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?
Dark to light, right? We think it's pretty stunning!
Hesser's kitchen was renovated by previous owners before she bought the Brooklyn Heights apartment. It had a lot of the signature luxury items of a high-end kitchen: Sub-Zero fridge, Viking stove, Miele dishwasher. She installed a pantry in the dining room for extra storage space, and then proceeded to use that kitchen hard for the next 10 years. Hesser says she tested over 1,400 recipes there, and now it is the site for weekly photo and video shoots for Food52.
But the kitchen wasn't ideal. Some of those "luxury" touches made Hesser uncomfortable. Cherry wood cabinets and shiny green marble showed up unpleasantly on video, and the kitchen felt dark and dated.
So Hesser decided to renovate, on a budget. This kitchen was the place where she spent the most time, and it was the place that visually represented her business. Hesser hired a new designer, Lithe Sebesta, who helped her get the kitchen freshened up and freshly styled. A few months later, she has what she calls a serene gray kitchen, not to mention a fresh dining room area — and all within her modest (by New York standards) budget.
Amanda Hesser's kitchen designer: Lithe Sebesta
It turns out, too, that the budget constraint was actually a blessing. Hesser has smart insights on the benefits of budget renovations:
It made me wish I'd done all our previous renovations on the tightest possible budget. First, because you don't make lazy decisions, get bitten by the-most-expensive-must-be-the-best bug, or buy everything at once.
Second, because you must work harder and more creatively to get every detail done — every little knob that you track down on sale, every fixture from a little-known shop in Brooklyn, feels like a triumph, and you appreciate the results so much more. I've never been this happy with a renovation.
So, what did her budget cover? How did this kitchen move from cherry-cabinet-green-marble-darkness to the lighter, sleeker look you see here? First: Lots of resurfacing, including painting the cabinets and honing the marble countertop. The contractor cleverly masked the tile backsplash with concrete-covered boards, and Hesser and Sebesta searched out lighting and cabinet hardware that fit in the budget. There are smart upgrades and small but important improvements throughout this kitchen makeover, from re-covered chairs to a painted refrigerator.
See photos below of two of my favorite upgrades: The smart, inexpensive backsplash solution, and a fresh walnut butcher block countertop.
We rather adore this kitchen makeover. It transformed what was rapidly becoming a dated look into something more modern, much better for photography and video (key to Hesser's business), and altogether more lovely. Many more photos and details, including budget and notes on each step of the process, can be seen at Food52. Go take a peek, and let us know what you think!
Read more about the details and see more photos:
→ Amanda Hesser's Kitchen Makeover at Food52
Hesser's dining room pantry.
More Kitchen Before & Afters
• Kitchen Before & After: Heejoo's Open Floor Plan IKEA Renovation
• Kitchen Before & After: From Bland Contractor Grade to Chic Modern
• Kitchen Before & After: Cheryl's 'Very Tight Budget' DIY Redo
• Kitchen Before & After: Theresa's 11-Day Gut Overhaul
• Kitchen Before & After: A Small Outdated Kitchen Gets a Fantastic Green Makeover
(Images: James Ransom)
Soda Recipe: Homemade Ginger Ale
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
TW Salt Mill by Wil...
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
I really like that this renovation involved of lot of refinishing and resurfacing rather than just ripping everything out. fantastic result!
The before looks like my kitchen. I wasn't aware that it was dated.
Where did you get the concrete boards to mask the tile backsplash - I'm about to move into a new apartment that I love, but HATE HATE HATE the beige tile backsplash in the kitchen - any tips on how to cheaply cover them would be greatly appreciated!
I think the renovation is pretty, but I am not a fan of so many open cabinets. As a renter, I would be grateful for a kitchen as beautiful as the "before!"
We moved into our house with ugly salmon pink colored tiles. We painted them, a move I regret but it's better than nothing. If could do it over again I'd most likely bite the bullet and rip them out or cover them up somehow.
The before kitchen looks warm and inviting, like I would walk right in and want to start cooking. I agree the tile backsplash was dated but jeeeez ANOTHER WHITE KITCHEN. And who would get rid of recessed lighting and ADD fixtures? *sigh*
I can totally understand them not really liking the style of the kitchen anymore, but I'm not sure if I would call it dated... Either way I personally like both before and after and they are still more "modern" than my 50s kitchen.
