I Asked Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk What to Change in My “Dated” Kitchen, and He Absolutely Delivered

As a fairly new homeowner, it’s unbelievably overwhelming to reimagine a space — especially the kitchen. My family of four (plus two cats) moved into our house a couple of years ago, and I’ve ever so slowly been making it the home of my — ahem, our — dreams. Because I’m a food editor, recipe developer, and prolific baker, it was hugely important that my kitchen not only be functional, but also beautiful (I spend so much of my time there!). 

And while there’s a lot to love, from the ample storage space to the large windows to the very decently sized kitchen island, there’s also so much I’d happily ditch. Because my kids and husband really only care about the food that comes out of the kitchen and much less about what the space itself looks like, I’ve honestly struggled with making those big decisions myself. 

Recently I had the opportunity to have a free virtual kitchen design consultation with Emmy-winning design expert and TV host Bobby Berk of Queer Eye, thanks to his partnership with freelance service platform Fiverr (you can have one too — more on that below!). I threw all my kitchen gripes at him and he graciously helped with each and everyone of them. Here’s everything he had to say about updating our kitchen. 

• The walls: When we moved into our house, the walls were painted a dark gray in the open-floor living space, which makes it feel smaller than it actually is (the space is quite big). The kitchen is the last area left to paint, as I couldn’t decide whether I should paint it Behr’s “Swiss Coffee” (which I painted the rest of the living space), or if I should wallpaper it something fun (I had my eye on a citrus number). Bobby recommended painting it, as wallpaper can get rather dirty. I know what I’ll be doing ASAP!
• The cabinets: My kitchen cupboards work well and hold lots of stuff, but the color is pretty neutral. Because the walls will be off-white, Bobby recommended painting them a slightly darker color like sage green for some contrast and offsetting them with black hardware. I’ll definitely be adding those recs to my kitchen wish list. 
• The countertops: Don’t even get me started on how much I hate our blue countertops (which are also starting to come apart at the edges from wear and tear). It’s been on our list to redo them for ages, but that continually gets bumped down the list in favor of other more urgent repairs. Because I have two young kids, whatever material we choose needs to be low-maintenance, long-lasting, and kid-friendly. Bobby recommended quartz over anything else. as it will perfectly suit our needs. 
• The lighting: Another one that I have strong feelings about (mostly vehement dislike). Bobby suggests replacing the track lighting with two pendant lights and the fan with a flush mount. Personally, I’ll be keeping the fan because it can get hot when I’m cooking, and because sometimes I do need to air things out quickly if it gets smoky. But I love the idea of pendant lighting and will be searching for options to fit the space. 

According to Bobby, most people go to an interior designer to “reassure you that the designs you’re making are the right ones,” and I 100% guarantee. Talking with Bobby served as a gut check as to which ways I was leaning with my design choices, and now I can wholeheartedly go forth with my decisions without regret. 

Good news: I’m not the only lucky person who gets a free virtual home design consultation. As a brand ambassador for Fiverr, Bobby is offering a number of totally free, limited-edition 45-minute design consultations for any room of the house. Seriously! All you need to do is apply here by June 17, highlighting what you need his expertise on, from space-saving solutions to pops of color and texture. But that’s not all — in addition to the consultation, each of the three winners will also receive a list of ideas and next steps, $1,000 in Fiverr credits, and a $2,000 voucher to an interior design store. Learn more and apply here.