Before & After: A Small Beige Kitchen Gets an $80 Shake-up!
Sometimes our favorite before and after projects are the ones that take a small addition to a home and create a big impact on the look. This tiny kitchen is a great example. Christina made a small but bold choice —and it really paid off!
From Christina
I recently bought my first condo — a small and beautifully renovated 475 square foot one bedroom. The only problem was that while I love it, some of the features were a little bland — including a slightly personality-less kitchen. Also, because my place is so small, the kitchen is a dominating feature from the moment you step through the front door, and it’s pretty much the first thing you see! So I needed some help in making it more interesting without being too expensive — since I just bought it!
My incredibly fast and easy solution was to do a chalkboard wall, which for a small space was daunting, but since it’s next to a window, it didn’t darken the place at all. Very useful for impromptu art or to welcome a guest. Also, it lets me make lists I can’t ignore.I also am very short and hate getting up and down to reorganize my pots and pans in the small amount of cabinet space that I do own, so creating a rack on the wall was a natural solution and advertised my love of cooking (although for the less used pots, I still need a stool!).
The other thing about being a city dweller — I live in DC — I don’t have a car and can’t go to different stores to purchase items, especially big things, so everything was sent to my house — the Grundtal shelving, the Molly bolts that secured them, the paint and even the brushes and drop cloths.
Total cost was under $80 for the paint, shelving, hardware and painting supplies. Thank you Christina!
Re-edited from a post originally published 6.15.2014 – nt