Kitchen Makeovers

This is the “before” photo of the kitchen before demolition.   Looking at it, you might think that there  is nothing wrong with this layout/cabinetry aside from the fact that it is a small kitchen.  The truth here is that the cabinets were of very poor quality.  The owner had to pull out the drawers on each side of the stove when she wanted to use the oven as the heat was melting the white vinyl coating.  The cabinets were not securely fastened to the walls, and the pantry closet was a huge waste of space.  The bar was a “catch-all”  and had too shallow of knee space for the stools to be comfortably used.  This would probably be enough cabinetry for a “too busy to cook” person, but for a mom of 2 small children who loves to cook everything from scratch, it just wasn’t working efficiently.

This young mother happens to be the daughter of Mastercraftsman Ken, so it was Daddy to the rescue.

The pantry was completely removed as well as all the other cabinets.  The refrigerator was then put in the corner allowing for 8 ft. of counter space.  A flannel grey solid surface top was added, 4 large 6″ deep drawers, and ample top and lower space was then gained. Notice that the new cabinets went all the way to the ceiling giving even more storage space.   White beadboard was used for the backsplash.  The bar was reconfigured by adding a taller 4′ wide cabinet and was installed facing the living room…a great space for her many cookbooks and nicer serving dishes.  Then the remaining former bar space was lowered to the normal counter height and makes a peninsula that easily fits two lower stools.  This counter continues around the sink and over to the stove.  It is white solid surface with a grey flannel inset stripe to tie it to the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen.   All the interiors of the cabinets are white laminate over wood.  A high gloss finish was used because this is an interior room with no direct window light.  Euro hinges were used on face frames,  and the doors are a traditional raised panel style.  Brushed pewter knobs and new faucet were chosen and these really compliment the grey detail in the counter.  Additional repair included a small amount of drywall patching, addition of a few more pieces of ceramic tile, and a little paint touch-up.  The install took 2.5 days with 3 helpers ( daughter, son in law, and wife) working alongside the “Mastercraftsman”.

A common problem we run into in lots of kitchen redo projects is the ceiling light fixture. The most popular styles are either a small round 2 bulb light found often in homes 20-40 years old, and the standard 2 bulb florescent light. When you take these fixtures down, and have a popcorn or knockdown plaster finish, there’s a space where that finish isn’t in place and it can be very difficult to patch and match it so it looks right without doing the entire ceiling over again. I found a solution to this issue with one of my favorite customers as we were redoing his kitchen. I covered the”scar” with a piece of finished wood, built an attractive frame around that giving it some layers and depth, and then hung his choice of a new fixture. Now it looks like it all fits together, and gives the ceiling space some interest as well.