When Kathleen Schaaf and her younger brother Kevin bought a 1923 duplex together, their outdated kitchens — one downstairs, the other directly above it — were identical in one respect: “It was time to gut both of them,” Kevin Schaaf said. There the similarities ended. Kevin, a flight attendant, moved into the lower unit of…
As you lean back against a comfy armchair in Barbara and Gene Noller’s family room, you can hardly grasp what they’re telling you: This used to be a garage. Nothing here speaks the architectural “language” of a dreary, drafty garage: not the wood floors, the French doors, not the sheer swag curtains at the windows…
This kitchen, featured on the Dwell magazine website, was done for less than $2,000 (not counting DIY labor) with Ikea products. The total cost was about $1,400 partly because the guy who did it works for Ikea and got his employee discount, but he figures the rest of us could do it for less than…
While showing off her new kitchen/dining room addition one evening, Lily Richards explained to me why she and her husband, Arnie, never considered hiring a contractor to oversee the project. “We’re kind of conservative financially. . . ,” Lily began. “We’re cheap,” Arnie broke in. And, he added, “We’re too egocentric.” What’s more, the couple…
Here’s the best-looking DIY kitchen I’ve seen yet. No offense to the other DIY kitchens I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. They all had their charms. But this Los Angeles kitchen is so luscious. So strikingly handsome. The project took Liese and David 18 months, which is an awful long time to wash dishes in…