Can you believe that this is the same kitchen?!
We’re sharing all the details about this amazing renovation we completed last year. For our clients, a major upgrade to their 1912 home was a long time coming. Their kitchen was small, had minimal counter space, and they lacked space for entertaining friends and family.
Our initial meeting consisted of trying to figure out how to rework their kitchen and dining room space for the best functionality and style. First ideas were to do a stacked cabinet look with small glass doors in the top cabinets, originally our clients had liked the classic look of the Bodbyn Off White cabinet doors from IKEA, but eventually changed their minds to the slightly more contemporary Grimslov Off White.
For the dining room we originally wanted to try and preserve the built in hutch as it had such beautiful details, but refresh it by painting it and adding a quartz countertop. In the end our clients decided to upgrade to more functional storage with new cabinets in their hutch area.
Our next big issue to tackle was space for entertaining; they wanted to have a space they could proudly entertain friends and family, while also enjoying a meal. We brainstormed many layouts in our initial meetings and even discussed moving everything in the kitchen entirely but eventually decided on keeping layout fairly similar. Adding an island with seating all around gives a huge impact to the dining space.
It replaces a dining table and elevates it with the gorgeous quartz countertop, plus the cabinets underneath add extra hidden storage, perfect for things you pull out once a year, like holiday dishes. IKEA’s push openers mean you can push the door and have it pop open rather than having a handle in the way to bump your knees on.
One of the biggest decisions was to have our sister company T-Square Renovations close in the window in the kitchen to allow for more wall space. While removing the main window in the kitchen may seem counter-intuitive it opened up our layout options. Our clients decided to offset the loss of the natural light from the window by adding a skylight in the kitchen area. Another big decision came along during the process of the renovation. We had originally opted not to tear down any walls, but our clients wanted this strange bulkhead/angled archway gone to open up the space and allow the cabinets to go up to the ceiling. Once we’d taken that out it opened the space up significantly.
But our clients were drawn to having a more open space and eventually decided to have part of the wall between the kitchen and dining room taken down, you can see in this original concept drawing that we were planning to preserve the doorway, which also resulted in the cabinet next to the sink needing to be shallower, like the original kitchen.
Here, our Designer Amy reworked the concept drawing to allow for part of that wall coming out, and also gave us the opportunity to install a full depth base cabinet which made the cabinets look much more consistent.
During the design process our clients expressed that they liked the look of panel ready appliances that blend in with the cabinetry rather than stand out. Panel ready fridge doors come in a variety of sizes, so we had to turn to a custom millwork company to have custom doors made to match IKEA’s Grimslov Off White Shaker style doors. Our clients ended up selecting a two drawer dishwasher which also meant custom doors, but IKEA offers a standard 24×30″ door which will fit on a standard panel ready dishwasher, so this is an easy look to achieve. Another concern about the fridge area was the old chimney which had become a bit of an eyesore.
Luckily, Amy was able to come up with a way to cover the chimney, while giving the cabinets a beautiful symmetrical look from the outside. By using a shallower pantry cabinet, and customizing it we were able to provide a shallow cabinet perfect for small things like spices, while maintaining a beautiful look from the outside of the cabinets.
The next appliance to tackle was the range hood, here are some inspiration pics that our clients found on pinterest.
We opted to do a flush hood cover, which was 36″ wide and paneled with the IKEA doors to keep the look consistent.
