Kitchen Before & After: A Beautiful, Budget-and-Kid-Friendly Renovation

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She now thinks a lot about design, kids, and designy kids' things. She lives with her two daughters and their father in St. Paul, MN.
updated May 2, 2019
pinterest
comments
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: Julia O. via The Kitchn’s submission form)

When Julia and Sara bought their rundown 1967 duplex in downtown Anchorage, it was a mess. “It had barely been touched in 40+ years,” Julia wrote to us. “Sculpted shag carpet, pink toilets, mirrored tile, etc.” After qualifying for a renovation mortgage loan and deciding on a contractor, Julia had just 24 hours to pick everything for the interior of the house — including the kitchen! — but she did it with the help of a designer and Pinterest inspiration board. The new kitchen is classic and kid-friendly, and designed with affordable materials that look way more high-end than they actually are. See what it looks like now!

(Image credit: Julia O. via The Kitchn’s submission form)

Beautiful! We love the touches of red, and the cheery, comfortable vibe of the whole space. Here’s what Julia says about the renovation:

What I wanted: clean, classic, great for cooking and kid-friendly (we have a 2-year-old and my partner is pregnant with our second). We also had the challenge of the shape and size of the space. It was very long and too narrow to fit my grandmother’s table (sniff). We solved that problem by building a table using finished butcher-block counter top and legs.

(Image credit: Julia O. via The Kitchn’s submission form)

The kitchen was actually very affordable. The cabinets are simple, but we chose to extend the storage by going to the ceiling. That gave us extra space and made the room feel bigger. The counters are basic laminate and unfinished butcher block. The butcher block is great for prep (and right by the stove!). The knobs and handles came from Lowes and Home Depot. I used a mix of my existing and my older IKEA chairs.

I used Lowe’s for the track lighting (super affordable alternative to can lights) and then I splurged a little on the pendants at a specialty store. The sink is a huge single bowl, but costs pretty much the same as a two-bowl sink. I bought the appliances on Black Friday, which saved a bundle. I chose to spend extra on the faucet, because I wanted it to last.

(Image credit: Julia O. via The Kitchn’s submission form)
(Image credit: Julia O. via The Kitchn’s submission form)
(Image credit: Julia O. via The Kitchn’s submission form)
(Image credit: Julia O. via The Kitchn’s submission form)

Thanks so much for sharing, Julia!

Have a kitchen tip, project, or renovation you’d like to show off?
Every week we feature a reader kitchen project, and we’re always looking for submissions. To submit your own project, follow the instructions in this post and you could see it end up here on The Kitchn.

* See more home Before & After surprises at Apartment Therapy! *

Filed in:
Before & After
renovating