LOL! Budgets kitchen makeover = Paint the cabinets white. EVERY time. On the plus side, it does actually look pretty nice! Except those lights....why did you get rid of the recessed lights?? The ceiling looks lower now...
The only thing I didn't like about the before was the backsplash and maybe the hardware. Don't love the after, at least not for my personal taste, a little cold.
On the lighting, go read Amanda's whole piece at Food52! The recessed lighting was very harsh on video (they do weekly video in this kitchen) and I think these new lights light the kitchen in a softer, more even way.
The concrete boards covering the backsplash were made by our contractor. He used pieces of wood, and coated them with a concrete-like paint. It's actually just a thin layer, about 1/8 inch, and the wood boards are about 1 inch thick. Hope this is helpful info -- good luck!
I really like the warmth of butcher block but agree that the previous block photographed poorly. The new walnut(?) looks lovely. And the placement right above the trash can is genius!
The light from fixtures is nicer than the light from recessed lights, which cast harsh shadows and drove our photographers crazy! So we wanted to find another solution.
Kudos to you for refinishing the marble countertops instead of trashing them. Looks fantastic!
I like the before better; a simple backsplash switch would have sufficed for me. The rich feeling of the wood is so warm and inviting while the stark white of the after is a bit bland. (And this coming from someone who enjoys a white kitchen!) But to each her own. As long as Amanda is happy with it, it should be considered a successful makeover.
I, too, am looking for an economical way to cover the very old and yellowed backsplash tile in my kitchen. I have great 65-year-old cabinets that just needed a little TLC, but the tile needs to go. Concrete covered boards? I'd love to hear more about that endeavor!
I agree that the "before" was dull and dated, and that the "after" is kind of an Everykitchen, but I also see how the renovation will be much better for your purposes. It's a nice backdrop to let the food take center stage. Way to go!
I love the changes. The cement backsplash is beautiful and modern. Painting the inside of the cabinets is a great little detail. Great way to update a dated kitchen. Especially nice that you were able to change the look and feel of your kitchen without creating a lot of waste! Really lovely. Ignore all the grumps for criticizing.
This is perfect for their purposes of photos for food prep--I love how functional it is, too! I can totally see the cringe-worthy aspects of photographing food from the 'before.'
For people who keep complaining about ANOTHER white kitchen, when it's your home, it's the ONLY white kitchen and that's what matters most.
At the risk of being a downer, I think it looks like she went crazy at Ikea. I loved the old cabinets. Why are all these renovations the same? I'll be glad when the white kitchen craze is behind us.
I think the before looks great ! the after is ok too. Not what I'd do, but it's not my kitchn.
I have always believed white kitchens are timeless...but in this recent go-round I'm beginning to think that white kitchens have jumped the shark. Refreshing dated golden oak with white paint makes sense...gorgeous cherry wood, not so much.
I think the after is nice (except for the light fixtures) but I don't see what's so bad about the before, except maybe the back splash. I'd be pretty happy to have a kitchen like that!
Cherry wood was really popular in the late 90s and it is still somewhat popular now but it says 90s to me. I suppose it has not been long enough to be dated. I don't like the "warmth" of cherry wood, it makes me feel enclosed since kitchens create so much warmth itself from cooking and eating.
I like the renovation. I think it will look great on camera!
Looks great in my opinion! One question-- in the "After" photo it looks like the backsplash and glass cabinet doors are reflecting a ton of light from an opposite window, which might be distracting on camera. Has that been an issue for you? Do you plan to close curtains or shoot at a different time of day?
I wish I could say something like, "Awesome!" But the before picture is my idea of "Awesome!" and the after picture is something I would detest.
I guess that's what makes the world go round... variety. To each his own.
Enjoy your new kitchen! :)
Totally agree, Mrs Kitz. The before was so beautiful.
White kitchen, open shelving, recessed vs fixtures. The thing I noticed most was the ORIGINAL smoke detector which is terribly yellowed. Should have put a new one of those in the budget.
Good for her and all the work she did but seriously, replacing the recessed cans with those...ceiling nipples. I just can't understand the reasoning behind that.
So basically, she took a 2000 kitchen and made it into one from circa 1995...when white kitchens and dark counters were hot. It's ironic that she took top-grade cherry cabinetry and turned it into painter-grade stuff (ouch).
