A $321 Makeover Gives This “Crusty” 2000s Kitchen a Cozy, Cottage-y Look

When interior designer Sydney Moss (of Sydney Moss Designs) and her partner moved into their rental apartment in Brooklyn, she described it as a bit of a “bachelor pad” and set out to reimagine the space. That included the kitchen, which she thinks was probably updated sometime in the early 2000s. 

The aesthetic wasn’t exactly what the couple was looking for — namely, the wall adorned with the phrase “Molly’s Mom’s kitchen” alongside a heart and four-leaf clover. “The brown trim that was painted everywhere else was also in here, the light fixture had a broken shade, and the hardware was a bit crusty from years of use,” Sydney says. 

As someone who works in design, Sydney began with a plan — she created a Pinterest board full of galley kitchens with the vibe she was interested in. She had a couple of goals: to make the kitchen feel “clean and functional,” and also to add seating by the window so that she could enjoy her coffee while gazing out at their garden.

Although Sydney’s not a big fan of covering things with vinyl or contact paper, because she was renting she decided to give it a shot. She covered her “burnt and falling-apart formica countertops” with a faux terrazzo print, which immediately made the space feel clean and fresh. 

The hardware, which she says was “dated and stained from use,” was swapped out for aged brass handles from Etsy. To refresh the room even further, she painted the trim with Sherwin-Williams’ Willow Tree and the walls with Sherwin-Williams’ Crème. 

Sydney also built a shelf beside the kitchen door for more storage space. At first, the couple hit their hips on the edge, so she rounded it out and added some curtains to hide the trash cans underneath. Her most eye-catching projects, however, are the ones she created using recycled fabric: the window valence using Sister Parish Design fabric scraps, and the seat cushions and pillows on the chairs using scraps from a couch she reupholstered. “It was a lovely couch, but we eventually had to get rid of it, so it’s nice that it still lives on in our kitchen,” Sydney says. 

Sydney spent around a month working on the kitchen makeover and just $321 total on the project, thanks to her reusing what she already had, which she’s extremely proud of. “I’ve been waiting for an excuse to use the Sister Parish Design fabric as the valence, and I think it just looks so perfect in the space.” The kitchen isn’t the only room that Sydney’s updated in their home. To see more, visit the full house tour on Apartment Therapy.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: Before & After: This “Crusty” 2000s Kitchen Gets a Charming Makeover (for Just $321!)