Built in 1989, this townhome’s architecture was practical, functional, and no-nonsense. The kitchen is located right inside the front entry and included two doorways and six windows. The simple existing kitchen layout was outdated, dark and uninviting. Demolition of the existing kitchen had already begun by the time our firm was brought into the project. Even with six windows in the space, the kitchen had very little natural light and a single ceiling light fixture in the center of the room, making it dark and hard to work in. In addition to the aesthetics of the room, the homeowner needed to update the kitchen to make it a safer space to move around in, due to her spouse being impaired after a severe stroke.
The owner of this home wanted to create a bright, happy, open plan without changing the footprint of the home. Adding an addition or changes to the exterior were out of the question, due to townhome association rules. The appliances all needed to be modernized, with as many as possible having a safety or locking system, so her husband couldn’t access them on his own. When I met with her the first time, she boldly said “I don’t like brown. I don’t like black. I don’t like grey. What does that leave us for a color scheme?” She used the words “glitz and glam” to describe what she wanted for the overall look of her new kitchen.
Due to budget constraints, then homeowner decided to keep the existing hardwood flooring, which encompassed almost the entire main level of the town home. This left us with one option to accomplish the open plan. We kept the walls between the dining room and front hall in place but took them down to half walls. This helped keep the kitchen space defined but opened the three spaces to each other. The front entry hall was transformed into a beautiful butler’s pantry by removing the larger of the two entry closets. The lighting was updated with multiple recessed ceiling fixtures, under cabinet task lighting and decorative “glitz and glam” pendant lights over the half wall and new island. New cabinetry was designed to use every inch possible of the remaining space, in a white painted finish on the perimeter and a soft coastal blue-green on the island to keep the room simple and bright. New upper cabinets were full-height, installed to the ceiling to maximize storage space. White and stainless steel appliances were re-arranged in a tight and functional work triangle. The range was moved to the exterior wall, allowing for adequate lighting above the cooking surface. An elegant arabesque tile was selected for the backsplash with white quartz countertops to complete the design. For the safety of her husband, we generously rounded all outside corners and ends of all countertops, maximized walkways, and the microwave and dishwasher could be locked with a coded entry.