Before & After: A “Very Brown” Early 2000s Kitchen Gets the Most Colorful Makeover (the Cabinets Are Unrecognizable!)
When designer Shauna Glenn of her namesake interior design firm was tasked with updating a 2007 home in Weatherford, Texas, the homeowners had just one request: Bring on the color. The owner, retired art teacher and former Crayola employee Elizabeth Willett, has lived her entire life with color on the brain, as seen in her selection of art and pieces collected through years of international travel. “Once it’s in you, it never leaves,” she says.
Elizabeth and her husband built their home; its architecture is “modern in style compared to the rest of the homes in the neighborhood,” although they hadn’t made any updates in nearly 20 years. While Shauna worked on many spaces in the home — including the primary bedroom’s paneled turquoise wall, a choice that set the home’s palette in motion — the kitchen needed the biggest cosmetic fix. “I wanted something fresh,” Elizabeth says.
The dated kitchen, with its dark wood cabinetry and black quartz countertops, left the space feeling closed-off. Plus, the countertops hadn’t been sealed properly, so calcium stains ensured they never looked clean. Instead of completely trashing the quartz, Shauna suggested framing the fireplace with the stone to make the kitchen and adjoining living room appear balanced and cohesive.
In just three weeks — thanks to keeping the original cabinetry and hardware — the kitchen went from “one note” to “feeling like it breathes,” Shauna explains. Although Elizabeth wanted new cabinets, due to COVID-related supply delays, they had to pivot. The existing cabinets were instead treated with a coat of white paint and powder-coated orange hardware. The sleek shape of the existing hardware and mid-century-inspired orange, one of Elizabeth’s favorite colors, led the rest of the kitchen plan along with new quartz countertops, new appliances, and matching orange pendants.
“You have to really love color to consider orange,” Elizabeth says. A mural design found online was the ideal complement, and Elizabeth took on the challenge herself, picking up a few tips from the designer’s painting team to make the lines as crisp as possible.
“You could see that painting the mural sparked a lot of joy,” Shauna says. “She had been retired, and this painting project let her get back in the action.” While both Shauna and Elizabeth love how the kitchen turned out (and all on a budget), the collaborative process made it memorable and has turned the kitchen and the rest of the home into a colorful sanctuary.
“It just reinforces this idea that you can have a beautifully styled home with a diverse collection of items,” Shauna shares. “I try to mix people’s heirlooms with modern and sentimental pieces that all fit with their personalities.” While marrying a multitude of styles and client asks can be a challenge, Shauna and Elizabeth successfully worked together to pull off a mid-century-leaning makeover bursting with every color of the rainbow.
Further Reading
Why People Are Ditching Their Seltzer After a Disturbing Study
The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Can’t Stop Talking About
