Our First Re-Design Project
A Little Background Story
The first re-design project was special, not only because it was our first interior design project but because it was something I (Maria) had been wanting to do for many years. The first re-deign project was re-designing and remodeling my parent’s kitchen. My parents bought their home more than 20 years ago and it had been in need of various repairs and upgrades. My parents retired 3 years ago, and I couldn’t help but notice that their home, especially the kitchen, wasn’t functioning to meet their needs. My parents are immigrants and have worked their whole life to provide for their family. My father spent most of his life doing physical labor and my mom stayed at home working endless hours to care for everyone. As a proud daughter of immigrants, I work hard to make sure my parents have everything they need. To be honest, I wish I could afford to buy them a new house because they deserve it. Even though I cannot do that YET, I am so grateful that I could at least help re-design and renovate their kitchen to look new and be functional.
The Kitchen Re-Design + Renovation
The kitchen was the only space in the house that needed a full re-design and renovation. The kitchen was the area in the house that I wanted to focus on the most because it is where my mom spends most of her time. Therefore, she deserved a beautiful and functional kitchen space.
Before
When my parents bought this house, they used the cabinets that were left by the previous owner and added additional cabinets to make a larger kitchen with extra storage space. This kitchen made the space look dark, confined, and dull due to most of the cabinets being a dark cognac color. The kitchen cabinets also varied in style and color which created inconsistency in design. Since my parents couldn’t afford to buy a new countertop, my dad cut pieces of tile to create a makeshift countertop and also used it as the backsplash tile. The dark color of the countertop tile and the warm colored lighting of the kitchen also enhanced the darkness of the space.
After
First off, I want to say that I am so proud of this kitchen! I still can’t believe I helped create this. It is definitely a kitchen my mom deserves. The goal was to create a beautiful and functional kitchen and that is what was accomplished. The kitchen looks so much brighter! The cabinets are uniform in style and color. A new white, marbled quartz countertop was installed. White hexagon backsplash tiles were added to create a contemporary look. The kitchen floor also got renovated! The old, darker floor was swapped out for a lighter and neutral toned porcelain tile. New neutral colored lighting was installed. My parents didn’t want cool lighting as it can make the room feel cold and too bright. They also wanted to stray away from warm and dim lighting. Thus, neutral colored lighting is the best option to balance both colors. Regarding functionality, it was important that sliding cabinets were installed to help facilitate my mom's access to the kitchen items. Lastly, a revolving corner lazy susan cabinet was also installed to help my mom have easier access to larger and heavier kitchen items such as pots and pans. Check out the transformation below!
Final Remarks
We hope that you enjoyed reading about our first re-design project! It was such a rewarding and special experience. We would love to know what you think of the transformation :)
