Before & After: A Narrow, Dated Kitchen Is Now a Sleek, Modern Space Thanks to IKEA Cabinets
September is Transformation Month at Apartment Therapy! That means every day, we’re sharing a new before & after to show the power of transformations at home. Head over here to see them all!
Creative couple Ania Boniecka and Tyler Stalman renovated this condo three years ago, but it’s been in Ania’s family for longer. “This home is the first home that my parents bought when we first moved to Canada,” she said. “It changed hands from my brother (who was here before us), then went to my parents, and now me and my husband live here. It has a lot of memories and we were the very first owners, which really means a lot to me mainly because we know every corner, every scratch, and every little thing that was ever done to it.”
While there was nothing “wrong” with the condo, it was a bit dated, and wasn’t decorated in way that worked for the couple. “It was important to us to also create a space that was not only functional but also photogenic. We take a lot of photos around the house and we wanted to be inspired and as a result be able to inspire others who will later look at the images.”
One of the most dramatic renovations to the condo is the new modern kitchen; in fact most everything was updated save for the original lighting in the narrow room. “We LOVE the lighting in the kitchen and wanted to keep it as bright as possible. We switched out the florescent bulbs to LED bulbs so they will last us until we move and we added a dimmer as well.”
VOXTORP cabinet fronts from IKEA and Caesarstone countertops add a fresh vibe to the small space.
“It’s important to note that Frigidaire was the ONLY brand that we could find that fit the small apartment space. Something we were not aware of before going into the reno is that the building being from 1995, a lot of the standards for how things are made have changed over the years.”
“We found ourselves searching for proper-sized toilets and fridges all over the city and internet, it was surprisingly one of the bigger challenges.”
“We also got rid of our dishwasher. Because we don’t cook very often and there is only two of us, I always thought dishwashers were such a big water waster and they always make your dishes smell weird afterwards.”
“We replaced that dishwasher space with a microwave (that we used to hide in the cabinets or the storage room) and added additional storage. A win win.”
See all of Ania and Tyler’s remodeled home in their house tour.
Thanks Ania!