Kitchen Inspiration – Get Great Ideas from Before & After Photos

If you are about to embark on a kitchen remodeling project and you need some ideas on what your new kitchen should look like, a great place to find inspiration is from before and after photo galleries.

Seeing other people’s successful kitchen transformations will give you great ideas on how to transform your own kitchen.

Each year, This Old House holds a contest where readers submit before and after photos of their kitchen remodeling projects and as a result, they have one of the best kitchen before and after galleries around. Here are my top two picks from the best of the 2011 contest.

Before	After
source: This Old House	source: This Old House

What I love about the transformation of this small kitchen are the simple changes the homeowners made and the finishes they chose. By removing the soffit and taking the cabinets all the way to the ceiling, they’ve made their kitchen feel taller and they’ve also gained much needed storage.

Their choice to paint the cabinets a warm gray rather than the typical white makes the cabinets stand out and the white subway tile backsplash pop.

The black granite countertops and chrome cabinet hardware add a touch of elegance to the space. Read more about this kitchen transformation.

Before	After
source: This Old House	source: This Old House

This is quite a transformation! Who would have guessed that underneath all that ‘70s wallpaper, red patterned floors and funky cabinets was a sleek modern kitchen.

Obviously, getting rid of all those crazy finishes was a great place to start and by removing the partitions the homeowners expanded the space, creating a much more open, modern kitchen.

I like that the homeowners worked with the existing ceiling beams, using them to draw the eye to the sleek range and hood as well as to stick to the original integrity and style of the house. Read more about this kitchen transformation.

To see more great kitchen before and after photos from This Old House visit their galleries:
- Best Kitchen Before and Afters 2011
- Best Kitchen Before and Afters 2010