Blue Cabinets Replaced Part of the Hickory Kitchen and It Took on a Custom-Built Look
Dark hickory cabinets covered nearly every wall in this kitchen, creating a space that felt heavier and darker than its footprint suggested. Rather than painting everything white or removing all the wood, Reddit user u/shep-dog-mom took a different approach.
Skylights, blue cabinetry, open shelving, a larger island, and new lighting transformed the kitchen while preserving part of the original wood. The layout remains recognizable, but the room now feels brighter, more open, and far more custom than before.
Heavy Hickory Cabinets Controlled Every Wall
The original kitchen used knotty hickory cabinetry across almost every surface, including the island, appliance walls, upper cabinets, and corner sections.
Because the cabinet runs stretched continuously across the room, the kitchen started reading like one large wood block instead of separate functional zones. The dark granite counters and tan backsplash pushed the room even deeper into a heavy rustic look.
The ceiling height also became less noticeable because the upper cabinets stopped the eye from traveling upward.
Skylights Pulled Natural Light Into The Center Of The Kitchen
One of the strongest upgrades came from the ceiling.
Instead of relying only on recessed lighting and pendants, the remodel added multiple skylights directly above the main kitchen workspace.
That single move completely changed how the room handles daylight. The original kitchen carried warm artificial lighting across nearly every surface, while the new layout pulls cooler natural light directly into the center of the room.
The skylights also separate the ceiling from the cabinetry, which makes the kitchen feel taller and far more open even though the footprint stayed similar.
Deep Blue Cabinetry Broke Up The Continuous Wood Surfaces
Rather than painting everything white, the remodel introduced large matte blue cabinet sections around the island, refrigerator wall, and oven stack.
That contrast changed the entire balance of the kitchen.
The original wood cabinetry blended into the floors and backsplash so heavily that individual work zones disappeared. After the remodel, the blue cabinetry created stronger separation between prep, cooking, and storage areas.
Because natural wood cabinetry still remains below the counters, the kitchen kept warmth instead of turning cold or overly modern.
Open Shelving Removed The Heavy Upper Cabinet Line
One of the most dramatic changes came from removing much of the upper cabinetry around the cooking wall.
Instead of full cabinet rows, the remodel introduced long floating wood shelves with integrated lighting underneath.
That decision opened the entire back wall immediately.
The original upper cabinets visually lowered the room because they formed one uninterrupted horizontal band across the kitchen. The new shelving leaves negative space above the counters and allows the ceiling and skylights to become part of the design itself.
The shelves also shifted the kitchen away from a builder-grade cabinet wall and closer to a collected custom-kitchen look.
Double Faucets Changed How The Kitchen Functions
One of the most unusual upgrades sits directly at the sink.
Instead of installing two separate sinks, the remodel added dual faucets side-by-side so two people can cook and clean at the same time.
That detail reinforces the direction of the remodel. The kitchen was designed around cooking together instead of maximizing decorative storage.
The larger island supports that shift as well. Additional drawers underneath replaced much of the lost upper cabinet storage while keeping the prep space open and uncluttered.
Stainless Steel And Pale Surfaces Sharpened The Kitchen
The remodel replaced the heavier rustic focal points with stainless steel appliances, a large vent hood, pale counters, reflective backsplash tile, and integrated shelf lighting.
Instead of darker surfaces absorbing light, the stainless steel now reflects both the skylights and shelf lighting back into the room. The vent hood also created a cleaner focal point around the cooking wall.
Warm LED lighting was added underneath each floating shelf. That lighting stretches across the backsplash and removes darker shadow areas behind the counters.
The refrigerator wall also feels more integrated now. Taller cabinetry wraps around the fridge instead of leaving the appliance exposed between cabinet sections.
The lighter counters also balance the darker flooring that remained from the original kitchen. The floor already carries strong texture and movement, so the pale surfaces above help keep the kitchen from feeling too heavy.
The lighter counters also soften the darker flooring that remained from the original kitchen. Many commenters noted that keeping the floor helped preserve warmth while preventing the remodel from feeling sterile.
The Kitchen Feels Larger Even Though The Layout Barely Changed
The remodel never relied on removing walls or dramatically enlarging the room.
Instead, the transformation came from removing heavy upper cabinet mass, introducing daylight from above, breaking up continuous wood surfaces, and creating stronger contrast between materials.
The original kitchen felt enclosed even with tall ceilings. The new version allows light, shelving, ceiling height, and work zones to breathe independently.
The result feels closer to a custom modern lodge kitchen than a dark early-2000s rustic space.
All images and credits go to Reddit by user shep-dog-mom and are available in the original Reddit thread.