Modern Kitchen Transformation – This kitchen was a lot of fun to work on in part because the “Before” space was so different from the new design. Every phase of the project felt fresh and exciting because of the changes happening in the space.
Here is a before photo looking towards where Tubs are sitting in the photo above. You can see the flat roof and soffit that was ripped out to reveal the roof lines of the shed along with several other changes!
Modern Kitchen Transformation
Here’s another before photo showing the booth and built-in soffit we got rid of to make more room for countertops and cabinets. We added stone to the pillar in the picture as well as other areas around the home. The clients now use their beautiful dining room every day!
Best Small Modern Kitchen Ideas: Transforming Limited Spaces Into Stylish Havens
Moving things around a bit, creating an interesting ceiling plane, and adding texture with stone and wood changed the whole feel of this kitchen. Materials are simple and classic: alder wood cabinets, granite countertops, subway tile backsplash. The wall color is Edgecomb Gray HC-173 by Benjamin Moore. Photo by Sara Yoder courtesy of Laura Medicus Interiors.
A clean, simple line with natural materials and plenty of light! The roofs are planked with Colorado beetle killer pine. Photo by Sara Yoder courtesy of Laura Medicus Interiors.
The clients have a warm, light kitchen to create meals and memories – this project was a joy to see come to fruition! Photo by Sara Yoder courtesy of Laura Medicus Interiors.
Laura is a Denver Interior Designer who runs an Interior Design Studio based in sunny Colorado with a strong passion for livable and interesting interiors. She also runs The Colorado Nest, a Denver blog on Design, Art and Life in the Mountain West and co-hosts the book podcast “The Inside Flap” on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. View all posts by Laura Medicus Interiors
Discover The Ultimate Kitchen Transformation: Complete Remodeling In Wyckoff Nj By Mudosi Kitchen & Bath
“LOVE that fulfills you, FRIENDS that make you happy, WORK that seduces you, beauty that seduces you – these are the rocks to build upon for health, success and happiness.” – Dorothy Draper, 1941 A few years ago we remodeled my brother and sister-in-law’s dark 80’s kitchen into a bright, modern kitchen on a budget.
I shared the remodeling plan and some of the projects along the way, but I never shared the final big reveal…until today!
This kitchen remodel was a big DIY project. We taught my brother-in-law some DIY skills and put in many hours of work to keep the budget low. It gave us almost the entire summer working weekends.
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Beach House Kitchen Transformation
But the end result was creating an amazing kitchen and creating amazing memories along the way with some of my favorite people!
Check out the before and after photos of this amazing kitchen makeover. And I’ll share how we managed to make such a big impact on such a small budget.
The main purpose of this kitchen remodel was to update the kitchen to match the young, hip couple who lived there. And to make it better for entertaining.
The kitchen felt squeezed into one side of the room with a large open space on the other side. I guess the space was open for a dining table, but there was another dining area next to it, so it sat empty and unused.
Modern Kitchen Transformation
The kitchen island was too small for the entertaining and cooking they like to do. And it left a lot of room in the kitchen.
So we removed the too small kitchen island and flipped the side of the island. Using the previously wasted space, we added a 9′ long kitchen island.
In the island on the side closest to the stove, we have new cabinets for storage and a “built in” microwave. On the side next to the dining room, we removed the cabinets for a pedestal table base to eat in the island.
The kids can easily sit up to the bar for a quick meal. And when you’re entertaining, this large kitchen island is the perfect place to gather around.
My Ikea Kitchen Makeover
If you don’t want floating shelves, you can simply remove the cabinet doors from the existing upper cabinets and paint them. Leaving the cabinets without doors creates the same open feeling without losing as much storage.
Removing all the dark, heavy cabinets in the corner and around the stove created a much more open feel to the kitchen. And it makes the place feel much bigger than before.
All items previously stored in the upper cabinets were easily moved to the new cabinets in the kitchen island.
Now the solid maple shelves are left for mostly decorative items. It makes the kitchen feel very clean and spacious.
Elegant And Modern Kitchen Renovation
When we pulled down the upper cabinets to make room for the new shelves, we found the cabinet boxes for the upper cabinets going behind the sofa. Big win!
We were able to remove the face frames from the cabinets we were keeping and replace them with face frames that went all the way to the ceiling.
The taller cabinets make the entire kitchen feel grander and more modern. The upper shelf in the cabinets is not adjustable, but it offers a lot of storage for less used items.
If you have a soffit on your cabinets, you might be lucky like us, but maybe not. instead, you could still create the appearance that your cabinets go all the way to the ceiling by being creative with paint and trim.
Kitchen Of The Week: A Six Week Transformation In Los Feliz
The panty cabinets next to the fridge offered lots of storage, but it was a hot mess inside! It is too easy to loose things in the back of the 24″ deep pantry shelves.
Even though the improvements made to the pantry are not visible from the outside, they were worth the cost.
When I updated the front frame, I left the center stile and that allowed me to add pull-out shelves to the pantry.
Deeper drawers were added to the bottom of the pantry to hold bagged items like chips and pasta. And shallower drawers were used as pull-out shelves for the panty top.
Organic Modern Kitchen — Tidal Interiors
Now you can easily find and reach everything in the pantry. This adds so much storage to the kitchen without needing more cabinets.
When my brother and sister-in-law moved into their home, there was a desk built into the small wall in front of the pantry. They didn’t use it and removed it a couple of years ago.
But luckily they never got around to throwing the piece of granite that was the desk top. So when they asked to add a dry bar to their kitchen, I knew exactly what to do!
I used the granite piece as the countertop and built my own cabinets to create the perfect wall for entertaining. Stay tuned for complete construction plans for this dry bar!
A Modern Kitchen Transformation By Collaroy Kitchen Centre
One of the challenges I faced when designing the kitchen for my in-laws was her different design ideas. She wanted a modern kitchen with lots of cabinets, but then she kept finding pictures of very deep rooms for inspiration.
She loved the terra cotta, colorful hand-painted tiles, and natural wood from Mexico, where her mother is from. So my goal was to add a touch of Mexican design… but keep it contemporary and modern.
The first thing I did was to bring natural wood into the kitchen. Sometimes painted cabinets can feel very rude, especially in a cool color like gray. But we warmed the kitchen with beautiful maple wood.
The light color of the map kept the look contemporary, but added a lot of warmth. And I added it all over the kitchen. My trick is to use it in at least 3 places so it doesn’t feel like an afterthought.
Before And After Small Kitchen Remodels
We also added some smaller touches of Mexican design throughout the kitchen. Some more permanent and others with just colorful decoration.
A built-in microwave is 3-4 times more expensive than a countertop. But to look inside, but still allow for air flow, I created a cutout design based on Mexican patterned tiles to fit the microwave into the new kitchen island.
It’s painted the same color as the cabinets so it blends in, but the design really stands out!
Aside from DIYs, one of the easiest ways to save money on a kitchen remodel is to use what you already have!
Mid Sized Kitchen Ideas You’ll Love
In this kitchen, the cabinets were in good shape. The custom cabinets were well made with real wood. All they needed was a face change.
By reusing all the cabinets around the perimeter of the kitchen we will save thousands of dollars. We painted the kitchen cabinets with hard primer and cabinet enamel paint. And the cabinet doors and drawer fronts were replaced with new shaker style doors.
Cabinet doors on an existing cabinet will instantly change the entire look of the cabinet. These DIY cabinet doors were a great save for time and budget.
One of the things my brother-in-law hated about the kitchen was the old-fashioned granite countertops. But they just couldn’t pay
Before & After: Tasha’s Charming Modern Kitchen
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