# 1980s kitchen → modern: our before/after

**URL:** <https://home.renovation.reviews/t/1980s-kitchen-modern-our-before-after/48215>\
**Category:** Before And After\
**Created:** [June 28, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/1980s-kitchen-modern-our-before-after/48215 "2026-06-28T16:51:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![linda\_reno](https://home.renovation.reviews/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@linda\_reno](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/linda_reno)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/1980s-kitchen-modern-our-before-after/48215/1 "2026-06-28T16:51:27Z")

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Six weeks, one very patient family. Swapped the oak cabinets for shaker fronts, quartz counters, and moved the fridge to open up the walkway. Lighting made the biggest difference honestly.

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**Author:** ![BuildersLTD](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/buildersltd/32/14872_2.png) [@BuildersLTD](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/BuildersLTD)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/1980s-kitchen-modern-our-before-after/48215/2 "2026-07-08T13:38:47Z")

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Moving the fridge to open the walkway is the kind of change nobody notices in photos but everyone feels in the room — that was the right call, and six weeks for a scope like that is a tight, well-run job.

You’re also right about lighting being the biggest lever. For anyone reading this planning the same reno: layer it — pots for general, under-cabinet strips for task (get them on their own switch), and one statement fixture over the island or table. It’s a few hundred dollars in the middle of a five-figure reno and it changes everything.

What did you go with for the under-cabinet lighting, and did the quartz install go in one slab or did you end up with a seam? Would love to see the before/after shots if you’re up for posting them.