The Home:

After 32 years of making memories in the same kitchen, Janet-an accomplished interior designer-finally decided it was time to give her own home the transformation it deserved. The original builder layout served its purpose, becoming the backdrop for countless family meals, celebrations, and everyday chaos as she and her husband raised their three children. But now, with an eye for design and a desire for more functionality, Janet set out to create a space that not only works better for her family but also reflects the warmth and style she has brought to so many of her clients' homes.

 

Existing Challenges:

The existing kitchen layout created many challenges including:

• No pantry space.
• The island had no space to left of the sink, which meant that there was no space to put items removed from the fridge.
• Cutlery was spread among 3 different drawers, pots and pans were stacked making them heavy and hard to access, cooking oils were not near stove, and there was no place to store spices.
• A short wall between the kitchen and family room was creating a division.
• The wine fridge was in the lower level so they would be going up and down stairs when they wanted a glass of wine.

The Goals:

Janet wanted a beautiful space where she and her husband could enjoy spending time and hosting family and friends.

Here are the specific features they wanted to include in their design:

• Enlarge the island to incorporate cabinetry for garbage and recycling.
• Open up the space between the kitchen and family room.
• Wanted a wine fridge as part of kitchen.
• A charging solution for phones and iPad.
• A larger walkway between fridge and island and between perimeter cabinets and island.
• A hidden microwave.  

Solutions:  

Enlarged the island and moved the sink. The island now houses a cabinet for garbage and had a landing spot for items removed from fridge.  It also has beautiful paneling on sides and back of island. Also enclosed the fridge to make it look more like a built-in.

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Custom drawer inserts were added to store pots and pans for easier access. A large 2 level cutlery drawer is now available to store utensils (previously they were in 3 different drawers), spice drawer insert, pullouts for cooking oils right next to stove, and storage for baking sheets, and cutting boards over the fridge.

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Created a butler’s pantry that has two over-sized tower cabinets for food and microwave storage.  In the center of the butler’s pantry is a wine fridge with lighted glass cabinets for wine glass storage and dinnerware for entertaining. We added a charging drawer to keep iPads and cell phones off the counter.  This area looks lovely from the living room and dining room.

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Although not able to totally remove the wall between the kitchen and family room, we were able to move it back substantially and do a low “pony wall” which both provides an armrest when dining and keeps little ones from falling off bench seat. Removing this short wall allowed more light into the kitchen and also make the kitchen and family room seem like one large space.

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We also updated the powder room so that it worked beautifully with new kitchen design.  The floral wallpaper brings in the kitchen colors and is a beautiful view from the family room. In the family room, the fireplace facade was updated and new window treatments were installed.