Before & After: A Smart Kitchen Transformation in Hell’s Kitchen

Dan and Mike made a great purchase that they’ve since gone on to make even greater: a one-bedroom condo in an old converted piano factory, in one of Manhattan’s most coveted neighborhoods. Although their apartment had a lot of things going for it, one thing that they didn’t love was the kitchen, hidden away from the rest of the apartment by a wall with an awkward passthrough. In addition to that, the kitchen’s fixtures and finished hadn’t been updated since the original owner. A renovation was in order — one that would make this old kitchen more beautiful and more functional, too.

The first step in this kitchen’s dramatic transformation? The wall had to come down. Now the kitchen feels much brighter and more open, and cooks don’t feel cut off from the rest of the apartment.

Switching the upper cabinets for open shelving helps to open up this small kitchen, and smooth the transition between the kitchen and the living room space. The lower cabinets are IKEA, with custom doors and hardware from semihandmade. The countertop is Dekton, an engineered material that has the look of natural stone but is virtually indestructible.

Some clever solutions help to recoup the storage space lost in the upper cabinets, including the new cabinets surrounding the fridge, and the slick new pullout pantry. So Dan and Mike have a new kitchen that’s more stylish, more functional, and more connected with the rest of their home — a win all around.

Dan and Mike found their contractor, Sandy, through Sweeten, a New York-area resource that connects homeowners with architects, designers and contractors. The architect for the project was Alex Coll, of Coll & Company. You can read more about this project and see more sources and photos on the Sweeten blog.

Originally published June 11, 2015.