Before & After: Pink Walls and Floral Wallpaper Make This “Drab, Outdated” 1970s Kitchen Almost Unrecognizable
It’s nothing new when chefs incorporate their travels and life experiences into their dishes — so, what about bringing those adventures into the kitchen design too? Photographer and artist Kara Harms did exactly that when she pulled Nordic influences from her summer in Copenhagen while reimagining her 1970s cabin (that’s available to rent on Airbnb!) in Arnold, California.
Harms was renovating the entire house, and while the kitchen layout was “fantastic” with views of the trees lining the property, it wasn’t working aesthetically for her and her husband, Robin.
“The kitchen itself, like most of the cabin, was seriously outdated. It looked like it hadn’t been touched in at least 20 years. The cabinets were a mess — mismatched on top and beat up on the bottom,” Harms explains. “Plus, the oven was ancient, and the flooring was drab. It definitely needed an upgrade, both in how it worked and how it looked.”
Even though Harms felt that the kitchen needed a facelift, she still wanted the space to honor the “mountain cabin charm.” Harms used Canva to create a mood board to imagine what her space would look like and pulled from her travels to bring a modern, whimsical vibe: A Copenhagen bakery inspired the green-and-white checkered floor, and the floral wallpaper is the same as that of a Quebec cafe she visited.
Once the aesthetic was decided, it was time to demo the original kitchen — Harms ripped out the upper cabinets and patched the remaining holes (she and Robin did most of the renovation themselves!). After the cabinets were removed, an “old dingy cream” wall color was replaced with a shade of bright pink to complement the incoming wallpaper.
“I know mixing bold florals and checkered floors might seem unconventional, but I love how the contrasting patterns create a unique balance between retro and modern vibes,” Harms shares. “At the end of the day, our whole cabin is designed for the girls, and a bold pink kitchen is the hero room.”
“Hanging the floral wallpaper was a two-day project that required patience and precision for measuring, cutting, and pasting each panel,” Harms notes. “To hide the wallpaper edges, we added thin wood strips as trim around the windows.”
The kitchen cabinets also needed a refresh. To revive them to their original state, Harms removed the doors and drawers, sanded them, and used Minwax Stain in the same shade to give them their glow back — some new gold handles from Plank Hardware helped them look brand-new too.
Speaking of cabinets, Harms felt that too many upper cupboards made the room feel “clunky.” So she found a $20 plank from a nearby lumberyard and transformed it into open shelving to house their dishes. The dark brown stain helps it pop off the bright wall too.
When updating the flooring, ceramic tiles were out of the budget, but Harms found an Etsy seller who creates custom PVC floor tiles, which she was able to color-match to the green in their living room.
“Installing the tiles took some planning. I spent a day meticulously laying out the pattern, ensuring each square fit perfectly (sometimes requiring custom cuts for the layout),” Harms shares. “Finally, I applied multiple layers of polyurethane sealant for ultimate protection against everyday wear and tear, including dog claws, snowy boots, and rolling suitcases.”
To finish the room, Harms swapped out outdated appliances for modern yet retro pieces (like the light blue refrigerator) that are also super functional, like the gas stove in case of power outages during the snowy winters. Harms loves everything about the space, but if she had to choose her favorite aspect, it would be “how the room feels when the natural light hits just right.”
“[The light] streams through the window, bathing the kitchen in a soft, magical glow,” Harms explains. “The light falls beautifully on all the colorful elements, making it feel truly special. It’s my favorite time of day to be in the room.”
And even though the home is “for the girls,” Harms feels that the space is appreciated by anyone who comes into her house. “I knew I was creating something special when the random service vendors (usually men) would step into our bright pink kitchen and immediately compliment it,” she notes. “Getting ‘This is so cool!’ from a random 50-year-old fireplace repair guy is oddly a very high honor.”
The kitchen isn’t the only jazzy room in Harms’ home. In fact, every room bursts with bright colors and patterns inspired by her travels abroad — to see more, visit the full home tour on Apartment Therapy.