This is a good illustration of the fickleness of design trends. I hear so many people say they need to do this or that in their remodel based on resale value. But the odds are that when you get around to selling, your buyer will see nothing but "dated" styling choices that need redoing.
Me...I would have just changed the backsplash and cabinet hardware. I do like the new pantry a lot, though.
Oh, dear. The "Before" was so much better...warm, welcoming and rich-looking. But that's according to MY tastes.
Why did you do this?
New countertops, lighting and backsplash maybe, but for heaven's sake you should have stopped there.
Well, I relly like the after. The before was too yellow/ orangey, even if it looks like my kitchen, LOL. I completely agree about the light fixtures, though, no idea why they changed those...
"Concrete-like paint"? I think your contractor was pulling your leg. It is probably a cemetitious polymer or plaster coating. You may want him to clarify.
The before is 'OK' and similar to what I have at the moment. The after looks gorgeous, and similar to what I hope to do soon! I think white kitchens are one of those things, like white bathrooms, towels and bed linens, that are quite timeless, but that's just me. Nice work also in renovating and re-using, rather than trashing.
If I have said it before...I have said it 10 times...A white kitchen is so classic- Love it!
So her cabinets are light gray, not white. OK. And the cherry looked fine, but to each, her/his own. How durable is cement board as a backsplash, which is exposed to moisture, heat, frequent cleaning? Seems easy enough to install but hasn't really caught on yet, has it? This may be the first time I've seen it used in a kitchen re-do on A/T.
Oh, but do check out her website. Her china is stacked on open shelves in a corner of the dining area next to a window and over a chair and lamp. Very unusual, non? Maybe it is seldom used.
For everyone who's complaining about "another white kitchen" -- it's gray.
I like it a lot, especially painting the inside of the cabinets. And I think re-using things rather than ripping out perfectly functional everything is really commendable.
i love the before, but good job on the after.
The BEFORE photo on this page is very deceiving. It looks more modern than it is (it actually looks like my old condo kitchen minus the granite countertops). When you click on the link for the whole story, it looks older. I initially thought the same thing - what the hell is that bad about the before even though I really like the after.
I don't understand the white kitchen hate. No one should redo their kitchen two tone or paint it another colour other than white in a makeover just because so many bloggers have already done so. There's a reason they paint white. It's classic and makes the space look bigger. Who cares if it's been done 1000x before? If you like it that's all that matters.
What's wrong with the before? The after is lovely of course, but the before isn't bad either! Geez, do these people have money to waste? I can think of much better uses for it!
Well done! Not that anything in particular was wrong with the Before mind you, but everyone has their own dream kitchen so I totally understand the desire to go with what you love, and in this case what you felt you needed. Especially if you are willing to tackle it with so much re-use.
It looks nice. A world of difference on a budget!
I like the after quite a bit. The tile was a bit odd...I could see it working nicely in a rustic kitchen but not with the wood. I can understand how some people would think this kitchen is a little too stark, but for the purpose of video/photography it would be perfect. Hopefully the chef will put a few little signature touches in there to brighten it up? My kitchen is a very important place in my home and it NEEDS to be personalized. Otherwise I just don't like cooking as much.
My goodness, some really snarky comments when people decide to change THEIR homes. I realize everyone has an opinion, but there's no right or wrong in design. Isn't that the whole point??
Personally, I do think the before was dated. I'm liking certain parts of the after, but I would have personally done it different. It's not my kitchen.
Also, for the last time, what business is it of others what people's income is or how they choose to spend their money? I feel like people really need to realize that if they think spending money on remodels and redesign is a "waste" then they're really not cut out for visiting a design blog.
Given the horrible cheap-o cabinets in my (underwater) condo's kitchen, I'd be thrilled to have the Before kitchen in this makeover. But having said that, I can see, for the owner's own purposes, why she felt the need for a change.
The weird concrete boards over the old backsplash seems like a misstep, though, especially with that big blank space over the stovetop. Think how much better that'd look with some subtle tile, or even some pale paint color, over it.
