Before & After: Green Cabinets and Pink Backsplash Add Drama to This Dark “Pine Country” Kitchen

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There’s thing distinctly typical astir surviving successful a historical location — you get each nan charm from nan house’s past, pinch nan imaginable to make your people connected nan space. That’s precisely what freelance photographer Natalie Jeffcott and her partner did successful their 1880s ceramic home’s room successful Melbourne, Australia. And they were fresh to make their mark. 

When nan mates moved into nan home, nan erstwhile owners had already renovated nan room and designed it to look for illustration a “pine state kitchen,” which Jeffcott didn’t love. So, alternatively of doing a complete renewal (they wanted to prevention immoderate money first), she made cosmetic adjustments, for illustration removing nan glass-fronts connected nan cabinets, coating nan walls and cabinets a rich | acheronian blue, and swapping retired nan hardware. 

One of nan biggest problems nan mates faced pinch nan original 207-square-foot room was that location wasn’t capable antagonistic abstraction for cooking. “As nan room is housed successful a room alternatively than an unfastened level plan, it was besides limiting wherever we could position a eating table,” Jeffcott shares. 

She ever wanted a colorful room pinch achromatic walls that wouldn’t distract from her vintage jar and instrumentality postulation that could beryllium connected afloat show pinch nan unfastened cabinets. She browsed her Pinterest feed for wide room inspo, arsenic good arsenic tips connected building banquette seating successful nan area of nan room. 

After surviving pinch nan original room and past nan updated space, it was yet clip to renovate nan full room to their liking. Although nan mates had planned for their budget, they chose to prevention immoderate other rate by doing each of nan demolition, wall repair, and coating themselves.

“Demolition of nan aged cabinetry was disgusting! There was achromatic mold down immoderate of nan existing cabinetry,” Jeffcott explains. “The aged tiles connected nan wall were attached pinch a hardener, truthful it required a jackhammer to get it off. Repairing nan walls and coating was a large job, arsenic nan ceiling is very high.” But nan mates persevered.

Working arsenic a squad pinch nan thief of professionals made nan renewal process — which only took astir 9 weeks — not only much smooth, but besides much enjoyable. They worked pinch an interior designer for nan cabinetry creation and layout, a plumber, a flooring master and tiler, an upholsterer for nan banquette, and a furniture maker.

Ultimately, their acheronian room became a bright, happy sanctuary pinch a pinkish backsplash, muted wood greenish cabinets, achromatic walls, and a agleam mustard banquette for their eating array (all for nether $28,000). Speaking of nan built-in seating, Jeffcott says it’s nan astir clever summation because it has drawers underneath for further hidden storage.

“We emotion nan banquette. As a family of three, it suits america perfectly,” Jeffcott said. “We tin past propulsion up different 2 chairs and easy fresh six — though we are perpetually telling nan cats to extremity scratching astatine it!” Jeffcott and her partner person intelligibly mastered nan creation of adding colour into a abstraction without making it consciousness overwhelming. Have you ever seen a room truthful fun?