Kitchen Remodel Ideas

This is what Tara’s kitchen looked like when she moved in this past year. Not too pretty, eh? With her landlord’s approval, we did a light reno that didn’t cost a lot, but made a major difference in both appearance and function. Spending money on a rental isn’t for everyone — but for those of you who love to cook, have a horrible kitchen, and plan to stay put for awhile, then a little investment may well be worth the time and expense.

Name: Jennifer Pade Type of Project: Kitchen remodel Location: West Village, New York, New York Type of building: 300 square foot apartment in a co-op building For those of you who have been following along with Jennifer’s NYC kitchen remodel, and who saw the truly dire state of her original kitchen, this reveal will be especially satisfying. The work is done, the dust has cleared, and now it’s time to take a look at the finished product.

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.

If there’s a leading trend, it’s embracing color, and that’s exactly what the talented crew at DC design firm Residents: Understood did with their clients Danielle and Peter. Using the young couple’s wanderlust as inspiration, R:U set about transforming sterile gloomy to bold global.Given that Danielle and Peter met while studying in Europe, got engaged in Iceland, and will be married in Italy this fall, they wanted to make a home that suited their vibrant life together.

The secret? Color!

Ever since Denise and her husband Brad moved into their 1937 California Ranch style home six years ago, the dark and dated kitchen was always a sore spot for her. Not only was it stuck in the ’80s, it also lacked adequate storage.It wasn’t until the birth of their daughter that she realized she would be spending a lot of time in the kitchen as a stay-at-home mom — and she needed a space that was open, warm, and reflected her love of old world glamour.

Back in 2011, Annie and her husband had a little difference of opinion when it came to the oak cabinets in the kitchen of their new home. She hated them, and he loved them. Since she had carte blanche everywhere else in the house, she wrote into Apartment Therapy asking how they should redecorate and still respect his wishes.

The redo took advantage of original historical elements, while creating a bright, airy, and livable space.

New cabinets, backsplash, countertop, and more add tons of vintage-inspired character to create a welcoming cook space.

The after's full of great renter-friendly solutions.

This full-blown renovation took two months and cost $10,000.

Wait until you see the herringbone backsplash.

This 1906 Craftsman house in Los Angeles got a kitchen remodel, but instead of stripping away ALL the vintage charm, they refreshed the space and honored previous eras.

Sometimes you have to knock down a few walls to fully brighten a space.

This kitchen goes from plain to punchy with a few low-budget tweaks.

With six kids, a spacious and functional kitchen was a must for this family.

Just wait until you see the massive kitchen island.

This rental kitchen redo is packed with ideas worth stealing for your own home.

"Most of the stuff we own is cooking and baking supplies, so we knew we would either have to majorly downsize or do something about the kitchen space," says the owner.

Full ingredients list? Paint, hardware, accessories, and creativity.

We should mention: This is a total DIY job.

You know when something doesn’t quite fit. For Violaine and Gaëtan, the style of their country kitchen just wasn’t a reflection of their preferred industrial style. A Belgian architect now living in Montreal, Gaëtan designed the new kitchen himself in his spare time. They sold the old cabinets, tiles and appliances on the internet and grabbed a hammer to start renovating. The result is unique and simply gorgeous.

All the inspo you need to wallpaper your kitchen.

This DIY kitchen redo is full of smart savings.

A "before & after" bonanza of reader-submitted projects, organized by budget.

When Lee moved into his apartment rental, the kitchen was stark white and sterile. Check out what some color and black and white self adhesive floor tiles can do…With the help of a hair dryer, he removed the old, cracked vinyl tiles, and replaced them with Armstrong self adhesive floor tiles (cost $90). By positioning them at an angle, he created a diamond pattern that helps to distracts the eye from the railroad apartment’s “long & skinny” shape.

Brooklyn to West‘s Ariele has done it again. In my opinion, she’s the junkyard, dumpster diving, demo-ed house DIY Queen. This gal finds discarded household materials throughout Brooklyn and transforms them into artistic, thoughtful, and beautiful everyday objects. Most recently, she’s taken floorboards and changed them into cheese boards. Genius? YES!Ariele never ceases to amaze me.

You'll want to steal the new cabinet color ASAP.

Wait until you see the ceiling.

A redo of a 1912 home's galley kitchen makes room for bold pattern.

Open, airy, with farmhouse flair? Count us in.

This DIY gut job yielded seriously impressive results.

The after's lighter, brighter, and way more modern.

It's a little last century, a little this century, and a lot stylish.

Yes, really.

