Before & After: The $350 Kitchen Overhaul with Smart Storage, Thanks to Ikea and Home Depot

What do you do when you’re not at work? Brooklyn ceramic artist Suzie Ryu and painter/furniture designer Kana Philip both have demanding jobs during the week—she’s a marketing director, and he’s the cofounder of content-sharing platform 8. On weekends, they can often be found in Chatham, New York, making a dent on their DIY house remodel. Take a look at what they were able to accomplish in two weekends for just under $350.

Photography by Suzie Ryu.

Before

Suzie and Kana arrive every Friday night to their 1930s house, known as The Schoolhouse because it has an 1812 school attached to it. (“The school was rolled down the road after the house was built,” says Suzie.) They only have 48 hours there every week, but they manage to get a lot done.

In Progress

After setting up their bedroom, Suzie and Kana opened up the 1980s kitchen in the main house by removing the dark upper cabinets and replacing them with open shelving and Ikea pot racks.

After

See more DIY kitchen overhauls:

• Abbey and Phil’s Farm Kitchen Rehab for Under $500
• Reader Rehab: Danielle’s Kitchen Makeover for Under $500

Find more kitchen storage ideas here:

• 7 Storage Ideas to Steal from a Clever Kitchen Remodel in Australia
• 10 Tips for Maximizing Storage Space in a Tiny Kitchen

And on Gardenista, read Michelle’s kitchen renovation wisdom:

•  10 Mistakes to Avoid When You Remodel.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on Remodelista on March 19, 2015.