Before and After: “Fixer Upper” Transformed This ’90s Kitchen into a Modern Space

When it comes to fixer uppers, it’s likely you’ll come across rooms left in a time warp and in serious need of an update. On the latest episode of “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home,” which airs on Discovery+, Chip and Joanna Gaines helped their employee John — who just purchased his first home — refreshed his dated living spaces to match his modern aesthetic.

John moved from NYC to Waco, Texas, three years ago, and while you can take the New Yorker out of New York, it doesn’t always work the other way around. John wanted to transform his 2,100-square-foot home into a modern, contemporary space that also had bold accents throughout. And so, Chip and Jo got to work bringing John’s vision to life.

Upon walking into the living room, the first thing Jo wanted to do was get rid of was the walls boxing everything in. She removed the wall dividing the living room from the kitchen, which created an open concept and increased functionality of the two rooms. The wall to the left was also knocked down and replaced with an iron installation connecting to the office.

The carpet was ripped out and replaced with brand new wooden floors that brought in warmth. They redid the fireplace to make it more clean and angular, which also made for a great surfaced to hang a new plasma screen TV. Jo added a black rim around the windows, which were completed with blinds for privacy, and filled in the rest of the room with contemporary furniture.

Heading into the kitchen, Jo completely revamped the space by installing dark oak wood cabinets, marble countertops, and black accents that brought out the bold contrast John was looking for. To keep the traditional style to a minimum, Jo decided to switch up the kitchen island a bit by making it asymmetrical, with built-in shelving to maximize storage space.

Perhaps one of the most impressive parts of the renovation was the task of creating a fully functioning bathroom in what used to be a walk-in closet. By using black-painted terracotta tiles for the walls and hexagon marble tiles for the floors, Jo was able to mix patterns that contributed to the modern style. Not to mention the gorgeous dark oak vanity and glass shower with metallic details that blended well with the rest of the room.

To see the entire renovation process that includes more room transformations (the office and the bedroom), add the new episode to your must-watch queue. And if you’re interested in getting the look of these spaces, check the Magnolia blog for products details.

“Fixer Upper: Welcome Home” episodes air every Friday at midnight on Discovery+

This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: “Fixer Upper” Transformed a ’90s Kitchen Into a Modern Space