Striking Turquoise Cabinets Transform a Cramped, Dark Kitchen
ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER
HOME TYPE: Loft
PROJECT TYPE: Kitchen
STYLE: Colorful
SKILL LEVEL: Professional
RENTAL FRIENDLY: No
Loft apartments are known for their minimalist-meets-industrial style, especially their kitchens, which often have exposed ceilings, open shelving, and wrap around one corner of a likely open-concept layout.
When wine and travel entrepreneur, content creator, and owner of Lyon Wine Tastings, Caroline Conner (@winedinecaroline), moved into her gorgeous loft studio apartment in Lyon, France, she knew she wanted to update the kitchen a bit.
“The kitchen was actually pretty good — just old,” Caroline shares. “It had traditional terracotta tile and wooden cabinets, but its major drawback was that it was really dark on that back wall.”
She hired an interior architect (a unique title in France for someone who is an interior designer and architect of interiors, she says), Jeanne Camoin, to help reimagine the layout.
Because Caroline lives in an older historic building, there were several hurdles to overcome before the hired pros could start working, and her French wasn’t the best at the time, so it was helpful to have someone to communicate the plans. Jeanne designed the layout (moving the kitchen next to a window was a game-changer!) while Caroline chose the finishes, so it was a true team effort.
Caroline didn’t have any specific inspiration in mind when designing the kitchen, but white subway tiles were trending, so she chose that as a backsplash and found an inexpensive alternative to French ceramic tiles for the floor. The idea of painted turquoise cabinets initially raised Jeanne’s eyebrows, but Caroline rusted her gut, knowing that they’d blend perfectly with the granite countertops. (After the kitchen was finished, the designer recommended the color to two more clients!)
“I knew I wanted stone countertops, and that gorgeous blueberry-speckled granite was really the starting point,” Caroline explains. “After that, it was just each decision as it came. I make decisions quickly about this kind of thing. I trust my sense of style. If I like something, I’m not going to hem and haw and find reasons to keep looking for something else.”
One of the items she knew she had to have was the kitchen island from Maisons du Monde, even though it covered the outlet installed on the floor. Luckily, an extension cord was woven through the island to have a power source. And although Caroline says “the renovation wasn’t done with reselling in mind,” the new kitchen — including of its carefully planned details — is easily one of her favorite rooms in the space.
“I love the light, how open it is, how much storage I have,” Caroline shares. “It’s a fabulous and easy kitchen to work in!” If you love the style of this kitchen, you’ll want to check out the rest of Conner’s incredible loft apartment. Visit the full home tour on Apartment Therapy to see more.
This post originally ran on The Kitchn. See it there: Before & After: Striking Two-Toned Turquoise Cabinets Transform a “Dark, Traditional” Kitchen
