Our Design Process - Kitchen Renovation
Original Kitchen
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The owners of this small kitchen were looking for an update and to solve some specific
problems. The problems were:
- No communication with other rooms in the house.
- Entry/Laundry area was cramped with no place to take off shoes
- Lack of usable counter space and storage space
- The flow of the room was “chopped up” and did not facilitate cooking
- Poor lighting from central lighting fixture on a dark wood ceiling
- Kitchen details didn’t match the rest of the house
Design/Development Process:
- Removing the wall between kitchen and dining room would effectively open the space and increase work areas. It is discovered that the wall is load-bearing - total removal would be too expensive! A load-bearing beam under the ceiling therefore becomes necessary. But we also need upper cabinets here to maximize and define the space, so a beam interferes with that.
- Flooring under vinyl is beech and appears to be in good shape. It would be far less expensive and save materials if we can re-finish it. What type of cabinets would look best with beech?
- Line drawings can be rendered for a more lifelike appearance once a final design is narrowed down.
- Lighting fixtures can be drawn in the computer, turned on and dimmed to discover areas needing more illumination. A mixture of 6” recessed general lighting, 4” recessed task lighting, and undercabinet lighting will illuminate the kitchen properly.
- A shadowbox frame encloses the beam. This can be lit for display cases and gives us a surface to hang our upper cabinets from - a dual purpose solution!
- Wood cabinets and a painted ceiling give the look the clients want.
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Line Drawing
Computer Model - Kitchen
Computer Model - Entry
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The Washer and Dryer do not work best in their original spot. We can make this space much more effective by making stackable units protrude into a less-used closet on the other wall. Built-in cabinetry completes a small and very functional space. What was formerly only enough room for a washer and dryer now has the following functions:
Computer Model - Washer/Dryer/Cabinets
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- Laundry
- Bench seat
- Coat rack
- Shoe rack
- Mail-sorting station
- Recycling station
- Winter accessories storage
- Broom closet and cleaning supplies
All this and it feels more spacious and inviting than before. Everything you don’t want to see is hidden in the cabinets!
Computer Model - Refrigerator/Custom Cabinets
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This is the best location for the refrigerator for maximum counterspace and storage. The client wanted a large refrigerator, however, leaving only a 16 inch wide by 30 inch deep cabinet next to it. That’s a lot of storage space, but not easy to access - a special hardware solution is needed here!
The Finished Product:
The refrigerator pantry holds a very large amount of dry goods and is easily accessed on with a heavy-duty slide-out system.
Beech wood was chosen for custom-made cabinets as a species that would match the flooring and not compete with the strong grain of the oak trim and adjacent flooring.
The floor plan opens into the dining room but still separates the kitchen visually and hides the preparation counters while dining. The height of the upper cabinets were sized to the homeowners so that a clear line of sight is maintained without a feeling of the uppers being in your field of view.
A bank of drawers was installed on the end cap of the peninsula to provide a space for flatware and linens for easy accessibility to both the kitchen and dining room. End cap drawers are another custom feature not available in more standard cabinetry.
Tight door spacing inset into end panels are a feature that make our cabinets have the appearance of
cabinets that cost far more. Our cabinets are assembled and built-in on-site for a truly
custom fit. Our craftsmen produce the highest quality available at reasonable prices.
The original floor looks great! It’s distressed enough to look like it belongs in an older
home, but cleaned up and finished to be a beautiful floor at about half the price of a new
wood floor and a quarter of the price of a new tile floor.
We can remove stains and patch where necessary to give an old floor new life.
The trim was custom milled and finish to exactly match
the trim in the rest of the house for a sense of consistency throughout the main floor.
The undersides of our cabinets are finished and bases and end panels are scribed to the floors and walls. Quality finish details are the difference between good and great.
New Kitchen
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