I know! We love color, but the bright red, coral, and sage green were just overwhelming—the space was so dated. It also had a non-functioning oven and microwave, in addition to a new working oven, which took up so much unnecessary space.

In 1938. When we purchased the home around August of 2017, it still had many of the original 1930s details, like hardwood floors, molding, arches, curved walls, and an old hand-crank telephone on the wall! Details like these are what sold us on the home, despite its dated kitchen, awkward layout, and bathrooms that were in disrepair.

Yes! Our biggest non-negotiable was opening the kitchen up to the living area. It was very closed off from the rest of the space, and only had entrance points through the dining room and hallway. We have a toddler, and we wanted to be able to keep an eye on him while cooking. We ended up closing the doorway from the kitchen to the hallway and shifting the oven and hood slightly down the wall to make room for a new archway. Our construction team “traced” the existing archway in the room onto plywood, and used that as a template for the new one so that it seamlessly fit with the existing architecture. It was by far the biggest structural change of the renovation.

It’s a narrow kitchen, and we really wanted to lighten it up in every sense of the word—from the colors and the cabinetry to the lighting itself. We repainted the cabinets, tore out the tile floor, replaced one wall of cabinetry with open shelving, and removed the drop ceiling to build out two large skylights. They transformed the kitchen from a natural-light standpoint. 

Nope—I actually wanted an even brighter color palette, believe it or not! I had planned on painting the cabinet fronts a mustard or ochre color, but after testing it in the space, the intensity just didn’t work. So I went back to the drawing board, and after numerous color samples, landed on Dunn Edwards’ “Galveston Tan,” which reads as a blush, mauve-y pink. It brings in color without overwhelming the space. I used the open shelving to bring in pops of bolder hues I love with our kitchenware collection.

I really wanted the new kitchen to feel open and airy, but also cozy and inviting. I wanted it to have layers, depth, and texture so it felt fresh and functional, but not out of place in a 1930s-era home.

First and foremost, you should work within a budget that is less than your actual budget, because there will always be unexpected costs and surprises. And perhaps my biggest lesson of all is to double the estimated timeline for any renovation. It always takes significantly longer than you think, without fail, and it’s better to be prepared. And that’s especially true when it’s space that’s so integral to your home, like a kitchen.

I absolutely love the view through the new archway to the zellige-tiled wall and open shelving. The blush cabinets anchor your eye, and the tile really draws it upward to all the dishes on display and then toward the skylights. It looks like a completely different house!