The first year that we lived together in our 900-square-foot Harlem apartment, my then boyfriend, Rob, and I would describe our compact corner kitchen as if it were an annoying but occasionally redemptive roommate . We scorned its shadowy lighting, its handle-less oven, its dirt-colored laminate countertops that camouflaged an ineradicable dusting of salt crystals and bread crumbs and black peppercorns. And yet, when we needed it, there our kitchen was, gamely accommodating everything from Saturday morning breakfasts for two to weeknight taco dinners for 12, its flaws offset by a certain earnest dependability. “It does the job,” we’d say, time and again.

BEFORE: Among the original kitchen’s shortcomings: poor lighting, dated appliances, and hard-to-clean countertops.

Another year later, though, our tune had changed. We were newly engaged at this point and had made the decision to stay in the apartment for at least a few more years. Now, with an indefinite runway unfurling before us, poor lighting and a broken oven were beginning to seem like bigger problems than they had months earlier. An overhaul was imminent. “It’s time,” Rob said one night over FaceTime, squinting at our crowded orange cabinetry through the screen.

BEFORE: Limited storage (and a sizable gap between the upper cabinets and the ceiling) led to an accumulation of clutter in an already cramped kitchen.

However, despite the fact that I’d spent years chronicling other people’s home renovations for various magazines and websites ( this one included), I felt clueless when it came to this relatively small project of my own. Because we knew the apartment wasn’t our forever home—and because we weren’t going to be moving plumbing or making any structural changes to the space—we decided to forgo any formal interior design help , focusing instead on achieving a notable upgrade at a reasonable cost. In the months leading up to the renovation, I researched, and read, and, when all was set in motion, crossed my fingers that we weren’t causing irreparable damage to our home.

Thanks to the magic of IKEA , customizable cabinet doors , and our highly skilled contractor, Marek Pavlovski , our kitchen was completed last fall in under three weeks. As I imagine is the case with all renovations, it was a learning experience, a few key takeaways from which I’ll share below . The new space, which we love, is a brighter, cleaner, more functional version of its former self. It serves the same purposes, but, like an old friend, it’s grown up alongside us.