Serving Up Your Dream Kitchen

Who says too many cooks in the kitchen is a bad thing? This recent kitchen remodel had one goal - a warm welcome for all.

Let’s face it. You spend a LOT of time in your kitchen and when family and friends are visiting, so do they. My recent re-model clients wanted a welcoming, light, and airy kitchen to entertain their many guests. They wanted out of their dark cherry kitchen and butler’s pantry spaces. 

Their home faces South, and the kitchen sits at the back of the residence. So, while the front of the house gets lots of warmth and light for most of the day, the kitchen tends to feel a bit darker. The lack of lighting and dark wood cabinetry left this family craving a revamp of their favorite space, but without losing its warm and cozy feel. 

I wanted to help make their dream kitchen come true, and I knew it could be done with some simple, yet creative fixes. It was a collaborative effort,with input from all family members, because after all, it is one of the most popular rooms in the house, isn’t it?

Here’s how we did it. 

Add a Splash of Personality 

We started with the area behind the sink. The existing kitchen had a backsplash (which they loved) behind the sink and cooktop. While the pattern was lovely, I felt it would be too busy to use throughout the entire kitchen, so I found a subway tile to coordinate with it and removed what was behind the sink. Though simple, it added flair to the wall, showing contrast and adding some creative beauty to the vibe.

We also swapped out the granite on the island with white Piracema, while keeping the existing granite on the perimeter, highlighting the central area of their kitchen, where everyone tends to gather. 

Make Time for Wine

Next, we replaced the kitchen desk area with a wine bar using a beverage fridge under the counter. We decided on glass cabinets for above the counter, creating a distinguished look. We used the granite we chose for the island in the wine bar area as well, to round out the look.  

Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot

For a family that loves to entertain, having three ovens was really important to them. So, they opted to remove the existing cooktop and replace it with a Viking range, enabling dedicated station areas for cooking and prep work. It also gives these owners the ability to create multiple dishes at the same time for larger dinner parties, helping to maintain organization and clean-up.

Where Style Meets Performance

Then, we moved on from the counters and cooktop to the flooring and replaced the dark brown vinyl tile with a gorgeous textured gray (Aspen Drift) Mannington Adura LVP floor. Being 100% waterproof and scratch/indentation resistant, it was the obvious choice for a family with kids - and two dogs! It is easy to maintain and perfect for a room where style and performance are both needed in a collaborative effort. 

This floor is an oak plank with incredible detail and character. It has the look of real wood with natural cracks, knots, and graining, adding a classy feel while keeping the room light, with the added ability to hide your crumbs and spills that you know will happen especially with kids, or - let’s be honest - your spouse. 

A Bit of Cabinet Flair 

The cabinets needed some updating throughout, so we replaced all the doors and drawer fronts with a timeless shaker style and added roll outs. We also swapped out all cabinet hardware with Emtek Alexander pulls in flat black. These chunky pulls steal the show!  Black hardware is timeless, classic and unpretentious. I wanted to keep the tones warm, and black was the obvious choice.

We took the cabinets (in both the kitchen and butler’s pantry) to the ceiling by creating boxes above the existing cabinet and added crown molding and painted the existing cabinets to match the new doors. This ultimately created the illusion of a taller ceiling, giving the kitchen a wider and roomier feel.  

No Skeletons in This Closet 

The wire shelving in the outdated pantry had to go. We framed it out to incorporate roll-out shelving here as well. Having the roll-out shelves in the pantry saves a bunch of space and keeps all items readily available, so there is no more struggling to find the things hiding in the back. We also added glass cabinets to the butler's pantry area to give it an elegant, yet delicate look that also works well with the light colors in the space.

Let There Be Light

Adjusting the lighting in your kitchen is one of the simplest, yet impactful things you can do to open up a room. It is the icing on the cake. It is the finishing touch that can really pull a room together. We started by updating the ambient lighting with two centered pendants over the island with an additional one over the sink. We chose a darker color for the canopies, tubing and pendant holders to coordinate with the new cabinet hardware, and also to match the wine bar and offset the dark colors of the pantry. 

Next, we removed and moved some recessed lighting to make sure they were placed in targeted areas of the kitchen where the detailed prep work would be taking place. We also replaced the existing ceiling fixtures in the butler’s pantry. 

A Pinch Here, a Dash There

At the end of the day, choosing the right colors and materials for a space is one of the most important factors for a successful renovation.

For this project, we chose Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray for the walls, Custom White for the cabinets, and Benjamin Moore Soot for the island, cabinets around the refrigerator and the wine bar area. We used a contrast of light and dark throughout the kitchen to really open it up and reveal a wonderful, roomy space. 

Any way you slice it, this kitchen renovation sure looks a lot brighter and bolder than it did before. 

Don’t Put Your Kitchen on the Back Burner

Do you have a vision of your dream kitchen? Let’s put our heads together and create your ideal space for the part of your home where quality time is spent with family and friends.