Looking at my recently made-over kitchen, I can’t believe I lived with a plain white, builder-grade space for so long. I pride myself on finding clever solutions to make my New York City apartment feel more custom, from faux mantels and wall molding to wallpaper and paint. The fact that I left my kitchen untouched for three years is definitely a shocker.
The truth is nothing was wrong with my existing kitchen. It featured plain white cabinets with a nice subway tile backsplash and dark granite countertops, which specifically aren’t my favorite or easily changeable. My kitchen was never my pride and joy, but it never really bothered me, either.
Over the summer, though, I became more open to making a change. I had invited my friend and designer Adnan Anwar over to see some of the latest updates I’d made in my space. As he wandered around my very small kitchen, he had an idea. “You need to paint your cabinets,” he told me. And right off the bat, he knew just the color to use, too: Farrow & Ball’s Lulworth Blue (No. 89).
Having painted my living room a deep navy (Benjamin Moore’s Midnight (2131-20) last fall, I was all for continuing the blue theme. Plus, in my work as a freelance home writer, I see so many kitchens boasting amazing, richly colored cabinets; I wasn’t worried about veering away from neutral territory.
A can of paint and some help from a Tasker on Taskrabbit later, my kitchen is now looking extremely cheerful and has so much more personality than I ever could have imagined. My friends who have seen the painted cabinets absolutely love them (as do I) and find that they make such a difference in my space.
Of course, I didn’t solely change the cabinet color and call it a day — I took the opportunity to make a few other small upgrades to really make the space feel polished. Once my Tasker finished painting, we added on new cabinet hardware (I chose simple gold knobs from Amazon).
After the cabinets were done, we also installed an ornate ceiling medallion and a pendant light over the island. Both of these items were extremely affordable, coming in at $38 and $42 respectfully, but they really make my space look so much more elegant. On the floor, I laid down a Fulton x Hattie Kole mat; the black-and-white tiled design complements my floors perfectly.
It’s funny that, as a millennial who grew up in the era of all-white kitchens being all the rage, I now have beautiful blue cabinets in my apartment. I absolutely love the pop of color they bring to my space. I know that if I change my style down the line, I can always repaint them. For now, though, I’m all about the pep they bring.
