Before and After: A Dated Kitchen’s Remodel Not Only Saves Its Vintage Charm, It Improves On It

Name: Jake Boeve, partner, two cats, and a puppy
Location: Ferndale, Michigan
Type of home: House
Size: 1300 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, owned

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: My partner (a hair stylist) and I (an art director) had been living with each other in a condo for a little over a year before we decided we wanted a space of our own. We started our hunt in the Detroit area. We targeted homes in Detroit (University District, Green Acres), along with Ferndale (a city that borders Detroit on the north side).

I wanted something that was old and had character. I didn’t mind something that would need some work. My partner was on board with character but wasn’t thrilled about projects. We ended up finding our current home, a 1924 brick bungalow, and instantly fell in love. It needed some work but we felt confident we could make it our own.

Since moving in, we have done some cosmetic stuff ourselves along with a few other smaller projects. We knew we wanted to redo the kitchen from the beginning but didn’t move forward with that renovation until a little less than a year of living here.

We found an awesome, woman-run contracting/project management company that had a great portfolio and experience with renovating old homes in our area. The owner, Terri, guided us through the whole process and it was pretty smooth. The renovation took about four months total and we couldn’t be happier with the result.

We wanted something that felt modern but still made sense for our quirky, historic home. We initially chose sage cabinetry and made our design choices around that. We tried to incorporate some more classic/timeless elements like the checkerboard floor and square tile backsplash. We also love the brushed brass trend so we incorporated that with our hardware and lighting.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Charming, old, cozy, colorful, and inviting.

What is your favorite room and why? Kitchen! Now that it’s complete, I don’t think we’ll ever leave. We love to cook so we wanted to make sure that not only was our kitchen beautiful, but also functional.

Any advice for creating a home you love? Don’t get too caught up on trends or that Pinterest/Instagram perfect interior. I love following a good trend but we also try to make design decisions that make us happy. Ultimately it’s your home; if you like something that’s dated or passé, who cares! That’s the fun of creating a space. I’m happy we actually lived in the space before doing a major renovation. We were able to get to know the old kitchen, what was working, what wasn’t working, etc. Living in a construction zone wasn’t ideal but it was manageable and we ended up with a final product that works amazingly well for us.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.