The 12 Best Kitchen Before & Afters We Saw in 2019

If you’re stuck with a cramped, dark, and dated kitchen, pulling off a reno (or even a rehab) can be daunting. Plumbing, tile, appliances, and cabinets often require the help of a professional, and costs add up quickly. But these kitchen makeovers might just inspire you to take the leap. Some are total gut jobs, while others look almost unrecognizable, thanks to a little paint and some new hardware. They do all have one thing in common, though: They prove that the right kitchen can completely transform a home. 

At first glance, you might totally miss the fact that this space is supposed to be a kitchen. It’s tiny, dark, and altogether not functional. But it turns out the room had good bones—it just needed a little TLC. Removing the shelves opened the kitchen up to the living room, making the space feel much larger and more functional. And sticking with a two-toned black-and-white color scheme gives the whole thing a sophisticated, modern vibe. 

Designer Patrick Thompson took the kitchen in this craftsman-style home from dated, dark, and very brown to sleek and modern without changing the footprint. To do so, he swapped the old cabinets with bold, black ones, added subway tile, and replaced the floor with an amazing black and white tile in a custom mosaic pattern. The result is a space that shows off Thompson’s eclectic style, without losing the 1920s craftsman charm. 

In this kitchen rehab, the homeowner ripped up the floor and finished the concrete, replaced the old counters with butcher block, then leaned on paint and new hardware to bring it all together. The most impressive thing about the whole project? The total cost was a mere $800. 

This kitchen originally had black walls and dark flooring that made the space look dingy, so the homeowner added counter-to-ceiling white subway tile with a contrasting hexagonal slate backsplash to brighten things up. She also replaced the dated cabinets with white uppers and baby blue lowers to add an element of playfulness to the space. Gold hardware and stainless steel appliances tie it all together. 

When you compare the before and after photos of this kitchen, you won’t even believe you’re looking at the same room. Though functional enough, the old kitchen is completely uninspired. Sleek marble, modern cabinets, reclaimed wood, and stainless steel appliances make for an ultra-clean and truly luxurious-looking space. 

There’s really only one word to describe this home’s former kitchen, and that’s… green. Very, very green. Luckily, the homeowner was able to change that with some quick, cheap fixes, like painting the floor, cabinets, and walls and adding cool graphic tile stickers, as well as some lighting.  

This tiny kitchen had features like a dropped ceiling and plastic tile floors meant to look like wood that made the room look dark and dated and didn’t do any justice to the charm of the center hall colonial. To change that, the homeowners made big changes, like taking down the dining room wall, replacing two windows, moving the stove, and installing hardwood floors, cabinets, and countertops. The result is a fresh, airy space that’s just right for the 1920s home.

This super small kitchen was dark and uninviting with a barely usable breakfast nook, so the owners decided to give it a nearly complete overhaul. They opened up the small wall that separated the breakfast nook from the kitchen, added a window, painted the cabinetry white, and installed a walnut butcher block countertop to add warmth to the clean, white palette. Finally, they added simple white subway tile, gold accessories, and new lighting to bring the whole look together. 

This kitchen had fantastic light, but was pretty basic and humdrum. To make the space feel more warm and welcoming, the owners added subway tile and painted the cabinets. The lowers got a simple and striking blue, while the uppers got a bright and airy white. They also boxed in the soffits to make everything look more custom and built-in. The finished product is a kitchen that will look good for years to come.

This kitchen rehab is proof that renters don’t have to make the hard choice to either live in an unattractive, old kitchen or spend a ton of money on a space they don’t own. For just $1,000, this renter used paint, new hardware, lighting, and a hacked IKEA kitchen island to give a boring kitchen a breath of fresh air.

By replacing the gray marble backsplash and painting the dingy white cabinets and walls, this blogger was able to turn her cramped rental kitchen into a warm, elegant space, complete with a breakfast nook. All she had to do was add a light wood table and a bench with throw pillows to an odd, previously unusable nook. 

Lighter flooring, countertops, and bright white cabinets turn a once-cave-like kitchen into a bright and airy oasis. But the space doesn’t look sterile—it has plenty of colorful accents, like mint stools, greenery, and orange accents that add an element of personality.