Say Goodbye to the Brown Cabinets in This ’90s Kitchen’s Makeover
It’s possible to remodel a kitchen and keep the same footprint, but if there’s budget for it, knocking down walls can help create an open-concept, roomy layout for a better flow.
In Stefany Viesca Ortega’s kitchen renovation, one wall got knocked down to create more space for her family, but one wall had to stay. Here’s how she worked around it and transformed the “warm honey oak, classic ’90s” kitchen into “a big fancy kitchen — but without the fancy price newly renovated homes come with.”
Knocking down a wall helped open and brighten the space.
A contractor helped Stefany and her husband with the renovation off-site, and the couple was there to keep track of everything on-site. “All the cabinets and old appliances were ripped out, but the biggest difference was felt when the wall came down,” Stefany says. This allowed the living room and kitchen to connect and more light to flow into the whole home.
Although they had tackled a bathroom reno before, “everything about the kitchen renovation felt like a first,” she adds — and they spent many late nights Googling their reno questions. Stefany is particularly proud that they made lemonade (a coffee bar and bookshelf) out of lemons (a wall that couldn’t come down.)
The wall by the fireplace had to stay in place for the home to remain structurally sound, but the homeowners found a workaround. “We made that stubborn wall work and look good by adding a bookshelf on one side and the coffee station on the other,” Stefany says, adding that the coffee bar gets daily use!
Relocating the laundry helped create some space.
Another game-changer was taking out the washer and dryer. The new under-mount sink is located in that spot because the wall where the old sink previously was was knocked down. The new sink is directly under a window, which makes dishwashing a cheerier chore. “The breeze that comes through that window [above] feels like natural AC,” Stefany says.
Out with the old, in with the bright and new.
Before, the cabinets were a dated brown, and the countertops were beige. The new cabinets are a bright white (Sherwin-Williams’ Pure White), the countertops are a veiny white quartz that looks like calacatta, and the backsplash tile is also a white glossy ceramic option. The black metal details (like the hardware and light fixtures) pop against the white backdrop.
Stefany’s tip for anyone remodeling a kitchen? Use free tools online to tinker around with imaginary cabinet layouts before deciding on the real thing. She used IKEA’s free kitchen planner. “We also went with a panel-ready dishwasher so it blends in seamlessly with the rest of the cabinets,” Stefany says.
There are cohesive light wood details.
Another of Stefany’s favorite design details is that the open shelving on the back wall matches the fireplace mantel. But mostly, Stefany loves that the kitchen functions better for her and her family. “Being able to watch my daughters play in the living room while I cook is priceless,” she says. “The new space feels massive … I cannot believe how we were prepping meals before the renovation.”
Inspired? Submit your own project here.