Before & After: A Cold Modern Kitchen Gets a Warm Cottagecore Upgrade

When content creator Ananya and her husband, John, moved into their 1850s flat in West London, there had already been significant renovations to the home — especially the kitchen. The cabinets were a clean white, there were new stainless steel appliances, a light-colored glass backsplash, and recessed lighting above. But, guess what? The couple wanted to scrap all of it. 

“My design goals included a kitchen that was more sympathetic to the age of the building, but in a fun color, nonetheless,” Ananya said. “I didn’t want an all-white kitchen because that isn’t really my style. We also chose open shelving instead of upper cabinets, and this is always controversial on my TikTok, but I absolutely love it.”

Although the original photos might make you wonder why they decided to renovate, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the kitchen. At one point, the refrigerator door fell off and onto Ananya. She says there was also a leak in the ceiling, the kitchen shape wasn’t functional for their lifestyle, and the dishwasher was too small. So, it was time to renovate. 

The couple worked with professionals to renovate their kitchen and “really stretched” their budget (to around $42,000) to get exactly what they wanted. Ananya always wanted a design from deVOL Kitchens, but thought they only offered custom-made options. She realized they also created modular ranges, which worked better for their space. 

“The kitchen redesign started with realizing that we could tweak our overall budget to make a deVOL kitchen possible,” Ananya said. “This meant using the IKEA PAX system for wardrobes elsewhere in our home to save money — best decision ever, by the way.”

Their deVOL designer understood the assignment and took the visions in their heads and spun them into reality. They went with deVOL’s gray-blue “Trinity Blue” paint for the cabinets and the creamy white “Linen” paint on the walls and shelves. Once the cabinets were placed, it was time to install the soft white marble countertops. The couple also chose a white backsplash with blue details and designs to complement the cabinets. 

“I love our kitchen and we spend so much time in our open-plan living room and kitchen that it was worth it to spend the biggest chunk of our budget on this space,” Ananya explained. 

The kitchen is a great example of how they returned a room into a cottage-like space that’s a nod to the home’s past — but it’s not the only updated area. To see more, visit the full house tour on Apartment Therapy.