This homeowner has turned a dated space into a navy blue industrial-style kitchen

Owners, Holly and Roger, have given their Berkshire-based home a vibrant yet sophisticated blue kitchen makeover by painting the existing cupboards and replacing the worktops.

Inspired by an industrial, New York cafe vibe, they've opted for dark wood-effect kitchen flooring ideas, faux marble work surfaces and stainless steel accents. A colour combination of dark blue and pink has a modern, uplifting feel.

Taking on work themselves, such as painting the kitchen cabinets and laying the vinyl floor, has saved them oodles of cash. This allowed them to splash out on statement tiles and a new sink and tap, resulting in the whole makeover costing just over £2,000.

Navy blue industrial style kitchen makeover

Before

When the owners moved in to this two-bedroom, end of terrace house near Reading, everything was dated and dull. The kitchen was in shades of beige and brown, and the fittings were obviously the original ones from when the place was built more than 20 years ago. However, the space was ample and there was plenty of room in the kitchen for a table and chairs.  

After

A large pantry-style cupboard was taking up too much room and the couple felt they already had enough storage. So they took it out to give a better idea of the amount of space available. 

The units themselves were sound and they couldn’t afford to replace them, so they looked into painting the cabinets instead. 

The oven had also been replaced fairly recently, so they kept that and the washing machine. They had brought the fridge-freezer with their previous flat – but everything else had to go!  

To make a statement, the owners decided to paint the units in Farrow & Ball's Stiffkey Blue and went for Cinder Rose on the wall by the dining area. They did thorough research on how to paint kitchen cabinets and replaced the wooden knobs. 

They bought plain white tiles to go above the sink and on the wall opposite, but wanted something special on the back wall as this is what you see when you step into the kitchen. They chose Atlas Blue porcelain tiles from Ca'Pietra to match the blue of the units and the lighter shade inspired accessories.

The flooring was a horrible fake wood that felt sticky underfoot. The couple decided to go for the same flooring throughout the living room and kitchen/diner to improve the flow. They went for a hardwearing wood-effect vinyl, which is so realistic you can’t tell it’s not the real thing. 

The other big attraction of vinyl was that the owners could lay it themselves, which they did over a long weekend. It was relatively simple and meant their labour costs were virtually nil. They also did all the painting, and the owner's brother, a trainee electrician, fitted the lights. They also paid to have the sink fitted and the worktop installed. 

The rotting wooden kitchen worktop idea was removed right at the beginning. 'I love the look of marble, with the way each section looks different and the greys of the veins,' says the owner. 'It was obviously out of the question, price-wise, but we found a really effective marble laminate which does the job.'

A new tap and kitchen sink idea were also in-demand, so the owners chose industrial-looking stainless steel. This also led them to the smart new chrome knobs for the units.  

For the dining room idea, the owner's mum found a great little company online that hand-makes furniture from scratch. They chose a combination of a table with metal legs, a matching bench and two chairs that came at a package for £275. 

'It was a real bargain and means we can seat four easily when friends come round,' explains the owners.

Once the dining table was in, they found that they still had some of the space left from the larder idea so they bought a wooden sideboard to store all the crockery, cutlery and accessories for the table. They also carried on the industrial theme with a shelf made from an old scaffolding board and a clock with a marble-effect finish to echo the worktop. 

'We absolutely love spending time here now, one of us cooking, while the other one sits and chats. It just works so well.'   

Have you been inspired to revamp your kitchen?