Bold Black Kitchen Renovation in West Midtown

The first thing we changed in the kitchen was the backsplash, which used to be stainless steel as you can see in the before photos above. Using leftover wallpaper from my apartment, I transformed the wall into something much more interesting to make the kitchen start to feel more decorative, to tie it into the open floor-plan of this floor. I sealed it with a polyurethane coating to make it wipeable and waterproof. The wallpaper really helped inspire the color palette and sparked all my decisions with paint colors on the cabinetry. I embraced a high-contrast look and went bold with black cabinets, which I painted in Behr’s Limousine Leather in an exterior paint for high coverage and durability. On the new custom kitchen island, I opted for a pop of color with Behr’s Vine Leaf, pulling from from the background of the wallpaper backsplash to tie the design together.

Integrating a sleek, smart, black stainless steel refrigerator into the new kitchen design was a natural choice given the direction for the space. This refrigerator model comes with a middle door that’s perfect for ready-to-eat hors d’oeuvres, wine bottles, or sparkling water for an easy grab while entertaining. I really love how a dark appliance can either blend into darker cabinetry or provide a striking contrast against lighter ones. Even if we had painted the cabinets white, I would definitely have considered this finish to continue the black and white theme in the house!

This Samsung refrigerator has some incredible features built-in. The large touchscreen on the front of the fridge is customizable to display favorite family photos, notes, the calendar, recipes, music controls… the apps are endless and it’s all accessible on your the Family Hub app on your phone as well. The actually has cameras inside so you can see what’s in your fridge wherever you are, and it even helps you keep track of when your groceries are set to expire. With recipe suggestions, meal planning capabilities, and apps for Grubhub and InstaCart, there are so many ways to integrate it with your grocery shopping.

I added a few more sleek upgrades to the space from Home Depot, including a more proportional sink faucet (the old one was so tall!), and the coolest light fixture to go above the new kitchen island. This is a slim black bar, and emits light from the top and bottom. It’s the perfect bright task lighting for ingredient prep on the island, and it’s great in here because it doesn’t compete with the chandelier just a few feet away!

I sketched out the storage capabilities that my mom needed for the island and managed to fit in drawers, cabinets, open shelves, pull-out trashcans, and space for two stools at the end in this design. I love that she was able to specify it to the way she cooks and uses the kitchen, and it gives the room a lot more presence with this additional built-in work surface. It’s been so much fun figuring out all the ways the Samsung Family Hub helps out in the kitchen… and I think I still have a lot to learn!