When Kitchn reader Debra bought her apartment in the Marais district of Paris in 2007, the kitchen had not been renovated since the 1950's. Needless to say, it needed a lot work! But because it was small and opened into the living room, she also wanted it to feel integrated with the rest of the house, to have a bit of a bibliothèque feel. Here's what she did: More

Some acquaintances are about to buy a new (to them) home, one that has been in the hands of one owner since the 50s. They invited me over to give some opinions on the kitchen, and as soon as I saw it, it felt familiar. Why? I realized it felt just like Betty Draper's kitchen on Mad Men. What would you do with this kitchen to update it, especially if you were on a budget? More

Let's say you wanted to make over the look of your kitchen (which you detest) but feel, rightly, that it would be unwise to spend a huge amount of money on a full renovation. What approach would you take? What would you do? Well, we should all take inspiration from Amanda Hesser's recent kitchen makeover, which turned what was rapidly becoming a dated space into something more sophisticated and modern, better tuned now for the video and photographic work done every week in this kitchen. Want to see the after? More

Project: Lido Island Residence by Emily LaMarque Studio
Location: Newport Beach, CA

Every once in a while we like to take a look at kitchen renovations done by professional design studios. They're usually more aspirational than achievable for many of us, but they still provide great visual inspiration and ideas. The kitchen you see above once belonged to a couple who, after finding themselves empty-nesters, decided to sell their high-maintenance beachfront home. The Emily LaMarque Design Studio, based in West Hollywood, stripped the kitchen to its studs, knocked down a few walls, and turned the dated design into a glamorous kitchen befitting its covetable waterfront location. More

I'm the first person to admit to a fair amount of fancy kitchen ogling. (Hello Pinterest.) Of course, these are mere dreams for me, but for many home buyers designer detailing—custom cabinets, high-end appliances, swanky countertops—are an essential part of a decent kitchen, and anything less is a remodel-in-waiting. But designer kitchens weren't always the "necessity" people now claim they are. As The Salt recently put it: when and how did Americans come to expect expensive kitchen trends and technology to show up in even modestly priced homes? Why do we think we need designer kitchens? More

When Kitchn reader Heejoo renovated his Northeast Seattle home earlier this year, the kitchen was a big part of the makeover. Heejoo added a partial second story in order to expand and update the kitchen with a new formal entry and an L-shaped open floor plan—all designed to be "casual and modern." See what it looks like now: More

After eight months of prep work, including sourcing, building, and staining new cabinets, Theresa and her husband were ready to gut their old kitchen and transform it. They removed everything from the kitchen, right down to the studs and subfloor, and put it back together in 11 days. See what it looks like now:
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Despite a very limited budget, Kitchen reader Cheryl wasn't going to let that get in the way of redoing her kitchen. With the help of her husband and some DIY skills (including building her own cabinets) Cheryl made a kitchen to fit her needs! More

Stephanie and Jon had wanted to redo the kitchen in their 680-square-foot Madison home for 18 years. They knew the space was sad; as it was, there was little storage and workspace, cabinet doors didn't close, and the room lacked any and all personality. Then they saw that, thanks to a grant, a local green-building consulting firm was offering design plans at a discount. The result: a kitchen with improved functionality and a look as fresh as a blue sky on a sunny day. More

As Apartment Therapy's 2012 Small, Cool winner and the man and mind behind the blog Manhattan Nest, Daniel Kanter has an amazing eye - and some serious DIY skills. The kitchen, which you see here in its Before state, was drab and lacking in storage space. A few IKEA hacks later, and you have THIS. (Oh, and did we mention Daniel is only 22 years old?!) More