job! The before is hideous. I know as I have a nearly identical kitchen. I would trade the "charm" of a space that doesn't work for this in a heartbeat. Bravo!

and the new lower cabinets are lovely

I love the color tiles in the before and it's nice to see the color was carried into the redesign. Love the cork flooring. I've been considering it for my kitchen so nice to see it looks great. Farm sink is great and love the wood detail. It is a bit eclectic in styles but it works. If it was me, I'd use that space between the windows, above the sink for a great piece of art work.

I love the remodel. My only question is: how do you open the drawers.

I love the serene, almost rustic minimalism of the new cabinets. The open shelves under the counter ruin the effect, however.

Before much better but then I'm a bungalow person.

open cabinets in earthquake country? all that cute glassware gone in an instant, hope they have a shopvac...

the cabinets in the before kitchen are more my style but it looked like they might not be worth fixing, the new kitchen is gorgeous though, I love the wood counter and cork floor and all those open shelves look great but how do you not have to wash everything in there all the time because of grease and dust?

i love the after. looks like a no-nonsense kitchen to me :-)

great job!!

I like the after photos, the before looked disgusting, and I think they've made some wise choices- such as smooth cabinets and no tiles that can get really dirty in an active kitchen.
Also, the floor is a huge improvement.
The two things that bother me the most in the after design is the placement of the refrigerator- I think it's a shame to block a window like that, but perhaps they didn't have much choice, and the second thing is personal taste- I don't like open shelves.

The after is way better. I understand the charm of the before. But let's be real, it was in very poor condition. And no amount of paint can really hide that when you go to open a drawer or cabinet. And who wants to live without a dishwasher? Or a medicine cabinet above a kitchen sink?
new floor is awesome.

While I would have loved to save the old kitchen cabinets - I do love what you ended up doing with the place.

There are so many factors we do not see in photographs that really play a big part in the decisions made during a renovation.

Be nice people and keep this website a civil place to exchange ideas. It doesn't take any extra energy to be constructive.

I bet all the people who claim "I LOVED THE BEFORE!" redid their kitchens too, and wouldn't have kept it like that. bleh! having a tile grout countertop myself I can say it is G R O S S and I can't want to do something like this with the place.

@caiti... it is possible to re-do a kitchen and still keep elements of the 'old' kitchen. I think most people here are lamenting that certain aspects of the before were very nice, and it's always a shame to see things go.

When we re-did our kitchen there were elements I really didn't want to lose (such as the 50's era wall cabinet). We kept certain things and updated others. Each to their own.

Love that the homeowners took inspiration from the original tile, but toned the color down just slightly.

I like the overall simplicity of the new kitchen, as well as the color palette they chose. For me, they did a great job combining colors and items that you don't typically see together. It's all well-balanced. Surprises me how critical many of the comments are.

I think you all did a lovely job, so it doesn't matter what people think...you live in it and not them! Great job!!!

To caiti,
Believe it or not there are people out there who can bring an older kitchen into the modern world while still retaining its best original elements.

If it were my kitchen, I would have tried harder to keep some of the older elements. (And yes, I did so in my own vintage kitchen). I like the after, but I would have liked it better not having seen the before. Also, while cork flooring and concrete/plywood/bamboo countertops might be what some consider an eco-friendly remodel, simply keeping the fabulous turquoise tiles would have been even friendlier. Just sayin'.

The turquoise tiles are great in a picture, not sure I'd want to live with them. The after is great.

the question of greener than thou is always thorny. But the refrigerator kinda seals the deal. The placement seems bad, it is behemoth, and that side by side with ice door is the worst. The overall design of the kitchen includes many improvements, but it follows a lot of current trends at the expense of good design. The placement of open shelves so low and adjacent to the cook surface seems disastrous even if the other open shelves seem great. The stainless appliances seem dated and that they are that way only as a bad style choice. Love the cork. This is like most reno's, including my own, a mixed bag.

Definite thought that the before was more charming and character filled minus the floor. Kudos on the hard work though!

WHat a shame. That old home is a classic Los Angeles treasure! Please do not buy them if you don't intend to keep the integrity of them!

I'm sorry to post this (because I try to refrain from making critical posts), but I think the "before" had a lot of potential, and don't much care for the "after".

I am strongly opposed to changing historic windows, especially if the shape and location are changed; such a change in windows has a dramatic (and stylistically inappropriate) effect on the historic exterior.

As for the interior... the original cabinets could have been saved and combined with contrasting new features. For example, instead of tearing out that wall, there could have been a large shallow pantry added on the entire wall. It would have been practical, and an opportunity to introduce a contrasting element.

If the countertop tiles were cracked, I would have had a counter of mahogany made. As for flooring, rubber a shade or two lighter than the tiles.

I'm very sad at the loss of the historic cabinets and windows, and find the "after" to be a rather disjointed design, at least from what can be seen in these pictures.

The before should have been saved for aesthetic and sustainable reasons. Inset, handmade period cabinets have a higher level of craft than modern flush overlay cabinets. Also what is green and sustainable about disposing of vintage cabinets that could have easily been restored?

i love the remodel.

i once decided not to buy a home just because the kitchen looked very similar to this "before." tile countertops...rickety cabinets...awful linoleum floors...i could not handle it.

but i really love this "after", especially the choice to pull down the wall. it makes me almost wonder if we should have bought that otherwise-perfect-house!

I love the light in this kitchen--before and after. The after seems so much more functional. I can almost smell the mustiness of those old cabinets, charming as they are. And if stainless is out, what is in exactly?

This is what I was trying to describe... except with the blue/green tiles retained on the backsplash.

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/home-tour-country-cottage?lnc=1a89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=lpg_home&lpgStart=1&currentslide=6&currentChapter=1#slide_6

I'm another "bungalow person" who prefers the before. . .

Sad to see the original faucet go...
Love the new sink though.

I am sad about the tile.

I understand the new floor and perhaps even the cabinets/counter (I don't hate tile counters as much as some, though) but the backsplash tile, IMO, should have been preserved.

The white walls look unfinished. The stainless steel is uninspired. I don't understand the love for open storage but I know that's my own damage, I never like that but a lot of people do.

I must say the new counter is attractive, if it truly needed replacing, and the new sink is nice, but I would have kept the old faucet.

I wish they would have kept the charming elements of the old kitchen. Those cabinets needed help, but too bad the style couldn't have been carried over to the new cabinets. Same with that stunning tile. To go from that to generic white walls behind the counter seems a waste. I think though that the biggest issue is the appliances. It doesn't seem like any thought went into integrating them into the space.

Guess everyone has their own style and I'm sure tge homeowners had their reasons.

Before, before was so much better! Couldn't it be just cleaned and fixed??? The only thing I like more in the "after" is the floor...

I think the remodel is nice, but I agree with the others about the before! Love those tiles. So sad they couldn't have been salvaged. :(

Oh please. As someone who has had a 'quirky' kitchen for years, I can honestly say that the AFTER is functional, clean and easy on the eyes. The before might be cute in a photo but I bet it was a pain to cook in and clean up afterwards. Ditto the windows. Some things just cannot be salvaged and it is quasi-fraudulent to suggest that they should be.