When Masha Tsimring and Nicholas Hussong set out to renovate the kitchen in their Queens, New York, apartment, they encouraged architects Lane Rick and Can Vu Bui of the firm Office of Things to make it zanier. “I was really interested in it not being an HGTV-like home renovation,” Nicholas says. But they were also aware of limitations. Rick says the team was guided by the question “How do you get the most you can from as little work as possible?”

Masha and Nicholas, who are theater-industry designers, wanted to change many things in their 900-square-foot place. But Rick and Vu Bui recommended concentrating their efforts in order to stretch the budget. Uniting the generic galley kitchen (think white cabinets and faux-granite counters) and adjacent room (which the previous residents used as their primary bedroom) would get the couple more space to entertain and better natural light.

Though a wall came down, this wasn’t a sledgehammer-happy approach. Rick and Vu Bui worked like surgeons, excising what could be easily removed and embracing what couldn’t. They did not move the sink or gas stove because hiring a plumber would consume the $53,000 budget. When they discovered iron pipes running through the partially demolished wall, the architects chose to treat them like raw, industrial features instead of covering them up. They took the same approach with the gas meter, which hangs down from the ceiling. “We would have had to bribe everyone in New York City to move that,” Nicholas jokes. The couple kept their stove and dishwasher so that they could splurge on a new Samsung refrigerator.

$1,500 Permitting	$4,000 Demolition	$4,500 Plumbing & Fixtures
$20,000 Electrical	$1,000 Lighting	$1,500 Flooring
$1,000 Tile	$3,000 Refrigerator	$1,000 Paints & Stains
$5,000 Cabinets	$7,000 Wall Construction	$3,500 Countertop
Grand Total: $53,000

Attention to detail makes the renovation feel like one with a more generous budget. Office of Things used one contractor, Gazmend Goxhaj of MMG1 Renovation, because he was skilled in both tile installation and carpentry, to rein in costs. “There was very little handoff to other people, which is where a lot of things can fall through,” Rick says. Goxhaj doctored Ikea cabinets with custom fronts—some are grain-matched plywood, and others are painted—and placed butcher block over drawers to make an island. Inspired by the Italian artist Ettore Spalletti’s use of contrasting hues, the architects and residents chose a palette of teals and oranges. The end result is a rich mixture of colors, materials, and shapes: burnt-orange cabinets with oversize brass pulls, teal tile on the floors and backsplash, and black counters. The intensity of the colors shifts with the sunlight throughout the day, enlivening the ever-changing—but economical—space.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Office of Things

Builder: MMG1 Renovation

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