How a Kitchen Renovation Doubled My Storage and Counter Space

All the products I used in my kitchen and the hardware, stone and tiles I love

My kitchen is my pride and joy. It’s where I am the happiest. I love being in the kitchen, alone, before anyone else has woken up and making my coffee (two shots of espresso with a splash of whatever milk I have on hand — often pistachio — in my beloved espresso machine). I love being in my kitchen at night, chopping garlic or peeling carrots, or stirring a pot of soup.

In my first home, I had a much larger kitchen but life, as it often does, threw me a curveball.

When my grandmother died and I became the caretaker for my mom (who, if you need to catch up, suffered a traumatic brain injury when I was two months old, and requires a lot of medical attention), I was living in my first home: a 100-year-old, 1920s historic Mediterranean. It was gorgeous, but a lot of work (as old homes are) and located pretty far from my mom’s doctors.

So, during the pandemic, I made the decision to sell the house and find something near the beach, and near my mom’s doctors. Well, my house went under contract in less than 24 hours and suddenly, I had to find a new place fast. So I put an offer in on a condo, figuring that would be a simpler life. No yard to maintain, to roof or foundation to fix. Just a 1990s condo that looked exactly like the 1990s and could hopefully be something of an investment property long-term.

The kitchen was the very first project I tackled. It was so small and terribly lit and the appliances were huge and bulky. There was hardly any room to store my tools (my ice cream maker, my Vitamix, my Instant Pot…)

I needed space, I needed a more contemporary look, and I needed it to function well and still look like me.

This full post is for paid subscribers. Consider subscribing for just $5 per month or $50 for a full year, to learn more about the decisions I made in my kitchen renovation — like the cost, the cabinets and countertop materials I used, and more about the hardware everyone goes so crazy for. Plus, a roundup of kitchen items I am in LOVE with at the moment — the chicest apron, coolest salt cellar and the best cabinet hardware options on the market right now.

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image by Cole LoCurto