Before and After: This Lackluster Kitchen Was Remodeled from Head to Toe
This plain kitchen was sort of… fine? We’ve seen gross kitchens and this one was far from it. If anything, it was a little sterile, with various off-white shades paired with some unflattering lighting.
Here’s another view, where you can see that there weren’t any accent colors, textures, metal-mixing, or any of the other design elements that give a space interest.
And here’s what it looks like today:
Clare of Conklin House made a lot of smart style and structural changes to this kitchen during her remodel. One of the best decisions, she said, was removing the original ceiling soffits above the kitchen sink, and reworking the plumbing that was beneath. They also removed the right-hand set of cabinets to create a more open floor plan. Those moves alone opened up the space entirely:
Clare chose classic white subway tile wall and a wood island countertop that brings warmth to the space. That, combined with the other wooden elements are important here—with a black and white design, things can feel a little too cold without natural elements to balance it out.
The stove vent is still in its original spot, but a new custom wood range hood cover camouflages the functionality, and makes it blend into the wall. Open shelving allows Clare to display her beautiful kitchenware.
While the typical American kitchen has a row of upper cabinets, with another, deeper row of cabinets below, Clare swapped out uppers for open shelving and used drawers below. As we’ve argued, drawers in the kitchen are a great choice. They are more accessible than cabinets, easier to organize, and also look very stylish.
We especially love the way that the colors in this redo are dark toward the floor and light toward the ceiling. This naturally draws our eyes up and toward the window, which is always a good thing.
Thanks so much Clare!