This Was the Most-Liked Before & After on Apartment Therapy’s Instagram This Year (I’m Not Surprised!)

Written by

Sarah EverettAssistant Editor of Home Projects
Sarah EverettAssistant Editor of Home Projects
I organize the Before & After series and cover DIY and design. I joined AT in October 2020 as a production assistant. I have an MA in Journalism from the University of Missouri and a BA in Journalism from Belmont University. Past editorial stops include HGTV Magazine, Nashville Arts Magazine, and local magazines in my hometown, Columbia, Missouri.
published Dec 23, 2024
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Young woman surfing social media at home. Beautiful female is using smartphone while sitting on table. She is wearing casuals.
Credit: Morsa Images/Getty Images

Instagram is a great place to turn to for design inspiration and the instant satisfaction of swiping from a “before” to an “after.” Every week, Apartment Therapy shares home transformations on Instagram, and this year there was a clear fan favorite. 

If you want in on a little insider baseball as a future Apartment Therapy submitter or an avid fan of the site, here’s a fun fact: Kitchen transformations are almost always a hit with our readers — after all, who doesn’t love an extremely satisfying upgrade to dated ’90s cabinets? This green kitchen transformation in particular was the most-liked on Apartment Therapy’s Instagram from 2024. 

Homeowners and designers Palmer Schallon and Melissa Arcaro (@psama_design) added Craftsman-style details to their plain white Atlanta home, and the “after” is unrecognizable. 

Craftsman-style homes are known for, as you might expect from the name, their craftsmanship, with earthy color palettes and quality wood (think: oak, cedar, mahogany, or maple-framed framed windows and ceiling beams), shelving flanking fireplaces in living rooms, and windows with stained glass or valance grids.

Credit: Sara Witt
Credit: Marc Mauldin

Adding design details that add this feeling back into an “all-white everything” kitchen, for Palmer and Melissa, meant overhauling the cabinetry and incorporating many more wood details. 

The self-installed walnut butcher block countertops, the stained pine cabinetry, the cane center panels for the upper cabinets, and the creamy tan shiplap and crown molding are a feast for the eyes. To learn about all of the DIY changes the homeowners incorporated, read the full Before & After.

Credit: Sara Witt
Credit: Marc Mauldin

A couple of the commenters’ favorite details? The vintage avocado-colored stove (it was a Facebook Marketplace find!) and the deep green paint (it’s Farrow & Ball’s Calke Green!).

“The original was not a pleasant space to be, but now it is a warm, cozy, and welcoming place to prepare meals,” Palmer and Melissa previously told Apartment Therapy. To peek inside more warm, cozy, comfort-inducing Craftsman homes, check out these 14 craftsman-style interiors.