A $350 French-Inspired Makeover Makes This Tiny City Kitchen Unrecognizable
Living in one space for a long time can definitely earn you some perks. For interior designer Jasmine Espinoza, 29 years of living in the same San Francisco building meant scoring a light-filled studio apartment at a good rate, plus having some freedoms to make changes to the home — like in her old kitchen.
“My kitchen had wooden cabinets with gray granite counters and salmon-colored tile floors,” Jasmine says. “It was outdated but had a good layout. I love to cook and entertain, so I wanted to have a space that was inspiring for me to be in.”
Jasmine knew that bringing the feeling of a Parisian bistro into her California home would inspire delicious meals, so she set out to do just that. The first update was reimagining the cabinets by removing the doors, sanding them down, priming them, and painting them in Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. New brass hardware from Amazon helps the new cabinets pop.
Next up, she added a more traditional renter-friendly flair to the room. Jasmine covered the existing countertops in a faux wood grain contact paper from Amazon and applied white peel-and-stick subway tiles to the backsplash.
Along the way, Jasmine took on a handful of other DIY projects in the kitchen. For example, she purchased some plywood planks and brackets from The Home Depot to create open shelving above the sink. To get more of a Parisian cafe look, she created her own bistro table.
“It was hard to find a 24-inch bistro table I liked, so I created my own,” she shares. “I purchased a small round wood top from The Home Depot and purchased table legs from Amazon. I then sanded down, primed, and painted the table white.”
The finishing touch to tie the space together was the checkerboard removable floor tiles from Amazon, and the floor is one of her favorite elements in the new kitchen. “I love my floors. The floors were really the final touch my kitchen needed,” she notes. “It was the jewelry to my outfit!”
It took Jasmine just a week and a half to give the dated kitchen a cozy, modern feel — and cost her only about $350. It’s also a testament to how clever ideas made the space feel much more spacious.
“My kitchen is special because it creates a cozy feel. I was able to work with a small kitchen and create extra shelves, a dining area, a chandelier, extra storage, and cooking space,” Jasmine says. “That is rare to have in small studios.”
The kitchen is a great example of how the rest of her home feels: cozy, Parisian-inspired, and with touches of organic modern elements. To see more, visit the full home tour on Apartment Therapy.
This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: Before & After: This $350 French-Inspired Makeover Makes an “Outdated” Tiny Kitchen Unrecognizable