Project Highlight - A Functional Refresh
The first site visit I make for a new kitchen renovation project typically involves three major goals. Of course, my priority is to get to know my new client and really listen to them – to understand their personal goals for the space, as well as any specific design ideas they might already have. Usually, there are photos and images that they show me, especially if they have been pondering this big step for a long time – often a very long time.
The second goal of a site visit is for me to see how the existing kitchen works and doesn’t work for the client. I have a Kitchen Questionnaire (that you can download from my website) that not only asks the typical design questions but many the client might never have considered. The first two questions I always ask; “What do you currently love about your kitchen?” and “What do you dislike about your current kitchen?” These answers will usually give me a great deal of information. Once I get their brief answers I will invariably need to delve deeper to get down to the real root of the problems they are having with the existing design and layout.
The third goal of this initial visit is to see the possibilities for improvement. This is two-fold; structurally what changes are feasible, and second, what changes might the client be willing to consider? Such was the case when I visited a new client who came to me as a referral from one of their neighbors. The couple had been contemplating their kitchen renovation for a couple of years by the time I met them. They had some specific ideas in mind for the cabinetry and the major change of going from an all-in-one range to a separate cooktop and wall ovens. They currently had a large 24” deep pantry closet area that they were willing to give up in the new layout. They also wanted to update the existing Butler’s pantry cabinetry, as well, to possibly include a wine refrigerator.
I thought their ideas were well-imagined but I was amazed that they had not realized the main problem with their kitchen. I was immediately struck by the fact that the flow of the kitchen needed to and could be improved with some simple changes that they had not even considered. In the current layout the entrance from their garage (which like most people is the most-used personal entrance to a home) went directly into their Laundry Room, and then into the Butler’s Pantry which acted as a vestibule with multiple doors and doorways, including doors to the Powder Room, Dining Room and subsequently the Kitchen.
This bottleneck was the first problem I felt I needed to solve for them – and my suggestion of enlarging the entrance from this area into the kitchen would be a game-changer for all of the improvements they hoped to make. By moving the refrigerator and enlarging the doorway into the main Kitchen area, we would not only make the Butler’s Pantry feel larger and more connected to the Kitchen, but we would add much needed daylighting into this space, as well as more light into the Dining Room, too.
As with many Kitchen layouts I encounter, the existing island was also limiting the flow of the traffic into and around the space. The fact that the island also incorporated seating only added to the problem. So I suggested in addition to enlarging the doorway into the Kitchen, we could also reduce the depth of the cabinetry by the doorway by introducing a shallow depth (15” pantry cabinet). This appealed to the client as she had always felt the distance of the original pantry closet was too far from the main cooking triangle anyway.
According to my initial observation and measurements, we could make these edits without a lot of extra construction costs. I made an appointment with one of my general contractors to come to check out the job site and went ahead with a revised floor plan and elevations to start on cabinetry design and estimates.
The client had been inspired by photos she had seen of two-tiered cabinetry that went all the way to the ceiling. So I incorporated that into the design along with glass display doors as she was not necessarily going to use this extra space for storage - but for display. She also liked the idea of varying the heights of the cabinets for interest, so I carefully considered how to create balanced elevations on all the walls. Upon the next visit, we carefully discussed each cabinet’s function and storage capacity. We converted many of the base cabinets into drawer storage and added pull-out trays to the ones we kept as doors. As with any Kitchen cabinetry design I do, functionality is paramount and discussed ahead of time.
One of the last details we discussed was changing from a gas cooktop to an induction cooktop.
I had recently gone to induction in my own new kitchen, so I love telling clients about this cooktop option that has been around for a while but still remains underutilized. (Check out my blog on induction cooking.) The clean look of the induction cooktop appealed to this client who loves the look of a minimal and clean counter surface.
A few remaining details to be decided involved the patching and refinishing of the existing solid oak floor along with the stain color on the contrasting island and appliance wall cabinets. The client intended on keeping her beautiful oak kitchen table and chairs, so we carefully considered what stain color would make all the wood stained elements feel cohesive.
The decision on which “white” to select for the perimeter cabinetry came down to her comfort level on whether it was necessary to match the existing white on the wood trim. This is always a personal decision for clients and often depends on whether there is crown molding in the space. What I generally suggest is to try not to match the crown molding profile or trim color and instead leave a 2”-3” separation between and areas of cabinetry and ceiling crown molding.
Another item that the client had decided on even before we met was the use of granite for her countertops. As a baker, she liked the flexibility of being able to put hot baking pans directly onto her counter surface without having to worry about using a hotplate or trivet. (Check out my blog on countertop surfaces for more pros and cons on the various options available.) She chose Ubba Tuba (which is called by many different names depending on the distributor.) and this was a cost-effective choice which allowed her to spend a little more of her budget on the cabinetry extras.
The couple is thrilled by the resulting kitchen renovation, which took almost 18 months to make all the decisions. Once the final choices were made the process quickly fell into place. (Construction was completed exactly on schedule with my Excel spreadsheet!) Often, when a client is nervous about a renovation it takes some extra time to process the options and make design decisions and selections. My goal is to make my clients feel confident every step of the way – even if it takes a little longer. The results are worth the wait!