Before & After: A Brown, Dated Kitchen Gets a $40K Remodel

updated May 3, 2019

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Empty living room with hardwood floors, recessed lighting, and a brick fireplace in the adjacent room. — (Image credit: Claire Armstrong)

Name: Claire Armstrong, boyfriend Andy, and two cats, Toki and Aspen
Location: Glassell Park — Los Angeles, California
Size: 1,200 square feet
Years lived in: 4 months, owned

This house was built in Mar Vista in 1939 and moved to the current lot in Glassell Park in 1956 along with a detached garage from South LA. It has only had one owner who tended a beautiful garden and had interesting taste in wallpaper and DIY improvements. I just moved in with my boyfriend Andy, who has been helping me fix it up to look as good as I picture it in my head. We also have two cats, Toki and Aspen.

Create your very own home design mood board with our new tool!

(Image credit: Jessica Zollman)

The cost was around $40K. $5K for appliances (including new laundry nook and tankless water heater, not pictured), $10K for materials (Caeserstone countertops, IKEA cabinets, and Semihandmade fronts), and the rest on labor (including engineering for taking down the load bearing wall).

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Mid-century bungalow man-cave cat-haven

What is your favorite room and why? I really like the den because it has a ’70s vibe, wet bar, and fireplace. It’s where I choose to keep my record collection, instruments, and computers because it seems cozy and like a place to socialize.

This house was built in Mar Vista in 1939 and moved to the current lot in Glassell Park in 1956 along with a detached garage from South LA. (Image credit: Claire Armstrong)

If you could magically change something about your home, what would it be? Now that I just redid the kitchen, I want to move more walls in the other half of the house and redo the bathrooms and add on a deck outside the master suite!

Any advice for creating a home you love? Pick things that make your life easier and also make you smile.

Resources:

Tile Floor — Merola Tile Twenties Diamond
Tile Floor — Merola Tile Twenties Frame
Tile Floor — Merola Tile Twenties Corner
Tile Backsplash — Merola Metro Rhombus Matte White
Tile Backsplash — Merola Tile Metro Soho Subway
Wall Paint — BEHR Ultra Pure White Flat
Lights over the Island — Sculptural Glass Geo Pendant
Light over the Table — West Elm
Cabinet Hardware — CB2
Countertops — Quartz Organic White
Dining Storage Bench — CB2
Cabinets — IKEA
Cabinet Fronts — Semihandmade

Thanks, Claire!

• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour & House Call Submission Form.

Filed in: