Built in the early 1990s, this home still had its original kitchen when our clients moved into it seven years ago. According to the homeowner, “I was never impressed with it. The tile floors showed every bit of dirt, and the island was tiled like the floor. The walls were deep red, and it looked like the previous homeowners had taken down wallpaper poorly and then painted. A cook top was located at the end of the island, leaving little room for food prep. The layout was no longer working for us, and appliances were beginning to break.” It was time to remodel.
Design Phase: The goals behind the new kitchen design were to update the look, to improve the usability, and to open up the space to the family room. Accessibility between the dining area in the kitchen and the adjacent family room was blocked with a railing. The new design called for removing the railing, and reconfiguring the floor plan to create more flow between the two spaces.
The homeowners wanted to move the cooktop out of the island to the perimeter, allowing the island to become a central gathering space. To achieve this change, the configuration of the right side of the kitchen changed dramatically. The built-in ovens were moved to that wall, and a new built-in fringe was added. The door to the laundry room was relocated, and a beverage station and computer area was added to the newly created wall space. These changes allowed for a larger island with deep drawers and additional seating to be built.
Build Phase: In many kitchen remodels, we weigh the costs between resurfacing and retrofitting existing cabinets versus bringing in new. Sometimes, the cost of making the old cabinets fit into the new design comes to a point where it makes sense to just install new, up-to-date cabinetry. Such was the case in this project. According to the homeowner, “The new cabinets made sense from a storage standpoint. We also enjoy the features, like soft-close drawers, the built-in spice rack and the utensil drawer.”
The new flooring made a large impact on the look of the kitchen. “I was originally going to go with a dark stain,” said the homeowner, “but the hickory had so much character, that we changed our minds.”
Final Result: With fixing the flow being a high priority in this kitchen remodel, it was key that the designers understood how the homeowners wanted to use the new space. “We really took our time during the design process,” said the homeowner. “We wanted to make sure we were going to get the kitchen we wanted, and that we were making the right decisions. That time investment paid off by giving us the kitchen we love.”
Are you ready for a change but are not sure where to start? Have one of our designers over for a free, in-home consultation. Send us an email, or give us a call at 317-846-2600.
