This kitchen was dwarfed by its high ceilings and large appliances before San Luis Kitchen took it in hand. Working closely with the homeowners, we designed a Country French kitchen that makes the most of the space. Working around existing hardwood floors, we moved the built-in refrigerator and freezer away from the window to visually open up the room and used extra tall custom wall cabinets to bring the high ceilings into a more comfortable scale. The kitchen now befits the upscale vineyard home.

Photograph by Tim Fuller, Architect: Soloway Designs, Builder: Cutshaw construction, Interior Designer: Inspire dezigns.
Large tuscan single-wall ceramic tile and beige floor eat-in kitchen photo in Phoenix with a farmhouse sink, raised-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, marble countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Open concept kitchen - mid-sized mediterranean l-shaped ceramic tile open concept kitchen idea in Denver with an integrated sink, beaded inset cabinets, white cabinets, quartzite countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, colored appliances and an island

WJM Architect
Example of a mid-sized tuscan l-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen design in New York with a farmhouse sink, recessed-panel cabinets, distressed cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, stone tile backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Jeff Westcott
Mid-sized tuscan u-shaped light wood floor and beige floor enclosed kitchen photo in Jacksonville with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, distressed cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, colored appliances, an island and beige countertops

Ancient Surfaces Product: Arcane Limestone Phone: (212) 461-0245 email: sales@ancientsurfaces.com website: www.Asurfaces.com The Arcane Limestone pavers are old and reclaimed ancient pavers that have an unparalleled mystical beauty to them. They are salvaged from old homes and structures from across ancient cities in the Mediterranean Sea.

Inspiration for a large mediterranean l-shaped limestone floor and beige floor open concept kitchen remodel in Portland Maine with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, beige cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Large tuscan u-shaped terra-cotta tile eat-in kitchen photo in Philadelphia with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, beige cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Inspiration for a mediterranean open concept kitchen remodel in Orange County with a double-bowl sink, dark wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, stone tile backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Tuscan dark wood floor kitchen photo in Austin with dark wood cabinets, beige backsplash, stone tile backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Inspiration for a mid-sized mediterranean galley vinyl floor and gray floor eat-in kitchen remodel in Detroit with a farmhouse sink, colored appliances, recessed-panel cabinets, beige backsplash, subway tile backsplash, an island, brown cabinets, quartz countertops and gray countertops

Traditional kitchen with exposed wood beams
Inspiration for a mediterranean kitchen remodel in Baltimore with a farmhouse sink, beige cabinets, beige backsplash, an island, raised-panel cabinets and colored appliances

Peter Rymwid Architectural Photography Co-designed with Peter Salerno
Inspiration for a mediterranean kitchen remodel in New York with raised-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, beige backsplash, subway tile backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Anaheim Hills, California Will Hare Photograph
Eat-in kitchen - mid-sized mediterranean u-shaped eat-in kitchen idea in Orange County with a single-bowl sink, raised-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, beige backsplash, colored appliances and an island

Mid-sized tuscan porcelain tile enclosed kitchen photo in San Luis Obispo with recessed-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, colored appliances, granite countertops, beige backsplash, stone tile backsplash and no island

Terri Glanger Photography
Example of a tuscan terra-cotta tile and orange floor kitchen design in Dallas with stainless steel countertops, subway tile backsplash, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, beige backsplash and colored appliances

Example of a mid-sized tuscan l-shaped light wood floor and beige floor eat-in kitchen design in Dallas with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, quartzite countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, colored appliances, an island and beige countertops

Surrounded by vineyards, horse ranches, and open land, the home is in a great location that is reasonably close to town while retaining a secluded air. Our homeowners have enjoyed their country retreat for many years. They are blessed with a large extended family and love to host gatherings and entertain weekend guests. The only drawback to their gracious home was the drab and malfunctioning kitchen. First off, the cabinets were an out-dated whitewashed oak. Uggh! High ceilings were a plus feature that was negated by bizarrely stacked wall cabinets – making you think that maybe the original “designer” forgot about the 9 foot ceiling height. More likely, the original cabinets were stock items that didn’t come in the right size for the house. You can also see the lovely fluorescent light box tacked to the middle of the ceiling over the island. Why? Was there no thought to the style shown in the rest of the house? Secondly, the homeowners were fighting with a poor kitchen layout. The large built-in refrigerator and separate freezer were placed right in the main traffic flow from the hall, there was not enough counter space to the right of the sink, the dishwasher was crammed right next to the fridge, and a broom closet took up prime real estate next to the cook-top. Now, remember, guests are frequent in this home and often several people were trying to use the kitchen at one time. Cross traffic and outright pile-ups were inevitable as some folks gathered veggies from the fridge to sauté at the cook-top while others were rinsing used dishes for the dishwasher and still others were taking frozen items to the prep sink and then the microwave. Don’t get me started about the trash and recycling receptacles – complete inconvenience to all! So, our homeowners – the poor, benighted souls – were desperate for a remodel when they found San Luis Kitchen. On their first visit to our showroom, the couple fell in love with our French Country display. The display features soft white cabinets in a distressed cottage finish with a contrasting dark island and armoire; our homeowners were smitten. We knew everyone was up to the challenge and so we got right down to work. We visited their home and measured their kitchen. While we were there, we took stock of the house’s overall style and the homeowner’s décor. We asked what they liked best about their home, what worked well and what didn’t. We found that they loved their arched passageways, the trim details on their mantle and the soft curves of the posts at their stair rail. They also showed us many photos of kitchens that they liked – both from magazines and on-line. Using this information, we went back to the office and pulled together a design. We suggested swinging the refrigerator and freezer 90 degrees and setting them in place of the existing oven and hutch area. This brings them out of the traffic flow and into a comfortable relationship to the island counter. The fridge and freezer the homeowners chose were mismatched in width – we disguised the difference using custom detailing on the decorative panels. Deep storage cabinets above fill out the space. Moving the fridge/freezer gained lots of luxurious counter space to the right of the new farmhouse sink. We placed the broom closet near the hall and tucked the microwave behind closed cabinet doors (which tuck away when open) to the left of it. The beautiful existing wood floor insisted that the island remain in the same location, however we replaced it with luscious cherry cabinets in an antique burnished finish. The island retained its prep sink and gained a wine refrigerator and both a trash compactor and double bin recycling cabinet. A decorative pot rack now hangs in place of the ugly old fluorescent lights. The highlight of the new kitchen is the La Cornue range in a bright and bold blue! The homeowners traveled to a Bay area appliance showroom to see the ranges in person before purchasing to make sure that the ovens were of suitable size and that blue was truly the right color. The range was perfect, so it was purchased. The matching blue hood was created on site using a standard stainless hood as the base and painting a tapered drywall cover. To either side of the range we placed pullout base cabinets for oils and spices and such, each fronted with a turned post chosen to echo their stairway balusters. We also chose cabinet trim (crown, light rail and toe base) to harmonize with the homes existing details. We knew for sure that the completed kitchen was a success when the happy homeowners reported to us that over Thanksgiving they had five cooks working in the space with no conflict whatsoever. That’s a true complement to our design – Thank You!

Number 2, Spello. photo Michele Garramone
Example of a mid-sized tuscan single-wall terra-cotta tile enclosed kitchen design in Other with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, wood countertops, beige backsplash, porcelain backsplash and colored appliances