Before and After: The Owners of This Kitchen Chose Storage Over Sunlight
The owners of this home have lived with—and loved—this kitchen for years, and considered just doing a few minor upgrades, but when they realized that this might be their forever home, they decided to make some major changes so that they’d love this room even more—for many years to come…
This is such a subtle, beautiful upgrade by 17 Apart! It retains all of the charm of the original—the stunning wood built-in, the gorgeous wooden floor, the enviable windows, the rich rug—but with some major improvements. The new stove is worthy of “Gilmore Girls'” Sookie St. James, the new island offers just as much seating and prep space but is much more streamlined, and there’s now a ton more storage space, thanks to the new cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling. There’s also more cupboard space because a window was removed. Removing the wheeled cart also opens up the space considerably and makes the room more elegant and less industrial.
Let’s be real: This kitchen is already fantastic, as @17apart has readily acknowledged. It’s got charm and character galore, lots of storage space, nice finishes, and a great balance between coziness and modernity. But I totally understand being ready for an upgrade and wanting to make a space more suited to your own lifestyle.
I love that the new island and cabinets all have paneling, which can look quite fussy and dated, but here it looks totally fresh and spare—like the perfect balance between minimalism and maximalism. The same applies to the new hardware, which is quite small, but quite indulgent since they’re gleaming brass.
The new stools are so cool (and look super comfortable), and I love the way the match the new pendants nearly exactly. This breakfast bar also looks far more comfortable to dine at, since it doesn’t have that skinny raised counter that the old one had. The marble countertops are obviously luxurious and lovely to gaze upon, and the new backsplash still has all the beauty of tile but with a subtler, possibly more timeless style.
And just a note—if you’re feeling intimidated by this ridiculously chic makeover, please know that this is not a DIY job. Skilled professionals were brought in for most aspects, which is a wise move when you’re making major changes to a 100-year-old house.