Before & After: Dated Brown ’90s Cabinets Get a “Warm, Homey” Black and Gold Makeover

Sometimes a kitchen renovation might modernize a space, but the contemporary changes don’t necessarily fit the home’s aesthetic. That was definitely the case in Yvonne Langen and Michael Rizk’s colorful Canada home.

When they originally bought the house, “the kitchen featured reddish-orange cabinetry, a mottled brown laminate countertop, white appliances, and beige/brown ceramic tiles on both the floor and backsplash,” Langen explains. “The walls were painted in a buttercream yellow. The kitchen had clearly undergone a complete renovation in the ’90s or early aughts.”

The couple’s goal was to honor the home’s origins by returning their kitchen to a mid-century modern vibe with present-day characteristics. Their one must-have that would dictate all other design decisions? A black-and-white tile checkerboard floor. “I was aiming for classic with just a hint of kitsch,” Langen says. 

Langen sought inspiration from Pinterest and found one style she liked: a kitchen with black lower cabinets that complemented warm upper cabinets. (It would also blend perfectly with the non-negotiable tile floors.) Once the vibe was locked in, the couple started working on the renovation — they did almost all the projects themselves. 

A professional might’ve sprayed the lower cabinets black, but Langen and Rizk “painstakingly hand-sanded the varnish off the uppers and stained them in a natural American oak finish.” The cabinets also got another DIY makeover: Two upper cabinet doors had glass inserts, and the couple bought reeded glass cling film from Amazon to give the cabinets another pop. 

The checkerboard tile floor install took them 10 days, including ripping out the existing tile and heated floor system. “If you plan on doing the same, I hope you have a great massage therapist or chiropractor,” Langen says.

Langen also checked off a bucket list design dream with her tile backsplash, too, which complemented the new countertops. Melanie Neault of Launch Your Space helped Langen pick out the countertops, which are “Calacatta Mont” from HanStone Quartz. “We used the veining therein as a guide to select the color for the backsplash tile. I wanted to add dimension to the backsplash and selected three different colors of the Chaîne Homme (ivory, tusk, and feldspar) — two in a matte finish and one in a gloss finish to catch the light,” Langen says. “We used ChatGPT to help us plot out a truly random install pattern that evenly mixed all three shades.”

Ensuring that the new textures and colors of the room shine was a goal of Langen’s, too. She cleverly painted the walls, ceiling, and trim in Benjamin Moore’s “Chantilly Lace,” which allowed the vintage kitchenware that dots the walls to stand out more.

The renovation cost them about $20,500 ($28,000 CAD), while doing most of the work themselves cut down their spending significantly. Langen describes the new space as “warm and homey” and appreciates the view into the dining room that allows her to chat with guests while cooking. It might not surprise you, but the kitchen isn’t the only room the couple put their all into — they actually took on most of the renovations in the house. To see more, visit the full home tour on Apartment Therapy.