New England

When meeting with our homeowners for this kitchen renovation project, they presented us with a large wish list. This busy family of five loves to cook and entertain for their large extended family. They felt their current kitchen was not functioning to its fullest potential. It felt cramped, dark, outdated, and had no flair. They wanted more room for storage, and convenient areas to hold their cookware. They had an unorganized pantry that wasn’t working for them, and a desk area that had become a clutter zone. They showed us examples of a cool toned color palette that they loved and asked us to bring in some farmhouse style elements with a modern aesthetic. We could not wait to transform this room! We began by reimagining the flow of the kitchen. In order to give them more counter space to use for food preparation, we moved the fridge to the wall where the desk was. We eliminated the messy pantry closet, and installed a tall cabinet to house an additional oven and built-in microwave. We added a large pantry cabinet to the right of the refrigerator to give them plenty of organized storage space, allowing easy access to snacks from the family room. On the left side of the fridge, we incorporated a drop zone area where they can leave their keys and mail when coming in from the garage. In the island we included a pull-out trash easily accessible from both the sink and the cooking areas, and added a vegetable sink to create an extended area for food prep. For the perimeter of the kitchen, we moved the range down to allow for a corner lazy susan and drawer bank for pots and pans, and provided them with a deep farmhouse sink to aid in washing larger items. By running the cabinetry up to the ceiling, we were able to provide them with additional storage space. We finished the cabinetry off with a beautiful decorative hood surround and capped the cabinets with a large stacked crown molding. The finishes we chose for the kitchen help modernize the space while keeping the room feeling warm and inviting. We used a soft grey paint on the perimeter cabinets and infused a warm chestnut stain on the island and decorative hood. We incorporated corbel details at both the hood and island to add some depth to the design. We included a very unique focal point to the ceiling above the island; it is a custom trim detail in the shape of an X, with dark paint as an accent. We topped the cabinetry with a luxurious calacatta quartz counter that created movement with large beautiful veining details. Hand-cut high gloss white subway tiles added brightness and sophistication to the space. Touches of silver were brought in with cabinet hardware and gooseneck faucets. We added an abundance of lighting including recessed lights, a farmhouse style silver pendant over the sink, two vintage style pendants at the island with ribbed glass, and a large wood and silver chandelier over the table, giving ample light and making the room feel bright. Adding under cabinet lighting provided our client with much needed task lighting while doing food prep. We finished the room off by using four comfortable upholstered counter stools with distressed white painted legs, adding to the farmhouse feel. New hand scraped oak plank hardwood flooring was added throughout the first floor along with large baseboard trim to tie the rest of the house in with the new kitchen design. Our client now has a large, updated, modernized kitchen to conjure up delicious meals for their family and friends.