09/09/2026
This kitchen has a little more of me in it than most projects.
When I moved to New York, my husband had to stay behind in Los Angeles for work, so I made the move across the country on my own. I didn’t know anyone in town, I was taking on a new space above my design studio, and somewhere along the way, the contractor I hired completely ghosted me.
So, I started doing the demo myself.
I spent a lot of time upstairs tearing things apart, uncovering what was underneath, and figuring out how to bring this old space back to life. Eventually, I found a wonderful contractor who understood what I was trying to create and helped me turn the vision I had in my head into the kitchen it is today.
I wanted it to feel like it had always belonged here—not a brand-new kitchen dropped into an old building, but a new chapter for the space. Something with character, warmth, history, and just enough moodiness.
Looking at it now, I think about so much more than the before and after. I think about arriving in a town where I knew no one, doing demo upstairs by myself, and slowly building a home, a studio, a business, and a life here.
There’s something pretty special about bringing new life into an old space while, in a way, doing the same thing for yourself.
Design by Devinion Haus
Final images Kyle J Caldwell
