Before and After: 6 Kitchen Makeovers Under 200 Square Feet
Savvy layout changes and beautiful design choices result in kitchens that work better for their households
As homeowners and designers prove again and again, a space of any size can pack a lot of style. The following six kitchen makeovers — which range from 121 to 196 square feet — show that there’s always room for efficient layout choices and beautiful design. Which one is your favorite?
After: The homeowners fell in love with a blue-and-white encaustic cement tile, so designer Martin used the flooring choice as design inspiration for the rest of the room.
Browse encaustic tiles in the Houzz Shop
Browse encaustic tiles in the Houzz Shop
Martin moved the washer and dryer out of the kitchen and added another wall of cabinets to create a U-shaped layout. Shaker-style upper cabinets painted white keep the space from feeling dark, while deep blue lower cabinets add drama and highlight the color in the floor tile.
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Read more about this kitchen
2. From Too Big to Just Right in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Size: 126 square feet (11.7 square meters)
Before: Designer Leslie Murchie Cascino of Bonnie Wu Design found the original 150-square-foot kitchen in her 1959 home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, poorly sized. The 10½-foot-long island required too many steps to move from one end to the other, and the 15 inches between the upper and lower cabinets left little room on the counter for small appliances.
Size: 126 square feet (11.7 square meters)
Before: Designer Leslie Murchie Cascino of Bonnie Wu Design found the original 150-square-foot kitchen in her 1959 home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, poorly sized. The 10½-foot-long island required too many steps to move from one end to the other, and the 15 inches between the upper and lower cabinets left little room on the counter for small appliances.
After: Cascino changed the kitchen’s proportions to enhance its everyday functionality. The renovation cut the kitchen down to 126 square feet and only removed 2 cubic feet of cabinet space, leaving 163 cubic feet of storage.
A new kitchen island is just under 9 feet long. The new counters and upper cabinetry on the back wall have 18 inches of space between them, a standard distance that leaves sufficient room for countertop appliances. The flooring is red oak.
A new kitchen island is just under 9 feet long. The new counters and upper cabinetry on the back wall have 18 inches of space between them, a standard distance that leaves sufficient room for countertop appliances. The flooring is red oak.
A wall of tall cabinets (on the right in this photo) serves as a pantry. It also cleverly finishes the space after a powder room was added; the drywall bump-out between the back wall and the tall cabinetry wall is actually a corner of the powder room.
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Shop for globe pendants
Read more about this kitchen
Shop for globe pendants
3. White Paint Makes It Bright in Bozeman, Montana
Size: 196 square feet (18 square meters)
Before. These DIY-ing homeowners wanted to brighten their kitchen, which has no windows but gets natural light from a dining area opposite the peninsula. But they knew a massive update wouldn’t pay off when reselling in their neighborhood, and besides, their budget was a little under $6,400.
Size: 196 square feet (18 square meters)
Before. These DIY-ing homeowners wanted to brighten their kitchen, which has no windows but gets natural light from a dining area opposite the peninsula. But they knew a massive update wouldn’t pay off when reselling in their neighborhood, and besides, their budget was a little under $6,400.
After: The couple painted the walls, which were previously an olive-beige color, Benjamin Moore’s White Dove and added shiplap-style wood planks to the peninsula, painting the planks the same color of white. They also installed lighting underneath the upper cabinets, replaced the countertops, added a backsplash and replaced the sink. To keep costs low, they didn’t touch the layout.
Find industrial-style bar stools
Find industrial-style bar stools
Their choice of white for the wall paint, backsplash and countertops helps amplify the available natural light.
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Read more about this kitchen
4. Same Layout, Fresh New Look in Washington
Size: 121 square feet (11 square meters)
Designer: Carolyn Elleman of Case Design/Remodeling
Before. This 1930s row house kitchen wasted potential storage space to a soffit above the upper cabinets and a gap beneath it. Some of the wall tiles were missing, and the sheet-vinyl floor had outlived its attractiveness lifespan. The owners wanted to keep the layout but update the finishes.
Size: 121 square feet (11 square meters)
Designer: Carolyn Elleman of Case Design/Remodeling
Before. This 1930s row house kitchen wasted potential storage space to a soffit above the upper cabinets and a gap beneath it. Some of the wall tiles were missing, and the sheet-vinyl floor had outlived its attractiveness lifespan. The owners wanted to keep the layout but update the finishes.
After. White Shaker-style cabinets from Waypoint Living Spaces fit the simple style the owners wanted — and their budget. Light yellow walls keep the room feeling warm.
The owners liked the idea of keeping lower cabinets to the side of the room across from the dining table. A curved countertop edge adds to the room’s transitional feel and helps prevent bumps to the hip as people walk by.
The portrait hanging above the cabinetry is from the homeowners’ collection of art by African-American artists.
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The portrait hanging above the cabinetry is from the homeowners’ collection of art by African-American artists.
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5. Color Happy in Oakland, California
Size: 177 square feet (16 square meters)
Designer: Cillesa Ullman of Cillesa Interior Design & Space Planning
Before. Prior to the renovation, this kitchen’s palette was too plain for its color-loving owners, and the quality of the cabinet construction was poor.
Size: 177 square feet (16 square meters)
Designer: Cillesa Ullman of Cillesa Interior Design & Space Planning
Before. Prior to the renovation, this kitchen’s palette was too plain for its color-loving owners, and the quality of the cabinet construction was poor.
After. The owners chose new custom cabinets and added a peninsula to double as a breakfast bar. The teal of the homeowners’ charger plates (shown here in the foreground) became the inspiration for the upper-cabinet color. For the lowers, they selected a bold Prussian blue. The understated backsplash and counters allow the cabinets to be the room’s star feature.
Browse single-bulb pendants
Browse single-bulb pendants
Above the peninsula the designer added a bay of glass-front cabinets where the owners can display their pretty dishes.
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Read more about this kitchen
6. From Boring to Black and White in Dallas
Size: About 144 square feet (13 square meters)
Before. The owners of this house disliked the tile floor of their kitchen — so much so that they jackhammered it up before they moved in. They installed hardwood flooring, painted the walls and ceiling and still had big plans to further improve the space.
Size: About 144 square feet (13 square meters)
Before. The owners of this house disliked the tile floor of their kitchen — so much so that they jackhammered it up before they moved in. They installed hardwood flooring, painted the walls and ceiling and still had big plans to further improve the space.
After. Four years later the owners had finished their mostly-DIY renovation, which involved painting the cabinets and adding glass-front cabinet doors, new knobs and pulls and LED strip lights. They also enlisted the help of a contractor to cut down the tall bar top behind the sink and replace the countertop.
Eliminating that high bar top and extending the counter overhang made the dining peninsula accessible to everyone in the family, including the kids. All in all, the budget for this makeover was a little over $8,000.
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Read more about this kitchen
More on Houzz
Before and After: 13 Dramatic Kitchen Transformations
Before and After: 6 Inspiring Midsize Bathroom Makeovers
Explore more makeovers
Find a kitchen remodeler
Size: About 150 square feet (14 square meters)
Designer: Kelly Martin Interiors
Before: A front-loading washer and dryer stood where the refrigerator was meant to be, and the homeowners weren’t in love with the linoleum floor and light wood cabinets that lined only two of the walls.
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