Qualified Remodeler’s Master Design Awards 2007 honor outstanding remodeling projects.
Below is featured Powell Construction’s winning kitchen project.
Set in a forested location with Northern exposure and little sunlight, this room’s low ceiling, hanging cabinets, and lack of good lighting completely closed in the space. (see photo on right) The intense color scheme, meant to brighten the space, made it seem dated.
A combination of rearranging its physical features and changing the surfaces created openness and radically transformed this space into a bright and airy kitchen. (see photo above)
Removing the hanging cabinets and vaulting the kitchen’s ceiling (see photo above) created a more functional open work area. Extending the curvilinear countertop on the peninsula beyond the cabinet base created a multifunctional counter that now provides a larger buffet serving area and allows guests and family members to comfortably interact with the cook.
Here is a look at the floor plans:
Before:
After:
Homeowner: Wants and Needs
As typical of the 1970’s when this home was constructed, the old cabinets above the peninsula cut off the kitchen and the chef from everyone else. The lofty vaulted ceilings in the other areas of the home stopped abruptly at the kitchen peninsula, making it feel even smaller and more closed in. The homeowners wanted a brighter, more visually dramatic space and a more functional work area with a high end look that would connect them to their families and guests while cooking and entertaining.
Design & Function
Recessed Shaker style cabinet doors and craftsman lighting provided clean traditional lines that modernized the room. (photo above left)
Positioning a curved shelf on the end cabinet repeats the curvature of the countertop and provides a display and storage area. (photo above right)
New cabinets have taller uppers that capture space previously wasted in soffits and allows for additional shelving in each unit. (photo below)
Appliances now remain hidden behind garages and help keep the kitchen clutter-free. (photo above right)
A new custom bookshelf conveniently keeps cookbooks close by.
Innovative Solutions
Finding creative ways to minimize costs allowed these homeowners to splurge on higher impact specialty items such as the Terrazzo glass tiles that give sparkle to the entire backsplash. (photo below right)
Costs were minimized by:
- reusing the existing window.
- not relocating any of the plumbing.
- installing modestly priced laminate countertops with beveled edges for a more seamless high-end look.
Light maple cabinets (photo below) combined with a lighter bamboo floor visually brighten and open the room.
Final Results
From dark and dated…
to bright and airy, the affects of this radical transformation extend well beyond the kitchen itself. They lend a sense of serenity and beauty to the rest of the home as well.
Design Solutions
A desire for openness, does not always require increasing square footage. With a combination of rearranging physical features and changing the surfaces, we created the openness. Removing the hanging cabinets and vaulting the kitchen’s ceiling allowed for a continuation of the rest of the home’s vault. The physical height, additional light from a well-positioned new skylight, recessed fixtures and accent lighting now fully illuminate a room that was previously dark due to its forested location and Northern exposure. The new combined elements cause the room to appear much larger than it actually is.
While removing the hanging cabinets and low ceiling opened the space, it also reduced the amount of storage space. To counter this loss, the new cabinets had taller uppers that captured space that was previously wasted in soffits. Now each unit could have an additional shelf.
Another way we connected the various areas of the home was by extending the curvilinear countertop on the peninsula beyond the cabinet base. The multifunctional counter now provides a larger buffet serving area and allows guests and family members to comfortably interact with the cook.
Light maple cabinets combined with a lighter bamboo floor visually brightened and opened the room. Vintage, yet timeless recessed Shaker style cabinet doors and craftsman lighting provided clean traditional lines that modernized the room.
Our design/build team devised innovative solutions to help optimize savings without compromising on quality or beauty. We reused the existing window that the homeowners had recently purchased and installed modestly priced laminate countertops and beveled the edges to make it appear as a more expensive solid surface. Further costs were minimized by not relocating any of the plumbing. Such creativity allowed these homeowners to splurge on higher impact specialty items such as the Terrazzo glass tiles that give sparkle to the entire backsplash.