Before & After: Dala’s Kitchen Makeover

One of the toughest decisions to make when moving into a new space is what to keep and what to change. Damaged and broken-down elements are easy choices, but what about when something is functional, but just not your style? This was the case with Dala Al-Fuwaires of Thyme & Tamarind and her husband AJ’s kitchen. After buying their very first home in Phoenix, AZ, Dala and AJ started to work on their new space. While they both loved their home’s lakefront property, the kitchen just didn’t work for them. But they felt like they should live with the space for a while to see if it grew on them. It turns out they could live with it — for seven years. But last year, the time came to finally tackle turning this dark brown oak and laminate kitchen into the kitchen of their dreams. While Dala’s plans set a schedule of finishing the project in two weeks, it ended up taking two months (which I still think is pretty good for a full makeover!) and the final result is stunning. Those black and gold lights over the counters really seal the deal for me and I can’t wait to share the rest of the makeover. Click through for the before and after photos! xo, grace