Before & After: A Really Dark Brooklyn Kitchen Lightens Up

Although this Greenpoint kitchen, at 100 square feet, is much larger than many NYC apartment kitchens, it was suffering a bit from dark, heavy finishes. The black countertop sucked light out of the space, and glass-front cabinets left nowhere to hide clutter, making the kitchen feel chaotic and cramped. Plus, two of the cabinets were blocking a window — never a good look.

The new kitchen embraces lightness and brightness, but, refreshingly, doesn’t go all the way white. The marble backsplash adds a touch of texture, and the light blue walls add a welcome hint of color. The blue extends to the kitchen’s ceiling, helping to subtly differentiate it from the rest of the living space.

New white IKEA cabinets help to brighten up the space: the grey engineered-stone countertop is a nice contrast. If you love the look of marble but not the high price or the attendant maintenance, take note: in this kitchen design a marble backsplash is a much lower-maintenance alternative to a marble countertop. And if you look closely, the backsplash is made from marble tiles, which are much less expensive than a slab.

Tearing down the old cabinets revealed that some of them were hiding a second kitchen window. Now, with two windows flanking the stove, light floods the room. The old cabinets have been replaced by a stretch of open shelving, which makes for a airier, more open look — and avoids blocking the newly revealed window. But there are also two concealed upper cabinets, above the stove and the fridge, to tuck away things you may not want to look at every day.

The palette of this kitchen comes together really nicely, with the white, grey, blue, and even the stainless of the appliances harmonizing to create a space that feels bright and open but still has plenty of character. And thanks to all the storage and workspace built into the new cabinet peninsula separating the kitchen and living room, it’s a practical transformation, too.

This homeowner found their contractor on Sweeten, a free service matching homeowners with local general contractors. You can read more about the project, see more photos, and find sources on the Sweeten blog.