If you’ve been loving Jeremiah Brent’s mini home renos on this season of Queer Eye and thought to yourself, I wish he’d do that for me, you are in luck. And no, we’re not suggesting you should sign up for the next round of casting. The interior designer recently teamed up with Almond Breeze to not only highlight the brand’s shelf-stable almond milk varieties, but also makeover one lucky person’s pantry. Run, don’t walk: The sweepstakes is open now and will close on February 25.
“Pantries become an abyss of disorganization and expired goods. We’re all guilty of it,” says Brent. “I’m excited to meet somebody and bring a level of personalization to their pantry.” Ahead, we caught up with Brent to chat about all things kitchen design, from how to make your pantry doors sing to jazzing up dated countertops.
The Key to an Organized Pantry
Before the hard design work begins, Brent weeds through a pantry’s expired goods “to make sure you don’t have licorice in there from the 1980s,” he laughs. That’s one reason he’s a fan of Almond Breeze’s shelf-stable products to begin with: it’s not going to go bad on you in a matter of days. To help keep track of everything else, the designer swears by glass containers. “Not only is it eco-friendly and something you can reuse constantly but it’s a reminder of the state of the ingredients that are in it,” he notes. The thing that separates a superbly tidy pantry? Systems that utilize every single inch of wall and shelf space. “Whether it’s spices that attach to the wall or a knife rack,” he adds.
The Pantry Design Tweak That Goes a Long Way
Brent knows that not everybody has the luxury to build out a tricked-out pantry with custom millwork. His simple suggestions for making your storage space feel luxe? Pop out the solid cabinet door panels for some chicken wire or milky glass. “Or apply a self-adhesive wallpaper on the inside to make it feel unique,” he says.
The Designer’s Favorite Kitchen Cabinet Style (Right Now)
Admittedly, cabinet style is one element Brent and his designer husband, Nate Berkus, don’t see eye-to-eye on these days. “My husband likes a little bit more of an originate profile, like a Shaker or a nice beaded detail. I’m a fan of flat panels, quiet and clean,” Brent shares.
The Go-To Green Paints for Cabinets
Paint goes a long way in making a kitchen feel personal, and on this season of Queer Eye, it was clear Brent was loving all things green. “I love [Olive] Smudge and Nitty Gritty,” he reveals. “Although we love white and gray—we support it—, not everything needs to be white and gray.”
The Easy Way to Make Dated Counters Feel Fresh
Brent wasn’t all about the demo process on this season of Queer Eye. In fact, in a handful of kitchens that featured granite countertops, he left the surface completely alone. Instead, he focused on other meaningful, lower-lift updates—a light paint color on the cabinets, swapping uppers for floating shelves—that steal your attention away from the dated stone. “In one kitchen, the granite countertops were a shade of brown. They felt a little flat but by juxtaposing that against a really beautiful blue paint in the room, it became the last thing you noticed,” says Brent.
The Personal Detail Your Kitchen Is Probably Missing
One tiny feature Brent remembers about his grandmother’s kitchen: there were picture frames on the counters. “They brought her joy, so they were there,” he says, simply. So, before the big reveal day, he’ll pepper in some photographs alongside the toaster or coffee maker. “I really do believe that every square inch of your home is an opportunity to highlight the things that you love,” adds Brent.
