Before & After: The Kitchen
Admittedly, the kitchen is the room in our apartment that I use the least; not being much of a cook, and (gratefully) living with a person who does like cooking and does 99% of the meal preparation in our house. That said, our revamped kitchen is now a lovely space to make a pot of coffee in, or make my once-a-quarter jar of pickled onions.
All of the kitchen was in great shape when we moved in, with the appliances being in the same system and all in good condition. The drawers (the many many drawers) feel like such a luxury after living in our previous apartment where storage was at a premium, and the deep sink and wide counter surface area were more wonderful inclusions. All of the other rooms in the apartment have been total blank slates, so choosing colours and furnishing have been simple to fit to what I wanted — whereas the kitchen is much more locked in with the counters and cabinetry already in place. We wanted to do as little work as possible to the kitchen since everything was in good condition, so went for a cosmetic facelift working with what was already in place to make it lighter and brighter and more ‘us’.
The first thing we did in the kitchen was take down the white timber shelf above the sink, and remove the glass storage cabinet standing atop the counter. We wanted a little more balance and breathing room in the corner, and since the storage is so ample elsewhere in the kitchen, we just replaced with some simple wooden panels for shelving. We painted all of the walls from the hallway into the kitchen the same white, and brought in a soft olive green for the moulding that runs along the top of the ceiling. We’d been living in the apartment for almost a month before we realised the moulding was actually flying ducks, but they were difficult to distinguish when they were painted the same grey-white as the walls. Changing the trim colour to the green lets the cute ducks stand out a little more, as well as bringing in some more colour to break up all of the white on the walls otherwise.
I picked out some giant artwork for the walls — gotta make the most of these ceilings! — and to try and draw the eye upwards in the room, rather than stopping at the range hood. “Is that a TV?” is the number one question we get asked when we reach the kitchen on the apartment FaceTime tour with family and friends. The giant black box in the middle of the kitchen is (sadly?) not a TV, but a square range hood over the stove top. I don’t remember having too many thoughts about it when we viewed the apartment, but once we were moved in and deciding what to do with each of the rooms, it was all I saw every time I walked into the kitchen, so strategic art to detract a little felt like a good budget solution! I love the blues and reds in both of the prints, and I think the graphic touch works really well with the boldness of the black counter and white drawers. The Duchamp heart print is visible from the hallway, and it’s such a cheerful introduction to the room as you walk into the kitchen or out onto the balcony.
