The Birth of a Stomping Ground: How Mmapitsi's Kitchen Went from Grim to Grand

There's a phrase that's been worn smooth by overuse in South Africa—"stomping ground"—but sometimes, just sometimes, it fits like a well-worn boot. And that's exactly what Jean Gardens in Kempton Park has become for me over the years.

And with this particular client, it all started with a name on a board. Mmapitsi saw my details displayed as an approved contractor at the entrance one ordinary day, and she made that call. Neither of us knew then that it would lead to this: a complete apartment resurrection, room by room, and finally—finally—a kitchen makeover so stunning it deserved its own story.

An elevated panoramic view, of the Mmapitsi Kitchen, from the Kitchen entrance

But let me tell you, getting here wasn't swift. The idea had been hovering between us from that very first handshake. Life, however, has a cruel sense of timing. Budgets needed to be wrestled into shape. Then came COVID-19, that great devourer of plans. Years slipped past, the dream tucked away like a favourite recipe waiting for the right moment.

Then, in the first half of 2024, the chips finally fell into place.

The Before: A Green Nightmare

You need to understand what we were dealing with. Jean Gardens' original kitchens were these archaic steel contraptions—and of all colours, someone had painted them green. Not a charming vintage green. A dull, joy-sucking, institutional green that seemed to leach the life out of everything around it. The apartments themselves were good bones, solid and respectable, but these kitchens? They made you feel tired just looking at them.

View of the old Kitchen 

I'd replaced three such kitchens at Jean Gardens over the years. Mmapitsi's was about to become the fourth.

The Demolition: Ripping Out the Past

We went in swinging.

The green steel cabinets came first—a satisfying, brutal removal that felt like a space metamorphosis of sorts. Then the 200mm x 200mm white tiles came off the walls. And the floor tiles? Stripped down to bare concrete.

But here's where things got interesting. You see, builders from the late '60s and '70s had a peculiar habit: if walls were destined to be tiled, they simply... didn't plaster them. They'd slap plaster directly onto the back of a tile and smash it onto bare brickwork. So when you strip those tiles decades later, the plaster comes with them, leaving nothing but exposed brickwork gaping at you like a missing tooth.

That's exactly what we found.

So we replastered. Every inch of those in plastered walls, painstakingly smoothed and levelled, before laying down light grey tiles that would sing against what was coming next.

Stripping the old underway 

The Vision: Storm Grey Elegance

Mmapitsi loves grey. Not a secret—her bathroom makeover blog proves it—and this kitchen would be no different. We chose storm grey melawood for the doors and visible panels. The carcasses went in with standard pico white melamine, sturdy and practical where no one would see.

The new Strom Grey Kitchen 

The floor? A continuation of the reclaimed wood-look grey tiles we'd already laid in the bathroom, then the passage, then the lounge. Seamless. Deliberate. A grey thread running through the entire apartment like a quiet signature.

The Layout: Smart, Not Sorry

Unlike the Mtambisi kitchen I'd written about before—where we knocked down walls and went open-plan—Mmapitsi wanted that wall between kitchen and lounge to stay standing. And sometimes, restraint is its own kind of wisdom.

The cooker remained below the window, practically in its original position. And replacing the old standalone electric solid element cooker and oven is now a sleek, shiny, modern ceramic cooker, adding an aura of understated elegance to the cooking area. 

But the sink area? Transformed.

We installed a 1080mm display unit beside a solid door wall storage unit—spacious, generous, replacing those cramped 720mm steel horrors. The right-hand corner received corner shelves, now holding kitchen appliances within easy reach instead of buried in dark cupboards.

On the left side of that standing wall, we carved out a slot for the washing machine, roughly where the old one stood. Water supply and grey water disposal connections terminate neatly in a service well that runs from top to bottom between the sink unit and that separation wall.

The fridge slots back into its original space, though now with improved ventilation and a perfect flush fit that makes the most of every millimetre.

The Crown Jewels

Remember those two standalone faucets—those clunky, separate taps for hot and cold? Gone. In their place now stands a black mixer tap that rises from between the twin basins of the sink like a secretary bird scanning the horizon. Proud. Commanding. Utterly magnificent.

The wall behind the sink unit is lit up by Lesotho soft stone cladding that adds flair, sophistication, and an unexpected warmth—a touch of mountain kingdom texture against all that smooth grey.

The new black Sink
Water Mixer

And the countertop? Oh, the countertop. A laminate white marble surface, twice the thickness of common Formica tops. Decadent. Luxurious. The kind of surface that makes you want to cook, to linger, to run your palm across its cool, marbled face just because it feels expensive.

The Verdict: Small Space, Infinite Function

Here's what everyone misses about tiny kitchens. They think cramped means compromised. But stand in Mmapitsi's kitchen today and watch the work triangle in action—fridge, cooker, sink, all within effortless reach. No straining. No shuffling. No frustration.

Yes, the space might read as tight in photographs. But truth is a different animal. This kitchen breathes. It works. It delivers everything you need exactly where you need it, and then gets out of your way.

Mmapitsi doesn't just like her new Kitchen.

She loves it.

And in its own quiet, clever way, this installation redefines what small-space kitchen optimization can look like—perhaps even more successfully than the Mtambisi makeover.

To have been part of that transformation, to have watched those grim green cabinets fall and this grey-and-white sanctuary rise... it was, and remains, an inestimable honour.

Stomping ground, indeed.

                                 ________

And if, after reading this, you find yourself glancing around your own kitchen—or bathroom, or lounge, or that corner of your apartment that has been waiting far too long for its turn—then perhaps it's time.

Perhaps you're ready to trade the dull and the dated for something that makes you stop mid-step just to admire it.

I've walked these paths before. From the first cracked tile to the final gleaming mixer tap. And I'd be honoured to walk them with you.

Reach out. Let's talk about your space.

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📧 Email: info.aptdesigns@gmail.com