For years, architect Aimée O’Carroll had kept an eye on her current building in Seattle, hoping one of the units would come up for sale. The 10-story midcentury originally served as short-term rentals during the 1962 World’s Fair—the Space Needle’s raison d'être—and it’s where Aimée’s parents stayed after she moved from London to cofound goCstudio in 2013. “My parents are both architects, so naturally they were drawn to the condo,” recalls Aimée.

$563.20 Sink & Faucet	$3,389 Appliances	$75 Bin Sliders
$3,469.59 Counter & Backsplash	$360 Steel Shelf	$438.23 Linoleum Flooring
$246.63 Undercounter Lighting	$5,375 Reform Cabinets	$14,213.47 General Contractor Including Electrical & Plumbing
Grand Total: $28,130.12

The location, in First Hill, was perfect: just steps away from Downtown Seattle and Pioneer Square, where goC’s offices are located. “The units feel more spacious, bright, and light than newer buildings,” says Aimée. “It has an aluminum curtain wall grid, which means wall-to-wall windows in nearly every room.”

Aimée's condo building is flush with midcentury design details including large aluminum windows and parquet tile wood floors." layout="" credit="Photo by Kyle Johnson" photoUserId=""/>

After viewing several units in the building that weren’t quite right, Aimée had nearly given up when something caught her eye on Instagram. A friend had posted a photo of his condo for sale—and as luck would have it, it was the same unit Aimée’s parents had rented several years earlier. She took the plunge, and after giving the fifth-floor apartment a new coat of paint and refinishing the parquet wood floors, she set her sights on updating the kitchen.

“The previous owner had made some nice changes, adding open shelving and pops of bright color,” says Aimée. “The kitchen was functional, but felt dated with old appliances and dodgy wiring.” When the pandemic hit, Aimée made the kitchen renovation her pet project. “I wasn’t in a major rush, so I was able to stockpile materials and appliances in my living room as I found them on sale.”

Aimée. "It's also a nice complement to the closed storage on the opposite side."" layout="" credit="Photo by Kyle Johnson" photoUserId=""/>

Despite it being a small space—it’s an eight-by-eight-foot galley kitchen—Aimée liked the existing flow to the main living areas and didn’t want to knock down any walls. “I’m a bit over the idea of total open-plan living,” she says. “Having these little zones actually feels pretty good.” Instead, Aimée selectively updated appliances, fixtures, finishes, and flooring. She also flipped the oven placement for more usable counter space.

ée took a note from the existing color-blocked counters in her new design, staying true to the original spirit of the space." layout="" credit="Photo courtesy Aimée O'Carroll" photoUserId=""/>

Wanting to stay true to the ’60s feel of the building, Aimée opted for a color-blocked, midcentury-inspired style. She also needed to stay in budget, so custom cabinetry and luxury finishes were out of the question. “For many of our clients, there’s often a question of fully custom versus semi-custom kitchens,” says Aimée. “I wanted to serve as a guinea pig for the semi-custom cabinetry companies we often reference but hadn’t tried yet.”

“It’s the little details, materials, and moments of tactility that add something special to what’s otherwise a simple space.”
—Aimée O’Carroll

ée. Semi-custom cabinetry from Reform helped the project stay in budget." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Kyle Johnson" photoUserId=""/>

She sourced semi-custom cabinets from Danish company Reform, selecting a style with a linoleum face and simple open circle pulls. For the counter and backsplash, she used Richlite, a compressed paper product by a local Washington company that is eco-friendly and durable. “Richlite patinas over time—it wears like leather,” says Aimée. “You can easily refinish it yourself with wax and bring it back to new, or you can let it age and feel lived-in.”

dy kitchen contrasts with the light, bright dining room just beyond. "Often you'll see kitchen renovations where everything goes white, modern, and stark," says Aimée. "But I wanted to bring color into it and continue the pockets of bold color that the previous owner had injected into the condo." " layout="" credit="Photo by Kyle Johnson" photoUserId=""/>

Marmoleum floors are in the same dark, petrol blue as the counters, offering a dramatic contrast to the pistachio-colored, linoleum-faced cabinets. “Linoleum has a soft, warm feeling, and you get the exposed oak edges,” says Aimée. “I didn’t want too much wood in the kitchen because of the parquet floors.” The continuous surfaces and colors, unbroken by tile breaks or grout lines, help the room feel bigger.

Raising the cabinet height above the new stovetop also creates the illusion of more space. A new mid-height custom steel shelf offers storage for spices and everyday cooking items while staying visually quiet. Reusing existing elements of the kitchen, including the counter-depth refrigerator and open shelving, helped keep the project on budget and maintains the condo’s original spirit.

Takeshi Nii NY Rocking Chair sourced from local furniture company Madsen Modern." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Kyle Johnson" photoUserId=""/>

As her firm continues work on residential, cultural, and commercial architecture projects in the Northwest and beyond, Aimée’s O’C Kitchen has helped cement aspects of her larger design philosophy.

“Even though it’s just a tiny kitchen in a condo, it was still about doing something site-specific that wasn’t at odds with the style of the building or what was already there,” says Aimée. “It’s the little details, materials, and moments of tactility that add something special to what’s otherwise a simple space.”

More Budget Breakdown:

An Architect Revives a 1963 Cabin in the Californian Sierras for $50K

A Historian Couple Revamp Their Storybook Victorian for $174K

Project Credits:

Architect: goCstudio Architecture + Design / @go_c_studio

General Contractor: Praxis Builders

Cabinet Design: Reform

Richlite Installation: John Dietrich

Appears In

Budget Breakdown: A Seattle Architect Gives Her Galley Kitchen a Mod Update for $28K