T.K.'s kitchen had a few issues that needed to be addressed. First let's address that the current kitchen was outdated and needed more space. The actual square footage in this area was very small not allowing T.K. to have any extra storage for her kitchen utensils and gave her the feeling of being closed in. Solution....let's take the wall down that lead to her dining/work area. This will allow her to open the area up and create more natural lighting - I love energy saving any way I can. With this wall removed it also allowed us to extend the countertop and add additional cabinets along the long wall. Keeping the small space as a top priority, we went with less deep cabinets at this area with only drawers to create a work station area for her to use. I always give thought to multi-purpose areas and not only is this now a work station area, it can double as a serving area for food during entertaining. LOVE IT!! Since the cabinets weren't as deep as the main ones in the kitchen and were recessed this allowed the granite countertop top to have a nice transition and gave it a custom feel without any additional cost - a truly defined area. To finish this area off we added two shelves above to allow additional storage and a beautiful display area. Don't forget lighting, two sconces were added as well.
Next let's talk about the actual kitchen design itself. With this wall removed and the cabinets/countetops extended we just created more storage for her cookware. The refrigerator was relocated to the opposite side of the kitchen adding a prep space by the range. We pushed the wall the refrigerator is now located on back 10" so that there would be the required clearance to walk there. This wall also doubled as an area for us to locate her new kitchen table and chairs. It fit perfect! With the dining table located on the backside of this wall it allowed a clean, open walk space directly to the kitchen.
Finally, lighting was an essential element to updating this space. The drop down ceiling with the acoustical tiles was removed. This gave more height and allowed us to update the lighting to a more modern track light with lens that could be directed to specific areas. Light Dove Gray paint was applied to blend with the colors from the granite and voila! A new bright color scheme has completed the modern feel we were going for.
A & B Design Firm would love to hear your feedback on this before and after project.