Kitchen Takes Center Stage

When you find a home that meets most of your needs in a neighborhood you love, remodeling to make it more suitable for your family’s lifestyle can make that house your dream home. That’s what happened in this remodeling story. Our clients purchased a home built in 1983 with the plan to remodel the kitchen to suit their needs and tastes. The galley style kitchen was positioned at the center and rear of the main level and had an eat-in area at one end and a pantry at the opposite end. A small pass-through allowed view into the adjacent family room, but otherwise the two spaces were closed off from one another. The existing espresso stained cabinetry was attractive, but it darkened and narrowed the kitchen. The homeowners wanted the kitchen to feel more connected to the other main level living spaces. Creating more light and improving organization and storage were must haves for the new design. They also requested relocating the pantry from under the stairs and longed for a ventilation system that would vent the cooking smells outdoors rather than throughout the inside of the house. Our design involved removing a portion of wall between the kitchen and living room. This one change made it feel larger, more open and bright. It also connected the kitchen to the living room and allowed the two spaces to flow freely into one another. This new open area allowed us to extend the granite countertop to create a peninsula/bar that provides additional seating. To improve the existing lighting plan, we added new LED recessed lights, under-cabinet lighting, and pendant lighting over the peninsula. The selections were integral in making the kitchen feel lighter and larger. Our clients chose maple cabinetry with an oak stained tumbleweed finish paired with creamy granite countertops, and a pearl tumbled travertine backsplash. A few standout features include a set of floating shelves, concrete farmhouse sink, and mercury glass pendant lights. Flooring throughout the first floor was updated to an easy to maintain wood-look vinyl plank floor. Several new storage options were added including new cabinetry where the old pantry used to be, which accommodates the microwave in an upper cabinet as well as storage for small cooking appliances so they don’t take up space on the counters. There’s also a unique angled cabinet right next to the refrigerator. When the work was complete on this project we were very pleased that the design delivered exactly what the homeowners had envisioned. In addition, we were able to complete the construction without causing too much disturbance or disruption for the homeowners; one works the night shift, and was actually able to sleep during the day, and the other travels frequently for work and felt confident that the project was in good hands.