Before and after both look nice but it sounds like they really upped the functionality for their purposes. All this stuff about "dated" looks cracks me up though. Just wait long enough and "dated" becomes "vintage" (except for that weird melamine stuff with the wood strip handles, that's just ugly). Making it work better or smarter, that's timeless. I don't have a backsplash in my kitchen. Just plain old painted drywall and a raised back edge on (gasp! Horrors!) laminate countertop with maple cabinets. It's perfectly functional, looks fine and is no trouble to keep clean.
I like both the before (minus that backsplash) and the after, with a preference for the after. I know people are getting sick of white painted kitchens, but it really is just the best bang for your buck both time and money wise. Three years later, I do not regret my decision to paint it white, and I'll bet they won't either!
I love the after kitchen! I am not a fan of cherry and would have happily painted it too. Te cement board backsplash looks wonderfully chalky and honing the marble is a great idea. The "before" kitchen was good quality but like you, I wouldn't appreciate the color of the cherry cabinets or the countertop. I think you dd a splendid job!
Another big fan of the After here! Amanda, I would love to know the paint colors used. It could just be the photographs but the insides of the cabinets seem almost iridescent.
Did the people asking "What's wrong with the before?" read the description that explains why some of the decisions were made?
White in a small kitchen space like this is a great colour. The before looked really claustrophobic and small, being in that kitchen would feel like being stuck in a corner. Just that colour change really makes it so much more inviting.
White cabinets, wood cabinets, white cabinets, wood cabinets. I'm not that old and have seen this kitchen trend go back and forth for years. I think it looks nice, I do, but just give this kitchen a few years and it'll look "dated" again. You can't win!
I read the blog and think that part of the issue is both the clutter factor of the before pictures, as well as the lighting. Notice the after pictures are taken in natural light. And in the blog she notes that they honed the marble, against the advice of the experts, stating she can't wait to see water and food stains. She kind of lost me there.
I can't believe someone would call the "before" kitchen dated. To me it looks classic and inviting and actually pretty sleek???? I guess I just don't understand trends, and that people gave to change the look of their kitchens every ten years, minimum.
Plus I always like natural colored wood, cherry, oak, pine, whatever.
wow! great job!
Really beautifully done. I love how the cabinets came out.
I love the after, but I think that a new tile backsplash could have gone a long way for updating the kitchen. The tile was the only thing that looked outdated to me.
It looks great. Thumbs up!
These cabinets are not white and that makes all the difference.
If you read the original post, they painted outside of the cabs are a light grey. The interiors on the open and glass-door cabinets are a darker grey. Fabulous.
What I want to know is where I can find that great white ceramic wooden spoon holder on the counter. Anyone?
Lella, wish I could help you source the wooden spoon holder -- it's actually a vase that came as part of a flower arrangement, and I don't remember the name of the florist. Sorry!
Melissam -- in the photo it looks like there's a blank space above the stove, but it's actually brushed steel. We used that so it wouldn't stain and because it could withstand the heat.
Stephanie.Bencin -- our contractor made the "concrete" boards. They're just sheets of wood, cut to fit the space, coated with some kind of plaster material that looks like concrete. So far, I've found it to be sturdy and thankfully stain proof.
Duane -- no one was pulling my leg. That was just my poor description! You're probably right -- maybe a plaster of some sort.
cuminafterall -- thanks for your comment. We sometimes put a small ball of tape between the cabinet door and the cabinet so the door tips out at a slight angle and the light doesn't get caught by the camera. That's really the only reflection problem we have. But getting the light right so there are no dark corners or so the under the cabinet lights aren't too bright is definitely challenging, particularly for video shoots!
Thanks for the many, many thoughtful comments and nice feedback -- really glad you like the renovation. It's been a huge treat to have a kitchen that feels more in line with our aesthetic. And it was fun to do on a budget!
Honestly, given my horrid rental kitchen that is shoehorned into a strange space in a vintage building (and doubles as a hallway to the back room), I would love either the before or after kitchen.
I liked the cabinets in the old version better, but I tend to go for warm colors. I can take or leave dark counter tops. I'm not a fan of open shelving (even glassed in shelving). I'm just not organized enough to let people see what's in my cabinets.
As for everyone who is saying, "Ugh! Why?!?!!?" Did you miss the part where the author talks about shooting photos and video in the kitchen on a regular basis and how the existing color scheme and lighting made the pictures and video not turn out as well? It's not a common consideration, but it's certainly a valid one.