“This Kitchen Sucked the Life Out of Me,” but Now It’s a Functional Space to Spend Hours In
“It felt like the past 20-plus years of meals that were cooked in [this kitchen] were permanently baked into the counters and the walls,” Sierra Di Giacomo-Maika shares. As someone who loves to cook and values good food, Sierra’s favorite place is the kitchen.
But when Sierra and her husband, Chris, moved into the apartment, the kitchen was the last place she wanted to be. “Not to be dramatic, but this kitchen completely sucked the life out of me every time I walked into it,” she says.
The space only had one small brick wall-facing window, along with gray walls, permanently “grimy dark gray” laminate countertops, and chrome hardware everywhere. “It did a spectacular job of making me feel sad,” Sierra explains. “I was always trying to get out of there as soon as I could,” and since that was coming from someone who loves to cook, something had to give.
5 Easy DIYs Added Practicality and Functionality to the Kitchen
“Since gray-on-gray-on-gray doesn’t exactly put a pep in my step, I did everything my landlord would allow to inject warmth and comfort into this space — as well as practicality and functionality,” Sierra says.
With the help of her husband and dad, they made five major changes that equally added to the overall transformation — each being a DIY or easy swap.
Updating the Cupboards and Wall Color Were the First Steps
“The gray *had* to go, so I went with a bright white paint with a slightly warm undertone,” Sierra explains. “It was the perfect shade to bring that warmth into the space, as well as reflect as much light as possible.”
While experts were telling Sierra to use a satin or semi-gloss finish to help reflect light and brighten the “dull” space, she instead used an eggshell finish to hide the imperfections on the over 100-year-old walls.
Sierra also upgraded the hardware on the cabinets, replacing the “thin chrome handles” with “simple, sturdier black ones” — contrasting the white cabinets and walls again.
“It took all of 30 minutes to swap them out — such a quick, easy, impactful fix,” Sierra notes.
This 1 Product Means No Maintenance for the New Butcher Block Countertops
With each upgrade Sierra made with Chris and her dad, her “entire goal was to bring as much warmth into the space as possible.”
“We ripped out the original dark laminate counters and replaced them with solid acacia wood butcher block,” Sierra says. “I knew that solid wood would do a tremendous job of [adding warmth] — in a cost-effective way too.”
However, Sierra did have a concern about the maintenance of butcher block countertops. But she quickly discovered spar-urethane — a marine varnish that’s used as a topcoat on boats. “So I thought if it’s waterproof enough for a *boat* — then it would be waterproof enough for my counters,” she notes.
And Sierra was right. “Water beads up on these wooden countertops as if they were made of glass,” she describes. “It has completely sealed out water, so there are no stains, water marks, or damage ANYWHERE on the wood.”
Even over two years later, there’s been no need for Sierra or Chris to re-coat the countertops. And the best part is, spar-urethane is food-safe as long as it’s fully cured.
“The next thing that went in was the sink [and faucet],” Sierra shares. “I opted for a ‘single’ and MUCH larger sink — as opposed to the original, tiny double-sink.” The couple has a ton of room to wash big pots and baking sheets, without splashing water all over the floor. Plus, the matching black faucet Sierra purchased has a great range of motion for those large pots and pans.
The last thing Sierra updated was the backsplash, something that she’d never done before. She chose a simple 3×6-inch subway tile to make it easier on herself. To match the new black features, Sierra used a black grout.
Luckily, her dad “is a very experienced DIYer and handyman,” so Sierra had backup with any difficult or first-time tasks — like switching out the faucet and retiling. With her dad’s help, “everything went SO well,” and Sierra feels confident to tackle any other projects with the knowledge her dad taught her.
The Kitchen’s Updates Created an Inviting Space for Cooking, Cleaning, and Hosting
“I wanted it to be a space I enjoyed spending hours in and took pride in cleaning, organizing, and styling,” Sierra shares. Her goal was to make it cozy and inviting, a place that would give her life after preparing a meal, instead of feeling drained as she did before the renovation.
While Sierra loves all of the upgrades Chris and she made, she notices that she’s most grateful for the giant, spacious sink and the adjustable faucet.
“More than the wall color or the cute countertops, the sink and faucet are things I directly, physically interact with every day,” she comments. “Having those two things be more functional and visually beautiful makes doing dishes SO much more pleasant and practical.”
The kitchen is now much warmer and more inviting than it was before, which is exactly what Sierra and Chris wanted. They take pride in their renovations, genuinely wanting to keep the space clean and styled.
“It’s easy to make it look nice when the base is good!” Sierra says.
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