With disaster comes the opportunity to rebuild.

This one-time rental kitchen's total overhaul made it way more functional—and lots prettier, too.

This small change makes a huge difference.

Tiny space, big style—and a whole lot of inspiration.

This was the year of statement-making tile, and these redos are the best of the best.

This budget-friendly trick is timeless, and these stunning projects prove it.

Project by: Sabina Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania We moved into our house three years ago and it was love at first sight. We loved everything about it—except the fact that it was incredibly outdated. So, after putting up with our dated, depressing kitchen for three years, in June of 2015 we finally started our dream kitchen renovation. We had replaced a few of the appliances with our own when we moved in, so we didn’t opt to get all new appliances during this renovation.

Every so often, someone sends in a project that 100% reaffirms my belief in the power of paint along with good diy and decorating skills. This is one of them. Take it away (and OMG, amazing job!

Project by: Karen We just moved into a 1929 Tudor bungalow. The kitchen is small and has only one window. The upper cabinets made the room seem darker. In addition, they were hard for me to reach (I’m 5’2″). So I took them out and replaced them with open shelving in gloss white. The room was instantly brighter. I added storage in the pantry to make up for the lost cabinet space. So I took out the upper cabinets and replaced them with open shelving in gloss white.

Renovation by: Kristyn Location: Pittsburgh There was nothing WRONG with the kitchen when I purchased my first home except that it wasn’t me. It didn’t fit the 1920s Tudor Revival style of the house or my preferred bright, colorful, organic modern look. Although I don’t love bead board, there was no reason to replace the clean and sturdy cabinets. So I embraced it, adding more to the side and back of the island that separates kitchen from dining room.

Renovation by: Patti Location: Phoenix, AZ We moved into our fixer-upper exactly one year ago and finally finished the last room – the kitchen. I think the previous owner must have fantasied about being a princess because every single room was painted pink (including ceilings and doors!) and had wall to wall purple carpeting.

Alison Dahl Kelly shared photos and the story of her amazing kitchen and dining room makeover with us. Take it away, Alison: Purchased in 2009, our artfully restored 1880’s townhouse has been taken apart and put back together again, restoring some old and adding some new. What attracted us to buy this house were the still-intact original details—parquet flooring, tin ceilings, marble fireplaces, built-in cabinetry, his and hers vanities.

Renovation by: Katy Location: Decatur, GA We bought our 1958 ranch style home last year and right away knew we wanted to completely overhaul the kitchen. Everything except the appliances were original to the house and there was a wall that closed the small space in, making it feel even smaller.

Project by: Kara and Matt Location: Charlotte, NC This past spring we purchased a 1960’s style brick ranch that aesthetically was still stuck in that decade. The home had great bones, but like most houses built at that time, contained lots of tiny “living” spaces, like a small L shaped kitchen, a super dark paneled den and a long, narrow living room.

When faced with an outdated kitchen, it’s a natural reaction to want to go for the gut and simply start with a clean slate. It takes a a good eye and plenty of design confidence to recognize a situation where not everything has to go and instead, successfully build on the old, seen-better-days bones of the room.

Renovation by: Takbir Fatima from DesignAware Location: Hyderabad, India This kitchen had been through a lot of wear: the original construction was faulty, causing leakage in the floor, the original design allowed for almost no natural light to enter the kitchen, and previous tenants’ lack of maintenance had made an entire wall stubbornly greasy. Before moving in, I brought down the wall separating the kitchen and dining areas, opening up the space.

Looking to cook up some style in your own home? Get inspired by our favorite kitchen redos of the year.

Those dollars go a long way in this kitchen transformation.

The total budget for the renovation was a lot less than you might think, too.

You won't even believe it's the same kitchen.

It's a lot of bang for less than a Benjamin.

See if you can spot all the tiny swaps that make this kitchen look brand new.

We love a good transformation, and some of the biggest happen in the kitchen. Here are 15 of our favorite kitchen makeovers sent in from our readers that are sure to inspire you to get cooking. → Before & After: A Brown & Tiny Kitchen Gets Brightened and Space Maximized!

These will knock your socks off, despite the teeniest tiniest price tags imaginable.

Lime green: great for slime, not always so great for cabinets.

Fresh paint, new hardware, stylish lighting... the new kitchen's got it all.

We see a lot of kitchen makeovers, and these are our editors' favorites of the year... so far!

Old cabinets and wall-to-wall carpet in much of the rooms, the interiors were pretty outdated before the renovation.

As this homeowner says, "paint, elbow grease, and lack of fear are my secret weapons!"