I Can’t Believe This Modern Kitchen Once Had Red Carpet (It Looks 2x Bigger!)

Loving where you live is important. After all, your home is your sanctuary — and it’s important that it provides you with a sense of peace and comfort. Whenever I come across a house tour where the homeowner describes what they love about their space (whether it’s the design, layout, certain features, or how it makes them feel) I’m intrigued.

It’s even more inspiring when someone takes a space that was a little blah before and transforms it into a beautiful representation of the life they want to lead in the space — and that’s exactly what homeowner Darya Karas did in her retro (and red!) kitchen.

Before tackling her reno, there was a lot Darya didn’t love about her space — especially its dingy (and dusty) red carpet that covered the entire kitchen. With a bit of imagination and a lot of hard work, Darya DIY’d her kitchen into a beautiful, bright, and airy space that I adore. What was once a visually heavy, dark kitchen is now an open and vibrant cook space that Darya actually wants to spend time in. “I waited patiently, saved a budget, and honed my DIY skills,” Darya says of the $10,000 makeover. “It was completely worth it.”

To achieve this stunning transformation, Darya switched to IKEA cabinets, choosing matte white AXSTAD cabinets for the upper cabinets and VEDHAMN for the lower. The textural combination of these styles is a brilliant design hack that makes the space feel larger and more open, while adding a sleek and modern touch.

While the cabinet switch was a game-changer, it wasn’t the only thing that elevated the kitchen’s design. Darya also painted the ceilings, trim, and walls with Sherwin-Williams’ Pure White for the first two coats, and Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White for the last. Add in new floors, sleek stainless steel appliances, and other decorative touches and it’s easy to see why Darya is thrilled with the final result. I would be, too!