Before & After: HGTV’s “Flip or Flop” Brightened Up This Dark, Dated Kitchen — And Added Lots More Storage

On April 30, the first of five new episodes of HGTV’s “Flip or Flop” debuted on the home network, and it did not disappoint (in both the transformation and the jokes). In the premiere episode, the hosts Tarek Moussa and Christina Haack stumbled upon a three-bedroom, two-bath home in Norwalk, CA, dating back to the 1950s. And while the quaint house was clean and renovation-ready, it was an undeniable fact that it needed a significant amount of updating — especially when it came to the dated kitchen.

While the kitchen was functional and had the basics (plus a really cool light blue oven), its cramped, inconvenient layout had a lot of potential to become more functional. So, the first thing Moussa and Haack agreed on — really, no debating on this one — was closing off the door to the old laundry room (more on that later) to create more wall space for cabinets.

Speaking of the cabinets, the duo wanted a more modern look while still keeping it simple. They decided to install white shaker cabinets that wrapped around the entirety of the room, creating a stadium of storage possibilities. They used a light wood butcher block for the countertop and added a geometric backsplash, which brought in a bold detail that also paid homage to the former retro vibe.

So, what happened to that laundry room space that was closed off? Moussa and Haack had big plans for that space, too — to make it into an additional bathroom.

Haack picked out a blue geometric wallpaper with gold accents, which gave the room vibrancy the minute you walked into it. And since the room was formerly a laundry area, all the bathroom equipment and design elements were brand new — from the bathroom vanity and hanging silver mirror, to the new toilet and tub on the other side of this photo.

All in all, the renovation was a success: Moussa and Haack bought the house for $395K and sold it for $650K. A nice reminder that flipping houses can really pay off.

Flip or Flop airs every Thursday at 8/9 central on HGTV.

This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: HGTV’s “Flip or Flop” Brightened Up This Dated Kitchen — And Added More Storage