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Working with my client to create a kitchen with warm tones and materials.
Kitchen remodels can be difficult, with all the different styles and the so many decisions a client has to make when designing a new kitchen; the task can be overwhelming. My client, Diane, asked me to help her design a new kitchen that would give her the warm and comfortable feeling she had in her last house. I remember telling her, this kitchen isn't ever going to be your our old kitchen, but together, we will find a design that she will love!
Before photos
(taken from Zillow's web page and a couple from the home owner)
With keeping the existing plumbing and Diane having already selected a cabinet maker; I reworked the cabinet drawings a bit and then dug into all the steps that go into making this kitchen beautiful!
My client had already made plans to take down the partial wall between the living room and kitchen; opening up the space and allowing for a larger island. Having a blank slate to work with isn't always the case with remodels, but lucky for us, it was here.
Taking the storage closet away from that partial wall meant the cleaning items and other necessities needed to have a space incorporated into the new kitchen cabinets. I mentioned that Diane had already had her cabinets laid out with her cabinet maker, so all I needed to do was alter the design and layout slightly to incorporate a storage cabinet in the corner next to the dining table and streamline the cabinet layout design, making the cabinets themselves bigger and therefore more pleasing to the eye with a modern layout and being bigger, a better functioning kitchen for my client with the added storage space. The door style, molding and vent hood was selected with a transitional style to feel modern, yet traditional as well. Then it was onto digging into all the beautiful materials that were going to give this kitchen color and warmth.
To create a warm, welcoming kitchen, we selected a medium-rich brown stain for the cabinets, a greige gloss larger subway tile for the backsplash along with a multi-pattern marble and glass hexagon accent tile above the stove top to add interest to the design and draw your eye in. The cafe brown sink complimented the brushed nickle hardware and faucet, allowing those metal finishes throughout the kitchen to act as the jewelry pieces to the space. The countertops we selected are full of movement of a variety of warm colors and tone, further adding to the warm-inviting kitchen look and feel.
We had also selected a custom stain to refinish the hardwood floors to compliment the existing oak casing and baseboards throughout her first floor and the new kitchen cabinet stain.
We installed clear bubbled glass - dimmable pendent lighting above the new, larger island, to add ambient lighting as well as task lighting to the space. We also incorporated under-cabinet lighting and dropped a frosted pendent light above the sink to be used for cooking and cleaning. With the kitchen being open to the dining room, we upgraded the chandelier as well to a modern clear glass 4-bulb light to host dinner parties.
After Photos
"Working with Nicole on my kitchen remodel was fabulous. I'm so left-brained, it was reassuring to have a right-brained person to help me through selections. She gave me confidence that it would all look good together in the end. She was patient with me when I didn't spark to any of the options, and she would take more time to find me more options. A great result (i.e: beautiful new kitchen)...AND Nicole made it far less stressful!"
~Diane