Kitchen Renovation Before and After: Julie Paulino Design

While thinking about what to post today, my kitchen renovation before and after came to my mind.  Since we’re soon moving to another country (Sao Paulo) I feel it would be great to show how I renovated our kitchen. The second picture below shows how our kitchen was before.  Very unattractive!  We teared down everything, from the cabinets to the walls, got rid of that double tray ceiling and redid the floor.  My vision was to create something charming instead of modern because this house was built around the 80’s when there was absolutely no reference whatsoever to any period architecture.  So I decided it would look like something between old and au courant.  I hope you enjoy my kitchen before and after Julie Paulino Design.

kitchen renovation before and after, julie paulino design, kitchen before and after

I love the subtle shimmery of the mosaic.  I added mirror on the back of the upper cabinets to create light reflection.

kitchen renovation before and after, julie paulino design, kitchen before and after

 

I wanted the Ikea cabinets to go all the way up to the ceiling so I had the extra open boxes custom made and installed mirror in the back.  I also added crown moldings to make them look more custom.  These cabinets don’t really need handles but I decided to install them anyway for the same purpose.  I was happy when I found this kind of porcelain mosaic for a great price at a place called The tile shop.  If you didn’t, know the smaller the pieces the more expensive the mosaic, that’s why  the places that offer more affordable tiles usually only have mosaic of one inch.  This one is little less than 3/4″ which makes it look more like the real thing.

kitchen renovation before and after, julie paulino design, kitchen before and after
Don’t pay much attention to the paintings sitting on the window sills, those were painting by our little one and he insisted to have them displayed for the photo-shoot.  What can you do… you have to say yes.
kitchen renovation before and after julie paulino design, kitchen before and after
The custom banquet, upholstered more than three years ago in a Quadrille fabric.  I love how the dark blue in the fabric picks up the blue of the blue and white porcelain.
photos by Robert Levi

More Related Articles

16 thoughts on “Kitchen Renovation Before and After: Julie Paulino Design”

  9. Karena

    Julie your kitchen is wonderful you made so many great choices to customize it. The open top cabinetry, the hardware, the corner seating!

    What is your move date/ Have you looked at homes in San Paulo?

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena
    2012 Artists Series

  15. LeaMikhaela

    That's an amazing job you did there. Room Dividers installed for the range to make more room, fascinating. Thank you for the DIY.. I'd look at my kitchen later this week and see if I can do the same thing.

  16. Bronwyn Hass

    That is indeed a beautiful transformation, Julie. My wife asked me to do some renovations on our kitchen as well and was is a lot of work. Hehe! Nonetheless, I was able to make some partial improvements and then I called for help professional help. Surprisingly enough, they were able to finish everything within two days. They used bohemian details to make our kitchen look unique.

    Bronwyn Hass

Comments are closed