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Before and After: A Bland Brown Kitchen Gets a Bright White Redo — With a Twist

Sarah Everett
Sarah EverettAssistant Editor of Home Projects at Apartment Therapy
I’m from Columbia, Missouri, a journalism town (okay, technically a college town with a big journalism school). It’s also home to one of my favorite things: True/False Film Fest, an international documentary festival. So I’ve been inspired by journalism/journalists/nonfiction storytelling for, I think, forever? I have an MA and BA in journalism from the University of Missouri and Belmont University, respectively. While in school, I worked for city magazines (and also started working part-time for AT!). I learned to love clever, voicey content that’s helpful, whether it’s recommending something to watch or read, helping you get involved in your community, or helping you decorate your home. As Assistant Editor of Home Projects, I cover DIY and design, and I organize the Before & After series. (If you’ve done a cool project, please send it to me!) Outside of work, I love doing the crossword, chatting with friends, drinking iced lattes, and going on little walks and sometimes longer runs. If there were a job that combined those things, I would do that. But for now, I'll do the next-best thing, where I pretty much do chat with friends, read, drink lattes, and go on little walks — with lots of writing, editing, and looking at cool homes mixed in.
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published Sep 11, 2024
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Before: Dated kitchen with dark wooden cabinets and floors and tan countertops
Credit: Chesca Alston

When Chesca Alston moved into her home, everything in the cook space was tan. “With the cabinets, floor, and walls being the same shade, it made for a very dark kitchen,” she says. “The first thing we did was painted the walls to a lighter gray knowing that we will at some point redo the kitchen to match our design taste.”

Credit: Chesca Alston

Credit: Chesca Alston

Chesca wanted her kitchen to be light and bright, but she also wanted to bring in bold pops of color to match her family’s style. To do so, she added a subtle but stunning seafoam shade to the backsplash with mini ceramic subway tiles (placed vertically for a more modern look).

Credit: Chesca Alston

She also added a pop of color in an unexpected spot: under the kitchen’s breakfast bar. Although she worked with a contractor for most of the renovation (totaling $25,000), the dowel rod detail underneath the counter is DIY, and it’s the perfect spot to experiment with such a bold color.

Credit: Vivianmonsonphotos

It’s not right at eye level, so it’s not overwhelming, but it still makes a statement when you walk in the room. Not to mention, the dowel rods add texture, too.

Chesca sanded the half dowels and painted them Behr’s Midsummer Gold.

“The pop of our favorite colors of aqua and yellow makes the space more ‘us,'” Chesca says. Her recommendation for experimenting with bold color combos is to get samples and try them out together.

Credit: Chesca Alston

“Don’t be afraid of color and the design that sings to you,” she says.

Chesca also researched and shopped for the other finishes in the kitchen, from the modern lighting to the white metal stools to the new drawer pulls to the appliances. Two of her favorite details are the open shelving and the new quartz countertops. The shelves, which are stacked with West Elm bowls, are a great decor moment that makes the space feel more open, Chesca says, and the gray-toned countertops also elevate the space.

Next on Chesca’s DIY list? Updating the window covering.

“Plan, plan, plan!” Chesca says to anyone tackling a kitchen reno soon. “Take your time and create your vision.”

This article originally published on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: A Bland Brown Kitchen Gets a Bright White Redo — With a Twist