A Dated Brown 1990s Kitchen Gets a Calming Japandi-Inspired Makeover
From its dark brown wooden cabinets to its black and green speckled granite countertops to its dark marbled flooring, you could tell that Matty J’s (@mattyjallday) kitchen was a 1990s relic. As he puts it, “I’m pretty sure this kitchen hasn’t seen an update since Beyoncé went solo.”
He liked the layout and the fact that the kitchen was connected to the living room, but the countertops felt dated, “the cabinetry was way too dark, making the space feel smaller than it actually was,” and the cooktop didn’t have a vent hood (smoke-alarm city!).
Matty J wanted to make his kitchen not only more functional, but also better match his aesthetic, which leans more toward Japandi style, with lighter wood tones. He hired architectural designer Sébastien Markoc (@markocdesign) and contractors to take his “Pinterest dreams and turn them into reality.”
The new kitchen feels brighter.
“I knew I wanted a space that felt peaceful and calming, so choosing the right tones and textures just clicked,” Matty says. He went with light wood cabinets (including ones with fluted fronts), inspired by photos he’d seen on Pinterest.
He updated the flooring to a light wood, and he replaced the “track lighting that looked straight out of a department store” with canned lighting plus some minimalist flush-mounts. The paint color is Behr’s Ultra Pure White, and the countertops are a beige quartzite.
The countertops took a bit of time to get right.
“I originally had my heart set on white countertops, but when I saw them in-person, they were way too bright for the space,” Matty J says. “The ones I ended up choosing felt much more balanced and easy on the eyes.”
His best kitchen remodeling advice? “Seeing materials in-person is a must,” he says. “Pictures online can be so deceiving … sometimes what looks perfect on a screen doesn’t translate the same in real life, so always make the trip to see materials before making a decision. It saved me from a choice I would have definitely regretted!”
Demoing walls made the kitchen “bigger, brighter, and way more inviting.”
Matty J says knocking down the walls in the kitchen reno was key. “Once my contractors gave the green light that there were no structural beams hiding in there, we went full demo mode and knocked them down,” he explains, and he calls it the “best decision ever.”
“Instantly, the space felt bigger, brighter, and way more inviting,” he adds. “What was once a closed-off, boxed-in kitchen became an open, airy space that made the entire condo feel huge. The kitchen now seamlessly connects with a bar area and the living room, and knocking down the wall made room for the new, large island.
Most of the appliances got an upgrade.
Matty J also got a new refrigerator, range (and more importantly, hood!), and microwave for the kitchen. “One budget-friendly win was keeping my existing dishwasher,” he shares. “I had already upgraded it before the renovation, so there was no way I was about to toss a perfectly good appliance just for the sake of a full refresh. Instead of spending extra cash on something I didn’t need, I put that money toward other design elements that made a bigger impact.”
And he’s ultra-pleased with the way all the design elements came together. “I love everything,” he says. “This is literally my dream kitchen come to life! The space feels welcoming, calming, and exactly how I envisioned it.”
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