This Kitchen Had Three Different Countertops Until a $15K Remodel
Previous owners had left this kitchen with black painted cabinets, three different countertop surfaces, rough textured walls, and an appliance layout that broke up the work areas. Reddit user u/Martian31 replaced the cabinets, counters, backsplash, sink, faucet, dishwasher, microwave, and several other parts of the room during a remodel that cost about $15,000.
The new kitchen uses Haze thin-Shaker cabinets, Calacatta Suprema quartz, vertical beige tile, brass hardware, and a revised appliance layout. Dark wood ceiling beams stayed in place, preserving one of the few finishes carried from the old kitchen into the new design.
Black Cabinets Surrounded a Mix of Counter Surfaces
Black raised-panel cabinets filled the walls above and below the sink, with brass pulls added against the dark doors. Wood covered the main counter beside the sink and dishwasher, while a white counter started around the corner. The homeowner later described the old kitchen as having three different countertops.
The walls added another unfinished surface. Pale aqua paint covered rough texture where a former backsplash had been removed. According to the homeowner, the previous owners appeared to have covered that area with joint compound instead of creating a smooth wall. Sink plumbing, a spring faucet, exposed outlets, small appliances, and counter storage left much of the work zone concentrated around this corner.
Appliance Placement Broke Up the Main Cabinet Run
From across the room, the old arrangement shows the refrigerator standing between two sections of cabinetry, with the dishwasher farther down the same wall and the range set on the opposite end. Different counter heights and finishes made each section read as a separate piece rather than one work surface.
Black cabinetry extended across most of the kitchen, but the layout did not make full use of the open wall around the range. Reddit commenters noticed the appliance changes in the finished room, with one calling out the repositioned stove and microwave. The homeowner also chose not to add a permanent island because the kitchen was small enough that one could crowd the open floor area.
Haze Cabinets Rebuilt the Kitchen Around a New Layout
Haze cabinets from Cabinets.com replaced the black doors, using the Cosmopolitan style with a thinner Shaker profile. The new cabinetry extends around the refrigerator, sink, corner, and range wall, creating taller storage beside the refrigerator and wide drawers beside the stove. The homeowner said the finished kitchen provides more than enough storage.
Calacatta Suprema quartz by Viatera replaced the collection of old countertop surfaces with one material across the room. Stainless steel appliances remain, but the microwave now sits above the range and the cooking zone has cabinet and drawer storage on both sides. Brass pulls repeat across the new doors while the original dark wood beams remain exposed above them.
Vertical Tile Replaced the Rough Aqua Walls
Coco Glossy Canvas Beige tile by Merola Tile now runs from the countertop to the upper cabinets. Instead of a horizontal subway layout, the narrow rectangular tiles stand vertically, with slight surface variation visible across the backsplash. The homeowner chose the glossy version because it would be easier to clean, though the same tile was also available with a matte finish.
Quartz surrounds the new sink, while a brass faucet connects with the cabinet hardware and light fixtures. A short wood shelf beside the sink brings the dark ceiling beams into the cabinet area without adding another row of storage. The project changed almost every surface below those beams, but keeping the original wood overhead prevented the remodel from removing one of the room’s existing architectural features.
Cabinets, drywall, backsplash, quartz, sink, faucet, plumbing, dishwasher, electrical outlets, microwave, pulls, shelving, and tools were all part of the remodel. Handling the installation themselves reduced labor costs while replacing the mismatched finishes with one cabinet, counter, and backsplash plan.
Image credits: Reddit user u/Martian31.