A $500 Makeover Turns This “Stark White” SF Kitchen into a Colorful Victorian Stunner
I should’ve known back in 2023, when I wrote about Juliana’s gorgeous light green kitchen makeover, that it wouldn’t be the last time I’d see her ingenious interior work in rental apartments. It’s no surprise that seemingly everything Juliana touches turns into a piece of art, as she’s the senior art director of a wellness brand. But you have to see her latest work.
I was delighted to see how Juliana decorated her new rental in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood. One room in particular that stands out most is her gorgeous kitchen.
The apartment building was constructed in 1925, but Juliana isn’t sure when the kitchen was last renovated. (She found a newspaper from the ’80s while revamping the room, though!).
The original kitchen was in great condition when Juliana moved in, including original cabinets that had never been painted and held up well throughout the years. However, the room was extremely white.
“I wanted to give my own modern spin on a classic Victorian San Francisco style. I had been getting really inspired by rich burgundy tones in homes, and I knew I needed to add some drama to that pretty stark white kitchen,” Juliana explains.
Juliana began the transformation by covering the washer and dryer units that sat in the middle of the kitchen. Knowing that the room had limited counter space, she created more by building a peninsula over the appliances and then using blush tiles from her previous kitchen to decorate the sides. She also stained wood to make shelves above the oven for more storage.
Next came the color: On the walls, Juliana used Behr’s Dusty Rose and complemented that lighter shade with a dramatic hue on the trim: Behr’s Cherry Cola.
To add even more visual intrigue to the space, she covered the existing countertops in faux hardwood vinyl from Amazon. Juliana swapped out the hardware, which included brushed brass bar pulls, rounded pulls, and knobs, for her modern take on the Victorian style. The last cosmetic change she made was updating the kitchen light fixtures, then she finished by adding thrifted and DIY items that “bring the modern, funky spin” she loves so much into the room.
It took Juliana five months to transform the kitchen into what it is today, but she says she’ll continue editing as time goes on.
The project cost around $500, and she was surprised to learn a lot about herself along the way. “It revealed a side of my decor taste I previously didn’t think would match my personality,” she admits. Plus, it was entirely DIY!
To see more of Juliana’s gorgeous apartment, visit the full house tour on Apartment Therapy.
This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: Before & After: A “Stark White” Kitchen Is Injected with Color and Drama (for Just $500!)